A SPECIAL Holocaust memorial service was held in Harwich for the first time following the unveiling of Harwich’s Kindertransport memorial.

Holocaust Memorial Day is commemorated every year on January 27 to honour the six million victims of the Holocaust.

The date is the anniversary of the liberation of the concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1945.

Following the unveiling of the Kindertransport memorial at Harwich Quay last year, Harwich Town Council decided the site would be a fitting focal point for Holocaust Memorial Day.

Harwich mayor Ivan Henderson said: “The Kindertransport Memorial recognises Harwich’s role in the protection of many thousands of Jewish children through the Kindertransport but it also offers a focal point for us to remember and reflect on the horror of the Holocaust.

“It is only a small act of remembrance and reflection, but Harwich Town Council believes it to be an important one."

The ceremony saw candles and floral tributes placed at the memorial to commemorate the victims of the Holocaust and there was also a minute’s silence and a short poem read by a member of the local Jewish community.