Between 1939 and 1941, Gwrych Castle in Abergele, Conwy, hosted around 200 Jewish refugees aged between 12 and 17 who had fled from Nazi-occupied Europe. The castle was organised into a hachshara (agricultural training centre), which were originally set up in Germany by Zionist organisations such as Youth Aliyah and Bachad to prepare youth for agricultural work in Palestine. Following persecution in Germany, approximately 20 hachsharot were relocated to Britain between 1939 and 1945, with Gwrych Castle the largest. Youth Aliyah sponsored around 500 children to come to Britain as Kindertransportees, but many other refugees requested or were sent to hachsharot on arrival. The numbers later included 43 young people who were formerly at another hachshara at Llandough Castle in Glamorgan, who were evacuated after it was requisitioned by the government.

Use of the castle was offered for free by the owner, Lord Dundonald, since it was in very poor condition. Facilities were extremely limited, with only a few rooms inhabitable, and the occupants had to dig field toilets after a couple of weeks. Cooking was achieved through an antique stove that smoked continuously, leading to some cases of carbon dioxide poisoning. The water pump, which used water from the Abergele supply, wasn’t powerful enough to provide for 200 people, meaning children had to run down to the kitchen and carry pails of water back up to their washrooms. Eventually, conditions improved, and the children and staff set up work brigades to tackle DIY and maintenance issues.