Later Years

My eldest son Michael (Mashiach Chizkia) was born March 20, 1958. Anthony (Eliyahu Avraham) May 20, 1960. My youngest son Laurence (Pinchas Bezalel) May 18, 1967. All three were born at the Bearstead Memorial Hospital and R.G. Heilpern was the mohel for each one.

I am very proud that my three sons celebrated their Bar Mitzvahs at the same synagogue, Kinloss Synagogue at Kinloss Gardens, Finchley, London, where we were members for 45 years. Michael and Anthony both had their Bar Mitzvah receptions at the Hanover Grand, Hanover Square and Laurence had his at the Europa Hotel in Grosvener Square.

The Happy Couple

Shoshana & Joseph and their three sons

Picture taken at Michael’s wedding October 1987

After more than twenty five years, we left our beautiful first home and moved to a gorgeous house at 30 Parklands Drive.

At the age of 72 I was interviewed by a representative of Steven Spielbergs Shoah Foundation which collects video testimony from Holocaust survivors. On September 14, 1997 they recorded a videotape of my life story.

Joseph on vacation in Cannes, South of France, outside the Hotel Martinez

On September 26, 1996, my brother Shalom (Charles) and I donated a beautiful Sefer Torah in memory of my dear parents, Pinchas and Dora Mammon, who are buried in Eretz Israel (Holon Cemetery, “Old Gate” entrance), my eldest brother Mashiach (Michel) and my baby brother Avram (Albert) to the Beit Knesset Hechal Mordechai in Herzliya, a Sephardic synagogue. The donation included a large celebration, with music, dancing and prayers in the synagogue, followed by dinner and speeches by distinguished rabbanim.

Torah Donation:

Joseph and brother Charles donated a beautiful Sefer Torah in memory of their parents in Israel in 1996.

In 2000 we dedicated a room at Zichron Menachem in Jerusalem, a day care center for children with cancer. The complex took four years to build and the official opening ceremony was in 2004.

In the summer of 2002, I went on a tour to Uzbekistan to explore my parents’ heritage. My son Laurence came along as we visited Bukhara, Samarkand and Tashkent. Unfortunately I could not go to Khokand because of transportation difficulties. But we had a very good time.

In the winter of 2003, we went on a Jewish heritage tour to Spain. It was magnificent and educational. We visited Madrid, Cordoba, Segovia, Toledo, Gerona, Ronda and Malaga. We visited the Siphambra in Grenada and we spent a Shabbat in Gibraltar. We also had the priviledge of visiting the birthplace of Maimonides and explored the Jewish Quarter.

In 2004, Shoshana and I went on a beautiful Alaskan cruise aboard a grand ship. It was a wonderful, memorable trip.

Now that I have turned 80 years old and look at the three wonderful women my sons married and my ten beautiful grandchildren, I think to myself about how many happy years have passed. I have much gratitude to Hashem.