Leo Lyons Photography

Refurbishment under way - please forgive the mess and broken links

Occasional musings

On music, politics, travel....
View of under canopy of a dragon tree in La Gomera (El Drago)

Rene flees to Marseilles in the Free Zone

9th September 2026

After the capitualtion of the French to the Occupying Germans, in June 1940, Rene continued to live and work in Paris. By the autumn of 1941 things were getting dangerous for Parisian Jews and Rene decided it was time to get out. His motives may not have been simply that he feared he would be arrested and sent to a Labour camp. As a naturalised French citizen from an early age (probably 1930) he might have been left alone by the Germans – at least at this point. But it is likely he was already planning, if not actively

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Leia Helfman

27th October 2025

In the various archives and documents we have found and quoted from there is conflicting information regarding Leia Helfman – Rene’s mother. Her full name appears to be Leia Haia Helfman. Even though she was married to Sender Ancel, many official documents use her birth name of Helfman. When she enters Belgium looking for work in 1925, apparently arriving from Paris, she uses the name Helfman but also lists her husband Sender Ancel (by then deceased) and her children Maia (Marcel) Ancel and Simon (Rene) Ancel. Later she was to use Ancel exclusively most likely to try and conceal

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Jeremy Corbyn stares into camera on Margate sea front, September 2015

When Leo met Jeremy

7th September 2015

We went to Margate to hear Mr Corbyn speak last Saturday. It was pretty much as I expected. Not a disappointment and he was a bit more forceful than he comes across on the tv – which is good, more passion and yet still a refreshing non-adversarial stance. Inclusive and unifying. Packed hall – more than 350 (could have been many more, I think I heard that figure but don’t quote me) – a bit emotional at times thinking just maybe there was a chance to turn things around, to climb up out of this depressing world we seem

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