This is a chapter of wider Schild surname history, not a confirmed branch of our direct family line. See the research question below.
- Born
- 1924, Cologne, Germany
- Died
- 2003, age seventy nine
- Roles
- Engineer · Businessman · Founder and Chairman, Huntleigh Technology PLC
- Honor
- OBE, 1997, for achievements in medical design
Rolf Schild was born in Cologne, Germany, in 1924, to a Jewish textile merchant. In 1939, at age fifteen, he was sent to England on the Kindertransport, arriving in Liverpool; his parents stayed behind in Germany, and he later learned that they had been murdered by the Nazis at the Chełmno extermination camp in 1942.
Classified an enemy alien in wartime Britain despite being a refugee from Nazi persecution, he was interned for a time on the Isle of Man before training as an engineer and building a career in medical technology, including work on an early heart lung machine and a catheter based pressure transducer. He went on to found and chair Huntleigh Technology PLC, a major international healthcare equipment maker based in Luton. In 1979, he and his family were kidnapped for ransom while on holiday in Sardinia. He was appointed OBE in 1997 and died in 2003.
Timeline
-
1924
Born in Cologne
Rolf Schild was born in Cologne, Germany, to a Jewish textile merchant.
-
1939
Kindertransport to England
Sent to England on the Kindertransport at age fifteen, arriving in Liverpool. His parents remained in Germany.
-
1940
Interned as an Enemy Alien
Interned for a time on the Isle of Man, then transferred to Manchester to train as a capstan lathe operator.
-
1942
Parents Murdered at Chełmno
Learns that his parents were murdered by the Nazis at the Chełmno extermination camp.
-
1950s
Medical Engineering and a New Company
Develops medical devices at New Electronics Products, then founds a pressure transducer company with Peter Epstein.
-
1973–1975
Huntleigh Technology PLC Formed
Acquires Hymatic Engineering, later merged into Huntleigh Technology PLC, based in Luton.
-
1979–1980
Kidnapped in Sardinia
Rolf, his wife Daphne, and their daughter are kidnapped for ransom while on holiday in Sardinia; all three are eventually released.
-
1997
Appointed OBE
Appointed OBE for his achievements in medical design.
-
2003
Death
Rolf Schild dies at the age of seventy nine.
A Research Question
Is Rolf Schild connected to our direct Schild family line?
His life and career are well documented, but a direct genealogical connection to the family line documented elsewhere on this site has not yet been established.