Willesden Jewish Cemetery

Willesden Cemetery, which opened in 1873, is one of London’s most prestigious Jewish cemeteries.  It is run by the United Synagogue who were fortunate to be awarded a £1.7m grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund to open Willesden Jewish Cemetery as a place of heritage for the public.  The United Synagogue website describes the Cemetery as “a place of great tranquillity, the cemetery charts the development of London’s Jewish community over nearly 150 years, with graves and memorials rich in social history and genealogical detail”. Tours and since COVID, online presentations, seek to convey this richness to audiences by bringing alive the stories of a sample of those buried in the Cemetery.  This will be a first for Deborah presenting to a live audience outside the Cemetery.

Deborah Cohen lives close by the Cemetery and became a volunteer tour guide in 2019.  She is a former NHS director, and has not quite stopped working as she chairs a local safeguarding adults board, does some consultancy, and is a Mental Health Act manager.  Deborah describes her experience as a tour guide as being on a voyage of discovery, as she learns more and more about the “residents” of the Cemetery, including people who made remarkable contributions to life in the UK and beyond during their lives.

To register for attending either in person or virtually please book via eventbrite