Holocaust Memorial Day

West Ham United Joint-Chairman David Gold represented the club at a local community civic event to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day.

Mr Gold and staff from West Ham United Community Sports Trust [CST] joined more than 200 people, including Mayor of Newham Sir Robin Wales. residents and schoolchildren at a special service at Newham Town Hall in East Ham.

The event was to remember and reflect on the estimated eleven million people that were killed by the Nazis during World War Two. Jews, homosexuals, Jehovah's Witnesses, Soviet prisoners of war, people of Roma and Sinti origin and the disabled were among those who needlessly died.

At the service, Mr Gold lit one of six candles - each one representing a million of the six million Jewish people who died during the Holocaust. Others were lit by the Mayor, Newham Council Chief Executive Kim Bromley-Derry, Professor Michael Berkowitz from University College London and several local schoolchildren.

There were also poems and stories read out by children along with music, plus testimonies that had been written by survivors of the Holocaust.

David Gold

Mayor Sir Robin Wales said: "If we can stand together, we can make sure those who lost their lives to intolerance are never forgotten. We can make sure that intolerance and bigotry, whether it is in our schools or in the local community, is challenged and defeated. We can all play our part."

Mr Gold and apprentice staff from the West Ham CST attendance at the event marked the continuing commitment by the club to promote tolerance and inclusion in all areas.

Last weekend, the club marked Holocaust Memorial Day - which actually falls on Sunday 27 January - at the home match against Queens Park Rangers, with the traditional candle lighting before the kick-off, along with several guests from the club and local community.

As part of its Moore ThanA Football Club mantra, West Ham remains committed to tackling discrimination in whatever form it takes and will be continuing to promote events and campaigns that highlight and combat prejudice towards disability, race, sex, sexual orientation and religion throughout the year.