Last night I attended the talk by Tony Dawson – sponsored by the Ivel Rotary Club – on the theme of Shefford’s welcome to refugees from 1939 to the present day. We first had a welcome from Our Mayor Ken Pollard who explained that the evening was to celebrate Shefford’s support for the kinderstransport from continental Europe in 1939 and to welcome present day refugees from Afghanistan. This was followed by an illustrated talk by Tony Dawson of the Shefford History Group which led us through the arrival and welcome experience from the perspective of refugees and hosts.
