Bob Kirk – a key figure in the life of The Liberal Jewish Synagogue and wider UK Jewish community – has died, aged 99.

Bob was born in Hanover, Germany, in 1925. After Kristallnacht in 1938, he travelled to the UK alone on the Kindertransport. He met wife Ann – who also escaped the Nazis via the Kindertransport – at a club for Jewish refugees and they married in 1950.

Together Bob and Ann used their experiences to educate thousands of schoolchildren about the Holocaust and were awarded British Empire Medals in recognition of this work. They were members of the LJS for 70+ years, where their regular volunteering saw them presented with an Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award by the Jewish Volunteering Network.

Tributes to Bob have been sent in from friends, colleagues and admirers across the Jewish community.

Progressive Judaism Co-Lead Rabbi Charley Baginsky said: “Bob Kirk was an incredible man and educator – who we were proud to have as part of The Liberal Jewish Synagogue and our Liberal and Progressive Jewish community.”

Association of Jewish Refugees CEO Michael Newman added: “Bob and Ann were kindred spirits – their relationship symbolised a message of hope born out of the horror of the Holocaust. He will be deeply missed by the whole community.”

Our thoughts are with Ann, the Kirk family and all those in mourning.