Hershell Goldman was born in 1945 at Willersley Castle, a rural safe haven set up for north London birthing mothers during the Second World War blitz. He grew up in Richmond-upon-Thames in southwest London where he met his wife-to-be Evelynne Rifkind. Hershell’s studies led him to the award of degrees in Physics, Biophysics and Systems Engineering. His passion was optical instrument design and this led to his working for the British Home Office in the research departments of the Prison and Police services. In addition to his scientific skills he learned craft skills from his parents: Leah who was a seamstress and Reuben who was a cabinet maker. Hershell and Evelynne came to live in Israel in 1990 and settled initially in Raanana and now live in Rehovot. In Raanana Hershell established a successful business in custom made furniture and antique furniture restoration. He has now retired and is a volunteer in the Publications and Media Relations Department of the Weitzmann Institute of Science. He has two children, Adam and Ilana, and seven grandchildren.