Letter from Margaret Thatcher thanking the Newport Mon Hebrew Congregation for their kind words after the Brighton Bombing, London, 23 October 1984

Description

A handwritten thank you letter from Margaret Thatcher who was the British Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990. The letter thanks the Newport Mon Hebrew Congregation for their kind words after the bombing of a Brighton hotel where Margaret Thatcher and her cabinet were staying during a Conservative Party conference. The bomb was planted by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) in an attempt to kill Margaret Thatcher. Five people were killed in the bombing.

The letter reads "Thank you for your kind words about the bomb outrage in Brighton. The many hundreds of messages I have received have been a great source of support and comfort to me. They demonstrate the overwhelming feeling of our people that terrorism and violence must never prevail over freedom and democracy. Yours sincerely, Margret Thatcher"

Newport Monmouthshire Hebrew Congregation was founded in 1859 by orthodox Jews meeting at a temporary synagogue in Llanarth Street. A synagogue at Francis Street was opened in 1869 and consecrated by the Chief Rabbi Dr Herman Adler in 1871. In 1934 the congregation moved to their Nathan Harris Memorial Hall in Queen's Hill which was converted to a synagogue. In 1997 this synagogue was closed, and the congregation moved to their Prayer House by the Jewish Burial Ground on Risca Road. Within 20 years the congregation had dwindled to a few members able to attend and this too had ceased to hold services.

Sources:
"History of our Shul. The First Hundred Years", published by Newport Congregation in 1959;
Oral history interviews with members of the Newport Mon Hebrew Congregation, recorded in 2018 by JHASW.

Depository: Gwent Archives.