Leslie Baruch Brent, renowned immunologist and zoologist who came to Britain on the Kindertransport – Obituary

We were deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Leslie Baruch Brent, a Kind, who has passed away aged 94. He arrived on the first Kindertransport, a group of children from an orphanage in Berlin, on 2 December 1938.

Having studied Zoology at Birmingham University, he was the co-discoverer with Peter Medawar and Rupert Billingham of acquired immunological tolerance for which Medawar was awarded the Nobel Prize. Leslie became a leading immunologist and was appointed Professor Emeritus at the University of London in 1990.

In recent years, among his other interests, Leslie was a stalwart member of the AJR and regularly attended commemorative AJR events. Leslie was the driving force behind the AJR plaque dedicated to Anna Essinger, the Headmistress of the Bunce Court School in Kent, to which Leslie and several other Kinder were sent.

Leslie also spoke about his experiences as a Kind, including at Westminster Abbey last November to mark the 80th anniversary of Kristallnacht.

Our heartfelt sympathies go to his family, who will be in our thoughts, as will Leslie, whose legacy and memory will live on through the interview he gave to the AJR Refugee Voices testimony collection. A summary of his interview can be seen at https://www.ajrrefugeevoices.org.uk/RefugeeVoices/Leslie-Brent?lightbox=comp-ji3o38mq_runtime_dataItem-ji3o38ohitems0