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Liberal Jewish Cemetery, Willesden

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Coordinates: 51°32′35″N 0°14′16″W / 51.54306°N 0.23778°W / 51.54306; -0.23778
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For the Orthodox (United Synagogue) Jewish Cemetery, see Willesden Jewish Cemetery.

Liberal Jewish Cemetery, Willesden
Map
Details
Established1911
Location
Off Pound Lane, Willesden, London NW10 2HG (London Borough of Brent)
CountryEngland
Coordinates51°32′35″N 0°14′16″W / 51.54306°N 0.23778°W / 51.54306; -0.23778
TypeJewish
StyleQueen Anne Revival architecture
Owned byLiberal Jewish Synagogue
Size4 acres[1]
WebsiteLiberal Jewish Synagogue: Cemetery
Find a GraveLiberal Jewish Cemetery

The Liberal Jewish Cemetery, Willesden, is a cemetery for Jews in Pound Lane, Willesden, in the London Borough of Brent. It is adjacent to Willesden United Synagogue Cemetery. Established in 1911 by the Liberal Jewish Synagogue, it opened in 1914 and was originally known as the Liberal Jewish and Belsize Square Cemetery.[2] Several notable British Jews, including members of the Sassoon family, are buried at the cemetery, which also has a Grade II listed war memorial.[3]

Prayer hall and war memorial

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The cemetery's prayer hall, in Queen Anne Revival architectural style, was designed by Ernest Joseph and erected in the 1920s; it was extended in 1963.[1] Directly opposite the prayer hall is a Grade II listed war memorial, commemorating 22 people who died in the First World War. Historic England describe it as "one of very few freestanding First World War memorials which specifically commemorate Jewish service personnel". A plaque was added later to commemorate those who died in the Second World War.[3]

Notable burials

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Notable people buried at the cemetery include:

Image Name Dates Description Notes Ref Grave
Sir Louis Baron, 1st Baronet 1876–1934 Tobacco and cigarette manufacturer He was the managing director of the Carreras Tobacco Company.
Bernard Delfont, Baron Delfont 1909–1994 Theatre impresario [4]
Benno Elkan 1877–1960 Sculptor Elkan created the first statue in Britain of Sir Walter Raleigh, and designed Frankfurt's Great War Memorial, incorporating mourning mothers as a symbol of loss in World War I; it was removed by the Nazis in 1933 and re-erected in 1946. His work also includes the Knesset Menorah in Jerusalem. [1]
Arnold Goodman, Baron Goodman 1913–1995 Lawyer Goodman was Chairman of the Arts Council. [4]
Lew Grade, Baron Grade 1906–1998 TV and film producer Elder brother of Bernard Delfont [4]
Leslie Grade 1916–1979 Theatrical agent Younger brother of Bernard Delfont and Lew Grade [4]
Otto Metzger 1885–1961 Engineer and inventor Metzger, who grew up in Nuremberg, Germany, was an engineer and inventor of an impact-extrusion process for forming seamless zinc and brass cans. He and his wife Sophie Metzger (née Josephthal) (1894–1998) are commemorated in the cemetery by adjacent rose bushes. [5][6][7]
Sir Albert Sassoon, 1st Baronet 1818–1896 Businessman and philanthropist He ran the family firm, which was originally based in Bombay, India and became known as David Sassoon & Co. Sassoon was originally buried in the Sassoon Mausoleum which he had built in Brighton, but in 1933 his body was removed and reburied at this cemetery. [8][9][10]
Sir Edward Sassoon, 2nd Baronet 1856–1912 Businessman and politician He was the eldest son of Sir Albert. A Liberal Unionist Party MP, Sassoon was also active in Jewish community affairs, serving as a vice-president of Jews' College, London and the Anglo-Jewish Association.
Sir Isaac Shoenberg 1880–1963 Electronics engineer and inventor Born in Pinsk, Imperial Russia (now in Belarus), Shoenberg is best known for his role in inventing the system used by the BBC in London in 1936 for the world's first public high-definition TV broadcast. [11]
Sir Andrew Shonfield 1917–1981 Economist Best known for writing Modern Capitalism (1966), a book that documented the rise of long-term planning in postwar Europe. From 1972 to 1977 he was Director of the Royal Institute of International Affairs, usually known as Chatham House. [12]
Conchita Supervía 1895–1936 Spanish opera diva Supervía was a highly popular Spanish mezzo-soprano singer who appeared in opera in Europe and America and also gave recitals. Her tombstone was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens. The grave, which had fallen into disrepair, was refurbished by a group of admirers and re-consecrated in October 2006. [4][13]
Walter Wolfgang 1923– 2019 Socialist and peace activist Wolfgang was vice-president and Vice Chair of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament up to the time of his death, and a supporter of the Stop the War Coalition. [14]
Israel Zangwill 1864–1926 Author and cultural Zionist At the forefront of cultural Zionism during the 19th century, and a close associate of Theodor Herzl, Zangwill later rejected the search for a Jewish homeland in Palestine and became the prime thinker behind the territorial movement. [15]

War graves

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The cemetery contains the Commonwealth war graves of a World War I Royal Flying Corps officer and, from World War II, a Royal Navy officer, two soldiers and an officer of the British Army and an airman and two officers of the Royal Air Force.[16]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Meller, Hugh; Parsons, Brian (2011). London Cemeteries: An Illustrated Guide and Gazetteer (Fifth ed.). Stroud, Gloucestershire: The History Press. pp. 220–221. ISBN 978-0-7524-6183-0.
  2. ^ "Liberal Jewish Cemetery". London Gardens Online. London Parks & Gardens Trust. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  3. ^ a b Historic England (7 February 2019). "Willesden Liberal Jewish Cemetery War Memorial (1461873)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  4. ^ a b c d e Matthews, Peter (2017). Who's Buried Where in London. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 71.
  5. ^ US patent 1918858, Metzger, Otto, "Matrix for extruding metals", published 1933-07-18, assigned to Vereinigte Deutsche Metallwerke AG 
  6. ^ US patent 2099449, Metzger, Otto, "Method of making dry cells", published 1937-11-16, assigned to Vereinigte Deutsche Metallwerke AG 
  7. ^ US patent 2117738, Metzger, Otto, "Packing for perishable victuals", published 1938-05-17, assigned to Vereinigte Deutsche Metallwerke AG 
  8. ^ Kadish, Sharman, Jewish Heritage in England: an Architectural Guide, English Heritage, 2006, pp. 77–78. ISBN 978-1-905624-28-7.
  9. ^ Stansky, Peter. Sassoon: the worlds of Philip and Sybil, Yale University Press, 2003, p.16. ISBN 978-0-300-09547-0.
  10. ^ "Sir Edward Albert Sassoon". The Knowles Collection. 11 August 2010. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
  11. ^ King, Lorraine (2 August 2013). "The Liberal Jewish Synagogue to commemorate centenary of its cemetery in Willesden". Brent and Kilburn Times. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
  12. ^ "Andrew Shonfield Dead at 63". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 29 January 1981. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
  13. ^ "Lutyens Memorial to a Spanish Opera Singer". The Lutyens Trust. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  14. ^ "Walter Jacob Wolfgang 1923-1929". Labour CND. 2 June 2019. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  15. ^ Jewish Telegraphic Agency (6 August 1926). "Funeral of I. Zangwill Attended by Thousands; Rabbi Wise Officiates". Jewish Daily Bulletin. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  16. ^ "Search Results".
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