Lowestoft Town Council
Holocaust Memorial Day, the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau and the arrival of the Kindertransport to Lowestoft marked in Lowestoft
On Monday 27th January, an overwhelming number of people gathered at events across Lowestoft to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day.
Three poignant events took place throughout the day, organised by Lowestoft Town Council and supported by the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, to make this year’s commemorations the largest yet.
This year’s events saw contributions from Professor Lawrence Goldman (representing Norwich Synagogue), Ormiston Denes Academy, Benjamin Britten High School, East Point Academy and Red Oak Primary School with music from Da Marjanbo, a Hebrew four-piece instrumental band. Support for the events was also provided by the three venues (East Coast Cinema, Lowestoft Railway Station, Kensington Gardens Café and the Friends of Kensington Gardens), and East Suffolk Lines with their discounted travel fares.
A spokesperson for Lowestoft Town Council said “Lowestoft Town Council would like to thank everyone who came along and contributed to our Holocaust Memorial Day commemorations. This is a significant event in our calendar that has grown since the Town Council started leading the event eight years ago.
"With this year’s events receiving more national coverage in part due to the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the planning for our events in Lowestoft have been a long time in the making as we aimed to make this poignant event inclusive. We are very pleased with the turn out this year as we expanded our number of events to give more opportunities for local people to gather and reflect.”
Each element of this year’s commemoration had its own focus with the main event taking place at East Coast
Cinema. Here the audience reflected on the Holocaust with Professor Lawrence Goldman delivering a moving story of Miriam, a relative of Professor Goldman’s who escaped from Poland to Jamaica due to the persecution of Jewish people in Auschwitz. Da Marjanbo followed this, providing emotive music, welcoming the chance to express a range of Hebrew prayers through instrumental music. The event then moved to Lowestoft Railway Station where reflections and poems to remember Lowestoft’s link to the Kindertransport were read and wreathes were laid. In the afternoon, Kensington Gardens hosted an event where Red Oak Primary school children read 
out personal reflections and placed 80 decoration candles around the Holocaust Memorial flower bed. Each candle marked the 80 years since the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Later at 8pm, local people were encouraged by the Town Council to join with the nation in lighting a candle and placing it in their window as part of the “Light the Darkness” campaign.
The Mayor, Cllr Nasima Begum, expressed thanks to all who had attended. She said “the Town Council has worked hard to make the day as inclusive as possible to all, specifically inviting members of the Jewish
Community to take leading roles in the day’s events, bringing the experience of Hebrew music to a new audience and enabling school children to learn and understand more about what happened in their town as well as asking people to recognise more recent genocides, something I know is supported by the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust. As usual, the Town Council welcomes comments and will build these into the planning of future events”.
On the significance of Holocaust Memorial Day, the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust said on social media, “Holocaust Memorial Day shows us where prejudice can lead when it is normalised and encouraged. On this day we remember the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust. We also commemorate the millions more people murdered through the Nazi persecution of other groups, and in the more recent genocides recognised by the UK government, and the genocide in Darfur. Prejudice has not ended and there is much to do to create a better future.”
Read more on Holocaust Memorial Day Commemorated in Lowestoft
A new memorial plaque is to be unveiled on Lowestoft’s South Pier to commemorate the 60th anniversary of a lost fishing trawler.
Commissioned by Lowestoft Town Council, the plaque will name the nine crew members who lost their lives when the Boston Pionair was lost at sea in February 1965.
The Boston Pionair, under the hand of skipper Brian Moyse, left Lowestoft on 6th February 1965. When no word was heard from the crew on 14th February, a large-scale search operation was conducted in the North Sea before the boat and its nine-strong crew were pronounced lost at sea.
To mark this occasion, the Boston Pionair memorial plaque will be unveiled at 1:30pm on Thursday 6th February. All are welcome to attend.
Ahead of the unveiling, all are welcome to go to the United Reformed Church, London Road North from 10am-12noon for refreshments and the chance to see a display, courtesy of Lowestoft Maritime Museum.
This plaque is the latest in a series of similar plaques commissioned by Lowestoft Town Council to remember some of the tragedies encountered throughout Lowestoft’s maritime heritage. Other commissioned plaques have commemorated the “Guava”, “Reclaim” and everyone who took part in Operation Dynamo.
The project to bring the Town Hall back into community use has received a further funding boost thanks to an increase in funding support from East Suffolk Council which further strengthens their commitment to supporting Lowestoft Town Council to bring this building back to life.
This decision, approved by East Suffolk Council's Cabinet, sees East Suffolk Council budget for an additional £300,000, increasing their direct investment to £1,2million. This follows the recent news by the National Lottery Heritage Fund to provide a total of £4,457,512 of funding towards the project.
With this funding now in place, work on the building is set to begin in February 2025 with the Town Hall reopening in Summer 2026.
The work will see the Town Hall renovated with provision for a compelling and innovative heritage hub, gallery space with a changing programme of exhibitions and events, wedding and reception venue with catering facilities, co-working space for sole traders and small businesses, a café, and additional community event space. Improving the accessibility to the Town Hall is included within the plans with a more open reception area, accessible toilet facilities, including a Changing Places room and a lift. The Town Hall will also become the home for Lowestoft Town Council, hosting the Council meetings and staff offices and Suffolk Registrars.
Cllr Nasima Begum, Mayor of Lowestoft said “I wish to thank East Suffolk Council for agreeing to provide further support to the Town Hall regeneration. We are at a very exciting stage of the project with work due to begin within the next month and this additional support will help bring this iconic building back into public use.”
Cllr Caroline Topping, Leader of East Suffolk Council and Heritage Champion, said: “A lot of effort has already gone into this project to bring Lowestoft Town Hall back into use as a community asset and heritage venue.
“Alongside an additional grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, East Suffolk Council’s contribution will help to meet funding targets and take this transformational project forward. We look forward to seeing the building open to the public once again.”
The Lowestoft Town Hall Project is a Lowestoft Town Council initiative supported by National Lottery players via The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Other significant funders for the regeneration include Towns Fund and East Suffolk Council.
Read more on Further Funding Boost To Town Hall Project As Major Works To Start Next Month
Lowestoft Town Council is delighted to announce that the Town Hall regeneration project has successfully secured a grant increase from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
The increased award will see an additional £1.2million in grant funding to help revitalise the iconic Town Hall and bring it back into community use. This follows on from the initial grant of £3,257,512 from the Heritage Fund announced in September 2023, bringing the total funding to £4,457,512.
Cllr Nasima Begum, Mayor of Lowestoft said “I am delighted that The National Lottery Heritage Fund have increased their support to help bring the Town Hall back into use. It is fitting that this announcement comes on the Heritage Fund’s Heritage Treasures Day as we aim to restore our own heritage treasure, which holds such a special place for so many local people. On behalf of Lowestoft Town Council, I wish to thank everyone who has contributed to this project by responding to consultations, engaging with our heritage events and through bringing their expertise and passion.”
Robyn Llewellyn, Director, England, Midlands and East at The National Lottery Heritage Fund said: “We’re excited to be supporting Lowestoft Town Council with a significant grant to transform the Town Hall. Thanks to National Lottery players and total funding of nearly £4.5million, the communities of Lowestoft and beyond are seeing a local landmark be revitalised into a bustling community space.”
With this funding now in place, and with the support of other funders, work on the building is set to begin in February 2025 with the Town Hall reopening in Summer 2026.
The work will see the Town Hall renovated with provision for a compelling and innovative heritage hub, gallery space with a changing programme of exhibitions and events, wedding and reception venue with catering facilities, co-working space for sole traders and small businesses, a café, and additional community event space. Improving the accessibility to the Town Hall is included within the plans with a more open reception area, accessible toilet facilities, including a Changing Places room and a lift. The Town Hall will also become the home for Lowestoft Town Council, hosting the Council meetings and staff offices and Suffolk Registrars.
The Lowestoft Town Hall Project is a Lowestoft Town Council initiative supported by National Lottery players via The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Other significant funders for the regeneration include Towns Fund and East Suffolk Council.
Read more on Town Hall Project receives further funding from National Lottery
