It was a successful start to the season of Spring walks...but a little sad! THE SUFFERING CITY theme looks at the places and recalls some of the events which have caused pain and suffering over the last 2,000 years - and there were plenty of them.
Riots, plagues, fires, wars, terrorism.....London has had its fair share. The mood was set right at the beginning of the walk when we paused on the forecourt of Liverpool Street station to see the small statue of the child who represents the 'Kindertransport'.
For two years just before the start of World War Two, Jewish parents in Germany, Czechoslovakia, Austria and Poland sent their children to England to escape the menace of the Nazis. These children, 10,000 altogether, arrived alone in a strange land and were dispersed around the country - to foster homes, orphanages, farms - to stay in relative safety for the rest of the war. Most never went back. Their parents died in concentration camps and the children were alone - and sometimes unwanted.
It is a poignant memorial on Liverpool Street Station - the place where they all stepped off the train to a new life in a strange country. Today those children are in their 70s and 80s and have children and grandchildren of their own. They still remember the time when they said goodbye to their own parents - and the stories on their web site are a sad reminder of an horrific past.
London is full of stories of triumph and despair, glory and tragedy, bravery and drama. You can hear about them on a LONDON FOOTSTEPS walk.
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