Speaking on BBC Somerset, Pam Lyes from Highbridge's Frank Foley Committee said the plaque was being organised by the West London Synagogue of British Jews and the Three Faith Forum. The plaque was unveiled in London on 29 April 2007. Born in Highbridge in 1884, Major Frank Foley was an MI6 agent who used his cover as a passport control officer at the British Embassy in Berlin during the 1930s to provide the necessary papers for Jewish people to leave Nazi Germany for sanctuary.
A deeply religious Catholic who frequently risked his own life by venturing into concentration camps to help free Jewish internees, he also assisted them to obtain forged passports and even hid them in his own home until they were able to leave Germany. His selfless bravery saved the lives of thousands, maybe tens of thousands, of Jewish people - many of who remained in ignorance of their unassuming benefactor's identity. A statue by Jonathan Sells was unveiled in front of Highbridge Community Centre on Market Street in May 2005. |