Born to German-Jewish parents who had immigrated to Britain at the beginning of the 20th century, Winton assisted in the rescue of children from Czechoslovakia on the eve of World War II.
On a brief visit to Czechoslovakia, he helped compile a list of children in danger and, returning to Britain, he worked to fulfill the legal requirements of bringing the children to Britain and finding homes and sponsors for them. His humanitarian accomplishments remained unknown and unnoticed by the world for nearly 50 years until when he was invited to the BBC television programme That's Life!
The British press celebrated him and dubbed him the "British Schindler ". Winton died in , aged His elder sister was Charlotte β and his younger brother was Robert β In , Winton entered Stowe School , which had just opened. He also earned a banking qualification in France. Returning to London, he became a broker at the London Stock Exchange.
Shortly before Christmas , Winton was planning to travel to Switzerland for a skiing holiday. Following a call for help from Marie Schmolka and Doreen Warriner , [ 17 ] he decided instead to visit Prague and help Martin Blake, [ 9 ] who was in Prague as an associate of the British Committee for Refugees from Czechoslovakia , [ 18 ] then in the process of being occupied by Germany , and had called Winton to ask him to assist in Jewish welfare work.
Other foreign volunteers remained, such as Chadwick, Warriner and Wellington. An important obstacle was getting official permission to cross into the Netherlands, as the children were to embark on the ferry at The Hook of Holland. Following Kristallnacht in November , the Dutch government officially closed its borders to any Jewish refugees.
