Carry Sherman was born Carry Knoop in Amsterdam in June 1939. Her family lived in a predominantly Jewish area in the flat above their tobacco shop. Her father worked in a diamond factory. She has no memories of her life in Amsterdam.

On the 14th May 1940, her uncle came to tell the family that there was an opportunity to get out of the Netherlands as the German army was approaching. Her parents, her maternal grandfather, paternal Grandmother, one uncle and one aunt managed to board a ship, the SS Bodegraven. They brought no luggage. After their arrival in Liverpool, they were sent to Wigan, then, because of the father’s profession in the diamond trade, to Bangor and later further south. Her parents joined Neerlandia, a Dutch organisation. Her mother later returned to Holland and lived in a home there until she died. They only joined a synagogue when Carry’s older sister, Selma, got married.

After finishing school, Carry trained with Marks & Spencer and worked in the accounts department until she had her first child. She met her husband in the West Central Club, a Jewish organisation. They joined Pinner Synagogue and embraced Jewish community life. She is still involved in Pinner Synagogue and is also a volunteer with the AJR.

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Key words: Knoop. Amsterdam. Diamond trade. Bodegraven. AJR volunteer