'British Schindler' recalled in lectures

The 50th anniversary of the death of the man dubbed the 'British Schindler' will be marked by the launch of an annual lecture in the Black Country where he set up home.

Annual lectures will commemorate the heroism of Major Frank Foley. The first of the lectures will be held on November 28 at Stourbridge College. The speaker at the first talk is author Michael Smith.

He wrote the biography "Foley: The spy who saved 10,000 Jews."

The lectures were the brainwave of Dudley North MP Ian Austin and Stourbridge MP Lynda Waltho.

Major Foley was an MI6 agent working undercover as the passport control officer in Berlin in the 1930s, where he witnessed the rise of the Nazis at first hand.

The MPs said: "Frank Foley's story is both fascinating and inspirational.

"He saw the persecution suffered by the Jews and did everything he could to help, providing papers to let them escape, forging passports, sheltering people in his own home and even visiting concentration camps to get people out. There is no doubt that he took massive personal risks but his courage and compassion saved tens of thousands of lives."

When Major Foley retired he moved to Stourbridge where he lived until his death in 1958.

The MPs added: "He did not receive a formal recognition or honour for his actions from his own country during his lifetime.

"This year is the 50th anniversary of his death and we believe it is time to organise an event that honours his great work."

The lecture will take place at 7pm.

There is a memorial at Mary Stevens Park, near his home in Eveson Road and the council runs an annual award competition in his name.

In June Mr Austin threw his weight behind a campaign to honour the war hero.

He wants the honours system changed to recognise deceased heroes.

The Holocaust Educational Trust launched a petition to the Prime Minister on the Downing Street website calling for rules to be changed so that awards can be given posthumously to people such as Major Foley.