Salford Jews are telling their life stories as part of a Lottery-funded heritage project incorporating a BBC documentary.

Let the Elders Speak has been awarded £20,000 of Heritage Lottery cash to portray the lives of 15 elderly residents of the strictly Orthodox Beenstock care home, most of them female. Many are Holocaust survivors, with their stories the basis of an exhibition for Salford City Council’s Salford Hub for Holocaust Memorial Day.

Portrait photographer Gwen Riley Jones, who grew up in Yorkshire with little connection to her grandmother’s Salford Jewish roots, has supplied images for the exhibition.

“My grandfather escaped Germany to Didsbury, where I went for Jewish holidays like Pesach and Chanucah, but I was not brought up with the Jewish religion,” she said. “I wanted to explore my Jewish roots. These women’s stories are inspiring.”

Through its volunteer services, the BBC is contributing a 15-minute film which will feature subjects including 94-year-old Tobi Klein.

Project manager Chava Rosenzweig said it highlighted the contribution of “Jewish refugee women who settled in Britain with very little and have made so much out of their lives”.