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Transport Number 4: Vienna 1941 - Holocaust Memorial Day 2026
The Northern Ireland War Memorial (NIWM) is delighted to support the publication of a new book by author Mark Scott titled Transport Number 4: Vienna 1941.
The book tells the story of the Kessler family in Nazi-occupied Vienna and their experience of the Holocaust. One member of the family was teenager Gertrude Kessler who was evacuated with her brother Fritz to Northern Ireland in April 1939 and found sanctuary at a children’s home called Childhaven in Millisle, Co. Down. Gertrude stayed in Northern Ireland after the Second World War, married and had two sons, one of whom was well known local journalist Charlie Warmington (1950-2025). Charlie and Mark collaborated closely together in producing the book, including visiting Vienna in 2024 before Charlie’s death in November 2025. The book is dedicated to Charlie’s memory.
Transport Number 4 is published by Excalibur Press and was supported by a small grant from NIWM. Mark Scott spoke about the book at the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland on 5 March 2026, the 85th anniversary of Transport Number 4’s departure from Vienna and also World Book Day.
To mark Holocaust Memorial Day 2026, we created a Memory Map exploring Gertrude Kessler’s story based on Charlie Warmington’s 2021 interview from NIWM’s oral history collection: Holocaust Memorial Day 2026: Gertrude Kessler StoryMap
Copies of the book can be purchased online via Amazon: Transport Number 4: Vienna 1941 by Mark Scott
