Dr Helen Fry & Professor Clare Ungerson explore explores the remarkable early WW2 history of Kitchener Camp, near Sandwich in Kent. Refuge to nearly 4,000 Jewish refugees, the extraordinary daily life of the camp is uncovered and illuminated by Clare Ungerson. How would the people of Sandwich, a town the size of the camp, react to so many German Jews amongst them? Especially with a prominent Fascist living nearby. Then, from the end of 1939, the camp became the official army training centre for the ‘alien’ Pioneer Corps which saw the training of around 2,000 men. Life in the camp was illuminated by entertainment from the refugee orchestra and theatre productions under the guidance of Coco the Clown. 

Professor Clare Ungerson was an academic in the field of Social Policy for nearly 40 years. On retirement from the University of Southampton, she moved to Sandwich in Kent. She has undertaken years of research into the history of Kitchener Camp, recently published as 'Four Thousand Lives: The Rescue of German Jewish Men to Britain, 1939.’ 

Dr Helen Fry has written widely on refugee-history, especially the ‘alien’ Pioneer Corps, including 'Churchill's German Army'.