I began today with a story about the Great War and I shall close with another.
This of course is the day that the war began and as we slide towards the moment when the British ultimatum to Germany ran out I want to finish with a story posted by the archivist of the Together Trust.
Back in 1914 the trust went under the name of the Manchester & Salford Boys’ and Girl’s Refuges and had been caring for destitute and impoverished children since 1870.
“Over 400 men associated with the Manchester and Salford Boys’ and Girls’ Refuges and Homes fought in the War.
The charity has now produced a roll of honour on its website to commemorate these men.
We know that 33 men associated with the charity whether a refuge boy, trustee, committee member or staff member never came back from the War.
Over the next few weeks we’ll be telling some of their stories through the blog.”*
The first focuses on young Harold “who was admitted to the charity in 1906.
By the age of 8 he had lost both of his parents and was brought up for the next few years in the house of his older, married brother.
Three years later however, his sister-in-law, who was expecting her second child, applied for his admission to the orphan homes as she could no longer afford to keep him.
Her husband, Harold’s brother, had had an accident a few months before and the family was subsequently surviving on a reduced income.
Harold entered No. 4 George Street, (Garnett Home) on the 5th June 1906.”
Now not one to steal other people’s research I shall direct you to the link and the
the Trust’s blog.*
All I will say is that as we move effortlessly to that ultimatum Canada has yet to wake up and it is partly to Canada that the story is aimed for some of the young people who were looked after by the charity were migrated to North America as British Home Children as were something like 100,000 boys and girls from 1870 till 1930 who were sent by other charities.
They too like the 400 over here were swept up by the war and some enlisted.
My own great uncle was one of them although he had been sent via Birmingham and the Middlemore organisation acting for the Derby Union.
I had to find out about him the hard way, piecing together scraps of evidence and only accidentally coming across the fact that he had joined the Canadian Expeditionary Force in 1915.
So I applaud the work of the archivist who may make someone’s search that bit easier.
Pictures; courtesy of the Together Trust
*England enters the war, http://togethertrustarchive.blogspot.co.uk/
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| Harold in uniform |
Back in 1914 the trust went under the name of the Manchester & Salford Boys’ and Girl’s Refuges and had been caring for destitute and impoverished children since 1870.
“Over 400 men associated with the Manchester and Salford Boys’ and Girls’ Refuges and Homes fought in the War.
The charity has now produced a roll of honour on its website to commemorate these men.
We know that 33 men associated with the charity whether a refuge boy, trustee, committee member or staff member never came back from the War.
Over the next few weeks we’ll be telling some of their stories through the blog.”*
The first focuses on young Harold “who was admitted to the charity in 1906.
By the age of 8 he had lost both of his parents and was brought up for the next few years in the house of his older, married brother.
Her husband, Harold’s brother, had had an accident a few months before and the family was subsequently surviving on a reduced income.
Harold entered No. 4 George Street, (Garnett Home) on the 5th June 1906.”
Now not one to steal other people’s research I shall direct you to the link and the
the Trust’s blog.*
 |
| Group of volunteers |
They too like the 400 over here were swept up by the war and some enlisted.
My own great uncle was one of them although he had been sent via Birmingham and the Middlemore organisation acting for the Derby Union.
I had to find out about him the hard way, piecing together scraps of evidence and only accidentally coming across the fact that he had joined the Canadian Expeditionary Force in 1915.
So I applaud the work of the archivist who may make someone’s search that bit easier.
Pictures; courtesy of the Together Trust
*England enters the war, http://togethertrustarchive.blogspot.co.uk/
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