SIR WINTON X NBCF – The Crossing

The Story: Winton and the Kindertransport

In the months leading up to the Second World War, Europe was closing in on itself. For Jewish families in Nazi-occupied territories, the options were narrowing fast.

In 1938, a young British stockbroker, Nicholas Winton, visited Prague. What he found was not yet war, but the certainty of what was coming. Families were already trying to get their children out.

Winton did not wait for permission.

Working from a makeshift office, he began organising what would become part of the Kindertransport programme. He coordinated transport lists, secured travel documents, raised funds, and found British families willing to take in children they had never met.

Each child required a £50 guarantee. Without it, they could not enter the country.

Between March and August 1939, 669 children were transported from Prague to Britain by train and ferry. They travelled alone. Many would never see their parents again.

They arrived in London, at Liverpool Street Station, before being dispersed across the country. Some were taken in by families. Others were placed in hostels. Their journeys did not end at arrival. They continued into unfamiliar towns, new homes, and uncertain futures.

The final train, scheduled for 1 September 1939, was cancelled the day war broke out. Around 250 children on that transport are believed to have perished.

Winton did not speak about what he had done for nearly 50 years. His role only became public in 1988, when documents were discovered by his wife. He was later knighted for his actions.

The Kindertransport is often told as a story of rescue. It is also a story of separation, uncertainty, and the decisions made by parents who sent their children away with no guarantee of reunion.

For Merseyside and Wirral, this history is not abstract. Some of those children were later brought to the North West, taken in by local families, placed in hostels, and supported by communities that chose to act.

The Crossing draws from this reality.

Not as a fixed route between two places, but as a shared moment in history.
A decision to leave. A decision to receive. A decision to make space for someone else’s future.

The artwork

The Artwork

The mural is structured as a three-part composition:

• Left panel: Central Europe. Children on a railway platform with suitcases, preparing to leave. No depiction of conflict — focus remains on the human moment.

• Centre panel (“The crossing”): Sir Nicholas Winton stands on the railway tracks, arms extended to both sides, acting as a symbolic bridge between two groups of children.

• Right panel: Merseyside. British children being evacuated during the Blitz, carrying similar belongings, facing similar uncertainty.

The composition is continuous rather than divided, allowing the viewer to recognise the emotional symmetry between both journeys.

Interpretive themes include:

• Safe passage and uncertainty

• Childhood under displacement

• Parallel histories across Europe and Britain

• The role of individuals in enabling collective survival

The visual language is intended to be restrained and human-led, avoiding spectacle or overt wartime imagery.

Current status

Local Connection

Research from the Kindertransport records confirms that children from the Prague transports were placed across Merseyside and Wirral.

Documented locations include:

• Liverpool (including organised refugee committees)

• Birkenhead and Rock Ferry

• Wallasey and West Kirby

• Moreton, Bebington and Neston

Named entries show children placed with local families, housed in hostels, or supported through regional refugee committees and guarantors.

This establishes a direct connection between the Kindertransport story and the local area.

The project does not position New Brighton as a transport site. It reflects the role the wider region played in receiving and supporting displaced children.

Location

Location is currently under consideration.

Selection criteria:

• High visibility within New Brighton

• Alignment with the OpenAIR Gallery trail

• Adequate wall width for a continuous narrative composition

• Strong sightlines from pedestrian routes

• Willing participation from property owners

Final site will be confirmed during the funding and permissions phase.

Timeline (Indicative)

Spring–Summer 2026
Concept development
Artist engagement
Historical validation
Initial stakeholder conversations

Summer–Autumn 2026
Funding applications
Sponsorship outreach
Site confirmation
Final design development

2027 (target)
Installation
Public reveal

Funding & Support

This project requires external funding and sponsorship.

It sits at the intersection of:

• Public art

• Local history and heritage

• Migration and refugee narratives

• Community identity

Potential partners include:

• Heritage and cultural organisations

• Liverpool City Region and local authority partners

• Education and community institutions

• Private sponsors aligned with cultural and social impact

Opportunities include:

• Named sponsorship

• Cultural partnership alignment

• Inclusion in launch and documentation

• Educational engagement and legacy content

Public Engagement & Legacy

The project is designed to extend beyond the mural itself.

Potential outputs:

• Educational material for schools linked to local history

• Digital documentation of the research and artwork process

• Oral history contributions where available

• Integration into the OpenAIR Gallery trail and map

The aim is to create a lasting cultural asset that connects visual art with local historical awareness.