BRADFORD Synagogue chairman Rudi Leavor wanted to be remembered for developing close relations between different faiths in the city that became his home when he was a child refugee.

The funeral of Dr Rudolph Leavor, affectionately known as Rudi, took place this week at the Manningham synagogue, where his family paid tribute to his lifelong dedication to promoting peace. In a moving eulogy, Rudi's son Jonathan said that as well as seeing his four children, eight grandchildren and two great grandchildren prosper, Rudi wished to be remembered for "developing interfaith relations, co-opting a Muslim member of a synagogue council, and putting Bradford Synagogue on the map".

Rudi, who was awarded the British Empire Medal in 2017 for interfaith work which made headlines around the world, came to Bradford in 1937, aged 11, with his parents and sister, after fleeing Nazi Germany.

He died on July 27, aged 95. At the funeral, family friend David Jacobs said: "Bradford has lost one of its heroes". He said Rudi made his life in Bradford Synagogue, as chairman, choir - in recent years the only choir member - treasurer and life president. He was also the funeral organiser and bereavement counsellor at the synagogue for many years.

"He was known in every faith community in Bradford and beyond," said Mr Jacobs, who also spoke of Rudi's visits to Germany to give lectures about his experiences as a Holocaust survivor. He lost many family members to concentration camps, and was "haunted" by his childhood experiences of anti-semitism in 1930s Berlin.

Jonathan Leavor spoke of the family's pride at Rudi's memoirs, which he published at the age of 94, and said: "When he appeared in the Telegraph & Argus we were asked to buy a dozen copies". Rudi wrote regular letters and articles for the T&A and, said his family, he read it from cover to cover every day.

Jonathan also spoke of Rudi's love of music and singing. Rudi started choral singing at Bradford Synagogue and was a member of the Leeds Philharmonic Choir for 50 years. The funeral included a moving film of him singing Brahms' Lullaby in both German and English. Said Jonathan: "He told me that when singing this he thought of the six million Jews who died in the Holocaust, and imagined that they were sleeping."

Also played at the funeral was the Hebrew mourning prayer, El Male Rachamim, which Rudi sang every year at Holocaust Memorial Day events in Bradford, Calderdale and Kirklees.

In an affectionate eulogy, Rudi's granddaughter, Rebecca, called him "a legend" and recalled his sense of humour and his great love for the children in his family.

Rudi's tireless work at the synagogue and for community relations in Bradford leaves a great legacy in the city. As well as working with neighbouring Muslim communities, who helped to save the synagogue from closure, he had long established relationships with Bradford's churches and Hindu communities. Mr Jacobs revealed that the taxi driver who took him to the funeral said he knew of Rudi and had seen him on the front page of the T&A.

Rudi was, said Jonathan, "an activist for peace and harmony".

* Donations for Holocaust Survivors Friendship Association can be made online at justgiving.com/holocaustsurvivors-friendshipassociation