A former head teacher who was made a dame for her services to education delivered a poignant lecture on the 75th anniversary of the Holocaust.

Dame Helen Hyde, who used to lead Watford Grammar School for Girls, was invited to a Holocaust memorial event held at Watford town hall on Monday.

Dame Helen was honoured back in 2012 for her services to national education and Holocaust education, and in Watford this week, she highlighted the steps that led to the genocide and the Holocaust.

She reflected on the impact it had on her family and how today people need to work together, so that it never happens again.

The event on Monday was hosted by chairman of Watford Borough Council, Cllr Asif Khan.

He said in his presentation: "In the years leading up to the Holocaust, Nazi policies and propaganda deliberately encouraged divisions within German society – urging ‘Aryan’ Germans to keep themselves separate from their Jewish neighbours.

"The Holocaust, Nazi persecution of other groups and each subsequent genocide, was enabled by ordinary citizens not standing with their targeted neighbours.

"Today there is increasing division in communities across the UK and the world. Now more than ever, we need to stand together with others in our communities in order to stop division and the spread of identity-based hostility in our society.

"Everyone can take some action to support others - by using our voices, presence, platform or influence."

Candles were lit after the event to mark and commemorate the victims of the Holocaust and genocides across the world.