reunions and events
1999 Reunion in Scotland, by Gunther Abrahamson
In 1939, the little town of Selkirk in the Scottish Borders, welcomed some 20 refugee children, a tiny part of the Kindertransport from Austria, Czechoslovakia, and Germany. These children went on to satisfying careers in Scotland, England, Canada and the United States.
In recognition of the towns hospitality during those dark years, and in consultation with the townsfolk of Selkirk, these Kinder presented the Royal Burgh of Selkirk with a new flag to be waved for the first time in the year 2000 . Not just any flag, but a standard that marks over four and a half centuries of unbroken tradition commemorating the battle of Flodden Field. A battle described as the most shattering and unnecessary of all Scotlands military disasters. The flag, which is a symbolism of that battle, is carried once a year around the towns boundaries by a standard-bearer at gallop on horseback followed by several hundred riders. The flag-waving ceremony, known as the casting of the colours, is a deeply emotional occasion for the people of Selkirk.
We were ,therefore, honoured to be invited by the town authorities officially to present the new burgh flag to the people of Selkirk in a ceremony watched by hundreds in the towns market square. The flag, designed and manufactured locally according to local specifications, displayed on its outer edge a Star of David. Its discovery was a poignant moment and we shall treasure the memory.
To mark the 60th anniversary of our escape from Hitler, the Selkirk Kinder, spouses, children and grand-children who had come together from three continents, had lunch with friends at the Priory, a former childrens home where we once lived but now a hotel. Our reunion, which followed that of the RoK in London, continued in Edinburgh over a long weekend. Friendships made in Selkirk 60 years ago endured time and separation.