Whittingehame Farm School
Encyclopedia
Whittingehame Farm School operated from 1939 to 1941, and was located at Whittingehame
, near the village of Stenton
, in East Lothian
, Scotland
. The school was a shelter for Jewish children seeking refuge in Britain, as part of the Kindertransport
mission.
Whittingehame was the estate of the Earl of Balfour
, and had been the property of Arthur Balfour
(1848–1930), former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
and author of the Balfour Declaration, which gave British support to the creation in Palestine
of a national home for the Jewish people. The school opened in January of 1939. Balfour's nephew Viscount Traprain
arranged to take in initially 69 Jewish refugee children. With the financial support, principally, of the Edinburgh
Jewish community, and aid from the local Christian community and the Balfour family, the home eventually accommodated 160 children. The home was set up as a Zionist school to teach agricultural techniques to the children in anticipation that they would settle in Palestine after the war.
The school was closed in 1941 due to financial issues, and because many of the children were older than 17. The young people were absorbed into the British economy. A large number of the Jewish boys volunteered and served, some with distinction, in the British Army during World War II.
British restrictions on the Kindertransport children were harsh. Kindertransport refugees had to be younger than 17 and no adult family members were permitted to accompany the children to Britain. Most of the children's families perished in the Holocaust. After the war, many of the Whittingehame Farm School refugees immigrated to Palestine.
Whittingehame
Whittingehame is a parish with a small village in East Lothian, Scotland, about halfway between Haddington and Dunbar, and near East Linton. The area is on the slopes of the Lammermuir Hills...
, near the village of Stenton
Stenton
Stenton is a parish and village in East Lothian, Scotland. It is bounded on the north by parts of the parishes of Prestonkirk and Dunbar, on the east by Spott and on the west by Whittingehame. The name is said to be of Saxon derivation. In earlier times, when names were often written phonetically,...
, in East Lothian
East Lothian
East Lothian is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and a lieutenancy Area. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Scottish Borders and Midlothian. Its administrative centre is Haddington, although its largest town is Musselburgh....
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. The school was a shelter for Jewish children seeking refuge in Britain, as part of the Kindertransport
Kindertransport
Kindertransport is the name given to the rescue mission that took place nine months prior to the outbreak of the Second World War. The United Kingdom took in nearly 10,000 predominantly Jewish children from Nazi Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Poland and the Free City of Danzig...
mission.
Whittingehame was the estate of the Earl of Balfour
Earl of Balfour
Earl of Balfour is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1922 for the prominent Conservative politician Arthur Balfour. He was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1902 to 1905 and Foreign Secretary from 1916 to 1919...
, and had been the property of Arthur Balfour
Arthur Balfour
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour, KG, OM, PC, DL was a British Conservative politician and statesman...
(1848–1930), former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
and author of the Balfour Declaration, which gave British support to the creation in Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
of a national home for the Jewish people. The school opened in January of 1939. Balfour's nephew Viscount Traprain
Robert Balfour, 3rd Earl of Balfour
Robert Arthur Lytton Balfour, 3rd Earl of Balfour was the son of Gerald Balfour, 2nd Earl of Balfour.Robert was educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge and on 12 February 1925, he married Jean Lily West Roundel Cooke-Yarborough and they had four children:*Gerald Arthur James Balfour, 4th...
arranged to take in initially 69 Jewish refugee children. With the financial support, principally, of the Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
Jewish community, and aid from the local Christian community and the Balfour family, the home eventually accommodated 160 children. The home was set up as a Zionist school to teach agricultural techniques to the children in anticipation that they would settle in Palestine after the war.
The school was closed in 1941 due to financial issues, and because many of the children were older than 17. The young people were absorbed into the British economy. A large number of the Jewish boys volunteered and served, some with distinction, in the British Army during World War II.
British restrictions on the Kindertransport children were harsh. Kindertransport refugees had to be younger than 17 and no adult family members were permitted to accompany the children to Britain. Most of the children's families perished in the Holocaust. After the war, many of the Whittingehame Farm School refugees immigrated to Palestine.