Photograph of the Jewish Home for the Aged featuring a plaque commemorating the Silver Wedding anniversary of Mr and Mrs Sam Cohen, Cardiff

Description

A black and white photograph of five individuals connected with the Jewish Home for the Aged: President of the Home, Mr Sam Cohen and his wife; Rev. Grey and Elsie and Barnett Janner. A plaque is visible in the left-hand corner of the photograph which commemorates the Silver Wedding Anniversary of Mr and Mrs Sam Cohen. The dates of their marriage are visible but not easily legible. Beneath the dates, the words 'And as an appreciation of their work for this home' are visible.

Sir Barnett Janner was born in Lithuania then moved to Barry, South Wales when he was 6 months old. He was a Labour Member of Parliament for Leicester from 1945- 1970 and was known in parliament for being the spokesman of Zionist views, becoming the secretary for a pro-Zionist parliamentary group he formed. Between 1955 and 1964, Janner was the president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews. Janner was present at numerous other events held by the Jewish Home for the Aged such as the Home's 21 birthday celebrations and the official opening of a new wing in 1965. Janner married Elsie Sybil Cohen (pictured next to him in the photograph) in 1927.

Names written in pencil feature on the back of the photograph. These appear to be "Mr and Mrs Barnett", "Rev. Grey" and "Mr and Mrs S. Cohen". The photographer's stamp is also on the back and reads 'Paul Norton, Incorporated Photographer, 24 Wellfield Road, Cardiff phone 46752'.

Pencare (formerly known as 'The Trustees of Penylan House') is a charity, which offers care for elderly people of the Jewish faith and is currently based in Cardiff, although the catchment area for the home covers South Wales and the West of England. Pencare has been working with Linc Cymru to redevelop their care home, Penylan House, to ensure high quality care to Cardiff's elderly Jewish community and extending the care to elderly people not of the Jewish faith.

Mr Henry Silver and other members of the community had originally founded a Home for the Aged in 1946 in Canton, which then moved to Penarth, its official opening being 5 December 1948, to provide a larger space for its large number of applications. Despite the beautiful surroundings, the Home in Penarth was quite isolated so the difficult decision was later taken to move the Home to Penylan Road in Cardiff, meaning many residents were now closer to their friends and relatives. Residents moved to Penylan House in 1959.

Sources:
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/lord-barnett-janner;
http://opencharities.org/charities/243968 http://www.housingcare.org/downloads/facilities/generated-brochures/134508-penylan-house-nursing-home-cardiff-wales.pdf;
Cajex, Magazine of the Association of Jewish Ex-service Men and Women (Cardiff), Vol. IX, No. 1, Ninth Year - March, 1959, pp. 60- 65.

Depository: Glamorgan Archives.