Anniversary of assassination sparks plea for memorial cash

[dutchman]

A ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the assassination of a Nazi tyrant by Czechoslovakian airmen based in Leamington will be used to promote an organisation hoping to preserve a memorial to their heroism.

The Czech Fountain in Jephson Gardens stands as a testament to the bravery of the Free Czechoslovak forces who took part in the operation in Prague on May 27, 1942, which saw the eventual death of Reinhard Heydrich, the so-called Protector of Bohemia and Moravia.

Thousands of Czechoslovak forces fled to Britain after the Germans invaded their country and had bases in Warwickshire, including the headquarters in Harrington House, Newbold Terrace, where the Spa Centre is now, Moreton Hall, Moreton Paddox, Walton Hall and Kineton.

The small ceremony will be at 11am on Sunday and those attending are expected to include defence attachés from the Czech and Slovak embassies in London.

Local historian and author Alan Griffin, who wrote Leamington’s Czech Patriots and the Heydrich Assassination, will take the opportunity to publicise the Friends of the Czech Memorial Fountain group.

Mr Griffin said: “It’s starting to get in a fragile state now and will need money to look after it. I hope to hand out leaflets about the friends, the memorial and why it is there.

“It’s an important part of Leamington’s history. At one time the whole of Newbold Terrace was occupied by the Czechs. They would have known Leamington well and a lot of them married local girls.

“It is important to commemorate their bravery, not only in Leamington, but in the Czech Republic as well. It was one of the most important covert operations of the war.”

David Steinke, of the Czech Embassy, said: “It’s an important anniversary of an important act.”

Also attending will be the author John Martin, whose book The Mirror Caught the Sun, also told the tale of the assasination of Heydrich.

The Germans wreaked a terrible revenge on Czechoslovakia following Heydrich’s death. Thousands of innocent civilians were killed and tortured and villages suspected of being involved in the plot were razed to the ground.

In 1993 the country dissolved itself and split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia.