Reading’s Marcia Perkin has completed a unique fellowship in Holocaust Studies under the auspices of the Imperial War Museum and the Institute of Education, University of London.

Mrs Perkin, 63, was one of 25 people to take part in the fellowship, supported by the ICHEIC humanitarian fund and Yad Vashem, she has been interested in the Holocaust since the age of 10. She tells People: “I realised my father’s friend was a survivor, which started me off thinking about it when I was quite young.” She has since spent more than 50 years learning about it. “People are talking about the Holocaust more than they used to.” A member of the Reading Hebrew Congregation, she is actively involved in Holocaust education in the town and has been an organiser of Holocaust Memorial Day, which took place on Wednesday, for nine years.