Bertha Lilian Bracey (1893–1989) was an English Quaker teacher and aid worker who organised relief and sanctuary for Europeans affected by the turmoil before, during and after the Second World War.

She enjoyed singing with young people and her work in these centres gave her good fluency in the German language and a network of many contacts.

[10] Bracey had recognised the threat to the Jews of Germany in 1933, after Hitler became Chancellor and the Nazi party took control, "Words are not adequate to tell of the anguish of some of my Jewish friends".

[5] After the great pogrom of Kristallnacht in 1938, she visited Berlin and was then part of the delegation which met with the British Home Secretary Sir Samuel Hoare to convince him to expedite the acceptance of Jewish children as refugees from Germany.

Bracey became secretary of the Inter-Church Council for German Refugees and led a team of 80 Quaker case-workers on the third floor.

Bertha roused herself from a partial slumber to the alertness we remember so well, 'Yes,' she responded, 'bring me glad tidings of great joy.

Knowing that if she were caught with these she would be arrested and in serious trouble, her strategy was to play up the role of a slightly dotty, middle-aged schoolmistress by approaching every man in uniform and asking "Do I need to show you my papers?".

[14] Naomi Blake, who was herself a survivor of Auschwitz, sculpted a statue dedicated to Bertha Bracey and it is now on display in Friends House.

[15] The inscription reads[13]To honour Bertha Bracey (1893–1989) who gave practical leadership to Quakers in quietly rescuing and re-settling thousands of Nazi victims and lone children between 1933 and 1948