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24
Sept 2023
Harrogate war veteran, 99, to recall Nazi concentration camp liberation
A Harrogate World War II veteran believed to be among the first servicewomen to enter a Nazi concentration camp is to give a talk about her experiences next week.
Sheila Pantin, who will be 100 next month, will give the talk as part of the Harrogate war memorial centenary commemorations.
The event, which is sold out, will take place at the town's West Park United Reformed Church.
Sheila joined the army aged 17 and trained as an ambulance and staff car driver with the Auxiliary Territorial Service, the women’s branch of the British Army, rising to the rank of sergeant.
She became one of the first British servicewomen to enter Belsen concentration camp in April 1945 after its liberation.
Reflecting on the time, Sheila said:
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It was Sheila’s job to look after the survivors in the camp, to clean them, dress them, show them how to use a knife and fork, to try to restore a little humanity after the horrors of the Nazi Holocaust.
Sheila’s talk will take place on Wednesday, September 27, and forms part of a wider selection of events taking place as part of the commemoration.
More details of the centenary commemorations are available here.
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