And with Susanne's infectious chuckle and gentle manner it is easy to see why she is so loved.

I found that out at a social of the AJR Cheshire "Continental Friends" group at the Cheadle home of Peter and Heather Kurer.

Susanne was a little late because she had collected an elderly lady without transport. As she entered the room there was a palpable sense of pleasure and anticipation among the dozen or so members.

"Oh, you are here," was the spontaneous response.

Susanne is neither a refugee nor the daughter of one but she empathises with the needs of her group.

She was born in Leeds, but moved to Liverpool after marrying retired solicitor Julian Green.

She spent many years working as a social worker for Merseyside Jewish Community Care.

And on occasion she had referrals from the AJR. She took up her current post in 2007 and has responsibility for more than 600 members from Edinburgh and Glasgow in the north to Sheffield in the south.

Her remit covers branches in Hull, Leeds, Bradford, Liverpool and four branches in Manchester.

For many years, Werner Lachs has been running successful meetings with guest speakers at the Morris Feinmann Home in Didsbury.

But as Susanne explains: "Not everyone could get to the Morris Feinmann Home. So I set up a more informal structure with meetings in people's homes without a guest speaker.

"And getting together has been very successful."

Manchester has Cheshire, Broughton and Prestwich, Didsbury and Whitefield groups.

The Leeds "Continental Friends" group grew out of the Leeds Holocaust Survivors Friendship Association, which provides educational programmes and advice on legacies.

Explaining why it was so important to meet up with others from a similar background, Susanne said: "I think many have spent so many years getting on with their lives and stifling feelings of what went on in the past and protecting their families.

"Only when they retire do they have more time to think.

"And they then welcome contacts with other continentals."

An important part of Susanne's outreach work is sending letters to members, even those living in the remotest districts.

She says: "Whether a person has been involved in the Jewish community or on the outside it is important for them to connect."

Susanne's grandparents came to this country from Lithuania at the turn of the 20th century. Her parents were born in Leeds.

So what made Susanne care so passionately about the work of AJR?

The fact that her late parents, Hilda and Solly Taylor, took in a young Jewish girl, Ruth, from Nazi Germany, was undeniably a factor.

And her late aunt, Jean Freeman, who lived next door to her parents, had the girl's brothers from the refugee hostel in Leeds.

She says: "It is no coincidence that my name is spelled in the German way because of Ruth's influence."

Susanne explains: "I grew up with a feeling of how lucky I was to be free, living a normal life in the UK when others could not because they were Jewish.

"I also thought what would have happened had Hitler landed in England."