Photograph of the opening of the Jewish Home for elderly in Canton, Cardiff, 1946

Description

A photograph of the official opening of the South Wales, Monmouthshire and West of England Home for Aged Jews by Dayan Lazarus, Deputy Chief Rabbi, and M. A. Rapport, Esq., on 21 July 1946. The opening was followed by a reception organised at Connaught Rooms on Queen Street in Cardiff.

Mr Henry Silver and other members of the Cardiff Jewish community had originally founded a Home for the Aged in Canton. In December 1948, the Home moved to Holme Towers in Penarth to provide more space for its large number of applications. Despite the beautiful surroundings, the Home in Penarth was quite isolated, so the difficult decision was later taken to move the Home to Penylan Road in Cardiff, meaning many residents were now closer to their friends and relatives. Residents moved to Penylan House in February 1959.

The Rev. Harris M. Lazarus, acting Chief Rabbi of the British Empire, was Dayan of the London Beth Din and heavily involved in assisting Belgian refugees during the World War II. Maurice A. Rapport, Esq., was a founder of Rapport Ltd, a watchmaking company.

Pencare (formerly known as 'The Trustees of Penylan House') is a charity, which offers care for elderly people of the Jewish faith and is currently based in Cardiff, although the catchment area for the home covers South Wales and the West of England. Pencare has been working with Linc Cymru to redevelop their care home, Penylan House, to ensure high quality care to Cardiff's elderly Jewish community and extending the care to elderly people not of the Jewish faith.

Sources:
Cajex, Magazine of the Association of Jewish Ex-service Men and Women (Cardiff), Vol. IX, No. 1, Ninth Year - March, 1959, pp. 60- 65;
https://www.jewsfww.london/dayan-harris-m-lazarus-1760.php; https://www.rapportlondon.com/about-rapport-heritage.html; http://opencharities.org/charities/243968 http://www.housingcare.org/downloads/facilities/generated-brochures/134508-penylan-house-nursing-home-cardiff-wales.pdf.

Depository: Glamorgan Archives.