Arthur Levi 1923 – 2011

Arthur Levi

Arthur Maurice Levi (Aaron Moshe ben Meir) was born in Cardiff on 18 July 1923. He was the eldest of 2 brothers.

The family moved to Belfast, home town of his mother Pauline (nee Berwitz) c.1932.

Arthur started working in his mother’s library, The New Library and then joined the family carpet and furniture business.

His main love was scouting. He was Akela of the cubs at the 86th North Belfast (1st Jewish) Scout Group. where his father Myer was Group Scoutmaster, but he usually joined in with the Scouts summer camps. He also became an Assistant District Commissioner, and travelled widely, representing NI scouts at Jamborees in Israel, South Africa, and North America among others. His diaries from these jamborees survive and give an insight into his personality.

He was a keen ham radio listener, and used also to encourage his scouts in this hobby.

He was a founder member of the Ulster Vespa club and was a well known sight riding around North Belfast on his Vespa, often with a scout on the back.

He married Gwen Magrill in Sunderland on 13 Aug 1957 and they set up home in Belfast, where their 2 sons were born.

Arthur and Gwen made Aliyah in 1981, moving in 1982 to the apartment in Rishon le Zion that was to be their home until Gwen’s death in 2008. It wasn’t easy starting life in a new country at that age as neither Gwen or Arthur mastered the language. However he worked first in the overseas department of Steimatzky, and then volunteered as an English Assistant in the Gimnasia Realit and helped with research at Assaf HaRofe hospital.

Arthur had a love of books, which he fostered in the New Library and at Steimatsky. But he also loved writing, with a characteristic understated humour. He wrote short stores and Cheder plays, he kept diaries of his travels, and after retirement he started writing prodigiously the limericks in this site.

He is remembered as a kind, generous, intelligent and good-humoured man, always willing to help others.

Jon & Ben

19th June 2011
Ramat Hasharon, Israel

Slide show Photos

2 Responses

  1. Melanie

    Great photos!

  2. Norma Simon

    No need to say how much I loved and respected Arthur & Gwen z’l. They were my best friends whom I met when our children went to Skeg school.