Kehilat Middlesbrough Newsletter Issue No 3 July 1999 page 3

I left M’bro when I was eleven and moved to London. In 1939 I joined the RAF and during my leave from Italy I attended Rabbi Miller’s daughter’s wedding in M’bro, where I met my future wife, Anne Bloom.

I remember Rabbi Miller at cheder twisting your ear if you were naughty. Our gang in those days was Alan Freeman, Ronnie Niman and Myer Baum. Our shoe shop was in Cannon street and I went to Boundary Road school.

Ronnie Goodman

Middlesbrough

I belong to M’bro—by marriage. My husband was Ronnie Bharier. He left M’bro when he was 12 and eventually came to live in Palmers Green, where we met. We got married in 1957 and visited M’bro a few times to see Louis and Minnie Bharier.

Julian Vyner was right—you can’t take the M’bro out of the boy. Ronnie was always a "M’bro boy".

Nita Bharier

Southgate, London, England

I just discovered the wonderful website for M’bro. Last year we (Exeter shul) were very fortunate to receive from M’bro siddurim and machzorim that have been so useful to this small but active (and growing a little bit) congregation. It’s wonderful to have enough books for all the congregation, and we appreciate M’bro’s generosity in helping us.

Frank J Gent Exeter shul

 

Middlesbrough Memories – late 40s to early 60s

-Learning to swim at the Thornaby Baths with Harold Stock.

-Sneaking into Ayresome Park, with other kids at half-time, on Shabbat afternoons to watch the second half of the Boro matches - and seeing prominent shul officials there in their boxes!

-The Transporter Bridge. We would sometimes climb the stairs and walk across the top, with its spectacular views of the docks, shipyards, grimy industry pumping out wastes into the air, and the more attractive view to the south of the Cleveland Hills.

-The rather stuffy Dorman Memorial Museum.

-Sneaking across the street from shul into the Albert Park for walks during the lengthy Yom Kippur services.

-Rambles on the Moors with Sam Hyman

-Going down to the beach at Saltburn on the funicular.

-Purim parties at Dorman’s Hall.

-Standing outside shul on shabbat afternoon waiting for a minyan.

-Playing conkers in Linthorpe School.

-The annual battle of the tunes over the Piyyut "Omnom Ken/ Solachti" (written interestingly in mediaeval times by Rabbi Yomtov of York only 50 miles away) during the Kol Nidrei service, between Rev Kersh and the old timers of the shul. Did they, perhaps, have Rabbi Yomtov's original melody?

-The infamous Pesach Matzah Ramble on the Moors, during, which half the kids got separated from the older ones in the dark and wandered into a bog. Shoes were lost. Fortunately, after much parental agonizing and phone calls from a remote farmhouse, all got home safely.

-Daffodils in Farndale.

-Watching the Jewish thespians at the Little Theatre.

-Coughing because of the pollution on the way to Seaton Carew.

-Going to the Empire to see pantomimes on Chanuka.

-Going to Brunton’s Farm in Tollesby to have them hand milk the cows for Pesach milk.

Michael Bharier

Providence, Rhode Island, USA

 

International Press

Comment

Actualité Juive, the national Jewish French weekly, published an article, "Middlesbrough – Communauté Virtuelle" in its issue of 13 May 1999.

The first two issues of our Newsletter reached Actualité Juive, the French equivalent of the Jewish Chronicle. They were interested in seeing what happens to dying congregations in France and in learning from similar communities in the UK.

The article explained that this was a purely M’bro phenomenon. No other dying community in the UK was doing what we were doing. We have been asked to send them all future issues of our Newsletter. They feel that historians will have much to learn from them. The full text of the article is available on our website. It is interesting to note that we are receiving comments and reactions from other non-M’bro sources—it appears that our readers are passing round the Newsletters in a big way: keep it up!

(More letters on page 4 )

Boro Quiz no 3

1. Who was the only footballer to captain both M’bro and England?

2. Which present-day pop singer has family who owned an ice cream shop in Linthorpe Road?

3. What was the motto of the M’bro High School?

4. What is the Bottle of Notes?

5. Where is the original sundial with faded Hebrew letters and where is a copy now kept, showing the original wording?

6. Whose was the last Brit, Barmitzvah, Wedding, Succah—and when were they?

7. Who was the longest-serving Rabbi/Reverend?

8. Name 3 Ministers prior to Rabbi Epstein.

9. Which distinguished North East Rabbi spent a shabbat at the Barmitzvah of Melvyn, son of Rev Kersh in 1952?

10. Name 5 members who attained officer rank in World War Two.