This website has been created to record the history of the Benjamin and Ryan families of my parents.
My parents came from very different backgrounds;
Edgar Benjamin was my father. He was born in Germany and was part of a Jewish family that were victims of Nazi persecution. Most of the Benjamin family escaped from Germany however Edgar’s mother, Stephanie (my Grandmother) was unable to escape and was murdered during the holocaust. Edgar was sent to England on one of the first Kindertransport as a 10 year old boy and housed in a hostel in Glasgow, Scotland. He was later joined in Scotland by his father, Georg Benjamin, where they were able to make a new life for themselves and eventually settled in York, England.
Mary Ryan (known as Maureen), was my mother. She was born in County Tipperary, Ireland and was part of a Catholic family that were primarily farmers. My mother decided to train to be a nurse and she travelled to England when she was 19 years old to begin her training.
Edgar Benjamin and Maureen Ryan met during the 1960’s in York and were married in 1966. They had a daughter in 1970 and a son in 1971. Unfortunately Edgar died suddenly in 1981 aged 53, leaving Maureen to bring both children up alone.
The rest they say is history……
George