Jewish East End Celebration Society
4A Cornwall Mews South, London, SW7 4RX
[email protected]

We've had a request for help from local historian Siri Christiansen, whose letter to JEECS chairman Clive Bettington is below.

 She would love to hear from people with ideas that she might follow up on. Send any messages to me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and we will forward them.

She writes: My name is Siri Christiansen and I am currently working on a series of articles for Roman Road LDN about the local Jewish history in Mile End, Globe Town, Bow, Bethnal Green and Hackney Wick. My previous articles cover the Novo and Velho cemeteries and can be found here. In the coming weeks, I am cooking up three pieces on the Mile End Pogrom, Daniel Mendoza and Samuel Falk, the Baal Shem of London.

According to my internet research findings, the Jewish history in our part of the East End is not as well-documented online as in Aldgate, Whitechapel and more central locations. Therefore, I thought it would be best to reach out to a professional to see if I can dig up something perhaps a little less known. Given your role as chairman of the Jewish East End Celebration Society, you seem like someone who might be able to help me.

Do you happen to know of any interesting characters who lived in/wrote about/is buried in our area, or any event that took place in our area, or anything else that might be of interest?

Any information you could provide would be of huge help and very appreciated.

Best regards and stay safe,

Siri Christiansen.

Latest news

  • Bloom's book launch

    Many of us will remember the iconic Bloom's kosher restaurant in Whitechapel and its offshoots in Edgware and Golders Green. Its fascinating history is the subject of a new book which has its official launch at Finchley Church End Library, 318-320, Gateway House, Regents Park Rd, London, N3 2LN, on Sunday June 1 from 2.30 (but please arrive by 2.00) to Read More
  • Oral history of the Jewish East End

    Professor Jason Shela MBE recently contacted us about a research project he is currently conducting to collect the oral histories of people who grew up in London’s East End (which include his father, grandparents and great grandparents). Read More
  • Cinema book author needs your help

      Do you or your family have connections with the cinema in the East End? If so, Isabelle Seddon would love to hear from you. Read More
  • Three great films at JW3

    Three great films, including the Jewish East End classic East Endings, are being screened together at JW3, the Jewish cultural centre, in showings from Sunday April 6 through to April 10. Read More
  • Hackney History Festival returns for second year

    Not just the Jewish East End but the broader history and culture of an area that had a thriving Jewish life. Yes, the Hackney History Festival is back for its second year, even bigger and better. Running over two weekends, 10–11 May and 17–18 May, with satellite events throughout May, this year’s festival is a celebration of Hackney’s incredible past, with a jam-packed programme of Read More
  • Do you know the Gramophone Man?

    JEECS has been asked if anyone knows the name of the Gramophone Man, pictured here, his back story, when he retired, and the sort of music he played. Read More
  • More emerges about H Lotery and Co

    A while back, we had a reader asking if anyone had any information about a company his mother had worked for in the East End and which she remembered as being called Lottries. The inquiry sparked some fascinating replies, which identified the company as H Lotery and Co, and we've just had a response from the grandson of the company's Read More
  • Project seeks material and memories from the legendary Yiddish poet A.N. Stencl

    Did you know or do you have material from the Polish-born Yiddish poet Avrom-Nokhem Stencl (also known as A. N. Stencl) who was once famous in east London for selling his celebrated Yiddish magazine Loshn un lebn (Language & Life), for running his Friends of Yiddish Saturday afternoon literary society and for his many acclaimed publications of Yiddish poetry? Stencl Read More
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3

For the old Jeecs site, visit www.jeecs.org.uk/archive