[1] He has been described as "a formative figure in the founding and growth of Liberal Judaism in the UK and Europe".

At the age of five, when his parents divorced, he moved with his mother to Auerbach, a town in the Vogtlandkreis, Saxony, Germany.

In February 1939 he travelled to The Netherlands and in May 1940 to the United Kingdom, as a refugee from Nazi Germany.

[1] When he retired from service as a congregational rabbi, he became chair of the Liberal Beth Din.

[1] They had three children – Margaret (who became Rabbi of Birmingham Progressive Synagogue), Richard (who became Rabbi at East London & Essex Liberal Synagogue)[5] and David[3] (a research scientist, who died in 2016).