Joanna Millan, 81, were among the 300 Jewish orphans flown to the Lake District at the end of the Second World War, and among them was Rob Rinder's grandad Morris Malenicky
ByEmma PryerFreelancer
20:57, 20 Jan 2024
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It was nearly 80 years ago but Joanna Millan remembers being terrified by the deafening noise of the engines as the RAF airlifted her to freedom aged three.
She and her five brothers and sisters, all aged three and four, were among over 300 Jewish orphans flown to the Lake District in converted Stirling bombers at the end of the Second World War.
The emaciated survivors of Nazi death camps in eastern Europe were given new lives and dubbed the Windermere Children – the title of a 2020 BBC film about their story.
Joanna, 81, says: “I only have flashes of memory but we weren’t told where we were going. Our understanding was that if you left the camp it was bad news – nobody ever came back.”