Leonard Goldsmid-Montefiore, scion of two of Britain’s most noted Jewish families and himself a long-time leader in British Jewish life, died here at the age of 72.
A World War I veteran, he was educated at Oxford University and decorated with the Order of the British Empire for his war services. He carried on the tradition of public and charitable services of both families as the only son of Claude G. Montefiore, the noted theologian and philanthropist. He succeeded his kinsman, the late Sir Osmond Elim d’Avigor-Goldsmid, as president of the Anglo-Jewish Association in 1926 and became its president. Subsequently he served as treasurer and vice-president.
He was a leader in the work of the Jewish Board of Guardians, the Jewish Association for the Protection of Girls and Women, the Bernhard Baron Settlement and the Council of the Jewish Colonization Association. He also was associated with the Central British Fund for German Jewry and played a leading role in the organization of aid for German Jewish refugees who fled to Britain, from Hitler’s Germany.
During that period, as president of the Anglo-Jewish Association, he worked for the intercession of Britain and the League of Nations on behalf of German Jews. The author of many reviews and articles on theology, he was an accomplished lecturer.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
