News about Nicholas Winton

The late stockbroker is lauded for rescuing 669 children by arranging Kindertransport trains that brought them to Britain before the Second World War began. His life was largely unknown until he emotionally connected with those he saved on BBC show That's Life in 1988 (left). In the new film One Life, Sir Anthony Hopkins (inset) brought Sir Nicholas' selfless efforts into greater public notice. Sir Nicholas is also known to have helped orchestrate three flights that carried children out of Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia on the eve of war. However, details of a fourth flight have been found in Sir Nicholas' unpublished diaries.

The Manchester Guardian carried a series of advertisements from Austrian parents looking for homes in Britain for their children among the listings for houses, stamps, and musical equipment for sale in the summer of 1938. The newspaper carried 80 percent of these ads in less than five months. There were only a few lines long, and they were written in stilted English, so there was no way to discredit their desperation. One appeal read: 'Fervent prayer in profound sadness', requesting a home for a 'healthy, innovative, very musical' 13-year-old boy. A philanthropist has been begging for 'a very gifted child' as a foster. Julian Borger, a journalist, had a vague idea that his father Robert had appeared in Vienna as a result of a newspaper ad, and after his father's death, he managed to track it down. "I want a kind person who will educate my child,' the Viennese of good families said.'

The victims of the Post Office computer hack scandal will never be convicted of justice. In some cases, they have lost more than others. Years of what should have been joyful and enriched lives have been stolen. Good names have been stolen and grudgingly recovered years later. Innocent people have been held captive in jail, a crime that is impossible to get out of your mind. Marriages have been torn apart. These ill-treated people in some tragic situations have clearly lost their minds or taken their own lives. I will not participate in the simple call for the removal of the CBE from Paula Vennells, the former Chief Executive of the Post Office. I believe she should be compelled to keep it as a lifelong reminder to her and the rest of us of how justice and mercy have been stangled in this world.

BRIAN VINER: With the onset of a new year, comes the same barrage of bad news that dogged the old year: from another deadly teenage stabbing here at home to the latest infight caused by wars abroad. However, this first week of January, when we begin to digest news about humanity's worst times, at least gives a tale about the very best. One Life dramatizes what has become a well-known story in recent years, involving hundreds of Jewish children from Czechoslovakia who fled the Holocaust. They owed their salvation to a slew of individuals, but more than a London stockbroker named Nicholas Winton, who appeared in old age by Sir Anthony Hopkins and as a young man by Johnny Flynn.

Nicholas Winton went on holiday to Czechoslovakia in December 1938, he witnessed a scene that would change the course of his life. Thousands of Jewish families were shivering in makeshift tents outside Prague's overflowing refugee camp following the Nazi conquest of the predominantly German-speaking Sudetenland. They had been kicked out of their homes and had left everything behind. They had nowhere to go and the Nazi takeover of the rest of Czechoslovakia loomed, awaiting a frightening destiny. They were desperate to find a way out. Their pain impacted Winton so much that he did everything he could to help them: the children.

Anthony Hopkins' latest film tells the remarkable tale of how British stockbroker Nicolas Winton saved 669 German-Jewish children from the Nazis by the Kindertransport scheme. Nicholas' life and those of several of the children, as well as those of fellow Britons who risked everything to assist him.

BRIAN VINER: This week, the premiere of One Life at the London Film Festival felt remarkably timely. As we continue to digest reports about the worst of humanity, James Hawes' drama is about the best of humanity. More specifically, during a week in which hundreds of Jewish children have been killed, here is a tale about hundreds of Jewish children being saved, thanks to the tireless efforts of many people, but most importantly, a young man played by Johnny Flynn.

Sir Nicholas Winton's rescue of nearly 700 predominantly Jewish children from near-certain death in the Holocaust was chronicled on That's Life in 1988. On television (top right), the hero was reunited with several of the men and women whose lives he had saved by arranging homes for them in 1939. However, Dame Esther Rantzen (inset), who produced That's Life, expressed her sadness this week that a final trainload of children could not be saved, expressed her dissatisfaction with Sir Nicholas' deep sense of regret this week. In an upcoming film, Sir Nicholas (left, with one of the children he saved) is expected to be played by Oscar winner Anthony Hopkins (bottom right), according to BBC Radio 4 yesterday, he told her before his TV appearance that he "hadn't saved enough." She said she had been 'determined' to make him know how many lives she had saved, so she brought as many survivors as possible to surprise him. As the emotional businessman looks on stunned, the majority of the studio audience stands up when they are asked if they 'owe their lives to Nicholas Winton.'

EPHRAIM HARDCASTLE: With Royal Ascot looming, King Charles does not represent his late mother's ardent enthusiasm for horseracing. According to statistics, the Queen sent out 585 runners, had 107 winners, and received £1,793,044 in earnings from her reign as Queen Elizabeth's reign. By contrast, the King and Camilla (pictured) had 23 runners, three winners, and earned £85,133. The King's lukewarm interest in horse racing is highlighted by his absence from the Epsom Derby on Monday, an event that is seldom attended by his mother. He'll be smelling flora in Transylvania rather than instructing the Royal binoculars on riders and runners.

Sir Nicholas Winton's (left with one of the children he saved) took part in saving 669 children from Czechoslovakia, an act that was revealed in a touching segment of BBC's That's Life programme in 1988 (top right) saw some people refer to him as Britain's Schindler. Nevertheless, his feats would not have been possible without the help of 'Purbeck Schindler' Trevor Chadwick, who remained in Prague to organise child evacuations to the United Kingdom. Sir Nicholas and Chadwick were just two of 27 people who were praised by the government in 2010 for assisting in the rescue of future Holocaust victims. They also included British spy Major Frank Foley (bottom right), Scottish missionary Jane Haining (bottom), and Quaker teacher Bertha Lilian Bracey.

On Tuesday, Sir Anthony Hopkins appeared on camera for the first time filming new film One Life in Pinner. Sir Nicholas Winton, 84, will play him. In 1939, the 'British Schindler' saved 669 children in Czechoslovakia from the Nazis. When shooting scenes, he transformed into Nicholas for the day by wearing a brown coat, a beige shirt, and trousers.

Sir Francis Drake, the Spanish Armada hero, has been given a new information panel describing his slave trade expeditions (right). Following the Black Lives Matter protests, the local town council reviewed the monument to the Elizabethan sailor in Tavistock, Devon. Despite only receiving one letter of support and 89 protests, a new sign has been put into place. The new information board beside Sir Francis Drake's statue is described as 'balanced' and 'objective.'