Former Rotarian Sir Nicholas Winton is one of six British humanitarians to have had commemorative postage stamps issued in their honour by the Royal Mail.
The monochrome portraits will be available from Tuesday 15th March, and celebrate those who have carried out special acts of benevolence in their life.
Sir Nicholas was an active member of the Rotary Club of Maidenhead until his death in July 2015 at the age of 106, having first joined the club in 1959.
He started his working life as a stock broker, before joining the Royal Air Force in 1940. What Nicholas is most renowned for is his extraordinary rescue programme, in which he helped children flee Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia during the Second World War.
Through Nicholas’ brave efforts, ‘kindertransport’ was arranged for 669 Jewish children, who left Prague for Britain, where Nicholas had also arranged for each child to be placed with host families in England, saving them from almost certain death.
Mike Holness, former Secretary of the Rotary Club of Maidenhead said of Nicholas: “His life has been one of quiet service. We are very proud to have had him as a member of our club and of Rotary, and a commemoration of this type is wholly fitting for his remarkable life and selflessness.”
Nicholas’ modesty is often cited as the quality that made him such a special humanitarian, and his astonishing story has been shared far and wide, including a recent BBC documentary; ‘Children Rescued from the Nazis: The Story of Sir Nicholas Winton’.
Alongside Nicholas in receiving the honour are humanitarians Sue Ryder, John Boyd Orr, Eglantyne Jebb, Joseph Rowntree and Josephine Butler.
You can purchase the commemorative stamp set and First Day Covers from the Royal Mail online store.
Published: Monday 14th March 2016
