Statue honors Sir Nicholas Winton
Rotary International News -- 10 November 2010
Sir Nicholas Winton, seated front, is joined by members of the Maidenhead Rotary Club during the unveiling of a statue in his likeness.
Photo courtesy Maidenhead Rotary Club
Sir Nicholas Winton, a member of the Rotary Club of Maidenhead, England, is best known for his role in saving hundreds of children, mostly Jewish, from the advancing Nazis in Prague during World War II.
In September, the 101-year-old Rotarian joined members of his club at the unveiling of a life-size statue in his honor at the railway station in Maidenhead.
The bronze work by Maidenhead sculptor Lydia Karpinska shows Sir Nicholas sitting on a bench reading a book. The book depicts images of the children he saved and the trains he used to transport them from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia to Britain in 1939.
"We are very proud and honored to have Sir Nicholas as a member of our club," said Rosario Sardo, president of the Maidenhead Rotary Club, who attended the dedication along with 200 others. "He is a very modest and charming man, and a model Rotarian, inspiring all of us to maintain the Rotary ideals."
Sir Nicholas has been a Rotarian for more than 40 years and served as club president in 1973-74. He continues as a member of the community service committee for the Maidenhead club, and is also the president of three local charities.
Read more about Sir Nicholas in an article from the December 2008 issue of The Rotarian.