Plans have been unveiled for events to mark Holocaust Memorial Day.

And for this first time, sadly one person who won't be present will be Harry Grenville from Dorchester who died in November aged 92.

Holocaust evacuee Mr Grenville was a regular speaker at the Dorchester event, and also visited local schools to talk about his experiences.

A memorial event is planned to celebrate the life of Mr Grenville.

Emma Scott, Community Development Officer at Dorchester Town Council, said: “We are very sad that Harry Grenville will not be with us at this year's Holocaust Memorial Day event as our keynote speaker.

"Having been a regular contributor for many years, Harry’s first-hand reflections of surviving the Holocaust himself, through being brought to the UK as a child, served as a powerful reminder that these terrible events have happened in the not so distance past.

"Harry spoke at the event, as well as visiting local schools, to help ensure that we remain aware of the risks, sadly lurking in every society, of these types of genocides taking place again.

"As well as his work for peace, Harry contributed in so many other ways to his local community as well, volunteering for a range of different organisations, all of whom feel his loss, as indeed does the whole town."

Mr Grenville came from a Jewish family, which lived near Stuttgart before the Second World War.

He escaped Nazi persecution after the Night of Broken Glass in November, 1938.

He and sister Hannah were among 10,000 Jewish children evacuated from Germany to Britain, where he went to live with a foster family in Cornwall.

The siblings knew their parents and grandmother had been sent to an internment camp in Czechoslovakia and had been able to exchange brief messages with them via the Red Cross.

But in October 1944, they received a final note from Harry’s father which said they were being sent ‘east’ – an ominous sign they were heading for the extermination camps in Poland.

In 2013, Mr Grenville discovered that his parents had died in Auschwitz. He received a picture which showed his father’s suitcase among a pile at the infamous concentration camp.

The theme for this year's Holocaust Memorial Day this year is “Torn from Home” and marks the 25th anniversary of the Genocide in Rwanda. It provides an opportunity to remember those who died in the Holocaust and subsequent genocides.

A free event organised by the the South West Dorset Multi Cultural Network takes place at the Corn Exchange in Dorchester this Friday, January 25 between 12.30pm-1.30pm.

Everyone is invited to join the commemoration which includes readings from local schools, poetry and music from network members.

The event will conclude with a lighting of candles, and a minute’s silence. Free refreshments will be served afterwards.

The Corn Exchange will open from midday to allow time to view exhibits before the event commences at 12.30pm. The South West Dorset Multicultural Network will be putting exhibitions up about the Holocaust in libraries in Weymouth, Dorchester and Bridport.

A time to remember:

The theme for this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day this year is “Torn from Home” and marks the 25th anniversary of the Genocide in Rwanda. It provides an opportunity to remember those who died in the Holocaust and subsequent genocides.

A free event organised by the the South West Dorset Multi Cultural Network takes place at the Corn Exchange in Dorchester this Friday, January 25 between 12.30pm-1.30pm.

Everyone is invited to join the commemoration which includes readings from local schools, poetry and music from network members. The event will conclude with a lighting of candles, and a minute’s silence. Free refreshments will be served afterwards.

The Corn Exchange will open from midday to allow time to view exhibits before the event commences at 12.30pm. The South West Dorset Multicultural Network will be putting exhibitions up about the Holocaust in libraries in Weymouth, Dorchester and Bridport.