Now quite understandably the study of British Home Children takes a different path after the migration of young people to Canada stopped in the 1930s and many of those engaged in researching the subject will pass over the time after young people crossed the Atlantic.
And until recently I would have been one of them, continuing to search the records for my great uncle along with peeling back the history of the whole “child migration scheme”.
But because I am now engaged in writing a book on the history of one of the children’s charities I have become interested in what happened after migration stopped.*
In the case of the Manchester and Salford Boys ‘and Girls’ Refuges and Shelters that stopped earlier than most, added to which for each young person sent to Canada, many more were cared for here in Britain.
As many will now know from my blog, the charity had been sent up in 1870 to rescue just a handful of destitute boys from the streets of the “Twin Cities” and then after breakfast turn them back onto the streets.
Within a decade they had expanded their activities to include girls, established permanent homes, provided vocational training and intervened in the courts to protect children from abusive and neglectful parents as well as campaigning for action to protect young people hawking goods on the streets.
And then at the end of the Great War they took a momentous decision to move out of the inner city to a rural location and establish a “children’s village”.
The rescue work, along with the homes for the sick and disabled continued as did the summer holidays organised by the charity, but the reality was that it was no longer the case that there were large numbers of destitute children.
And in the course of the 20th century, the State began to intervene in a more positive way, culminating with the Welfare State which at both local and central government level was fulfilling the role once done by the charity leaving the charity to now work in collaboration with local authorities which provided funding for their work.
The rest of the last century into the new has seen the charity continue to change as it reflects the changes in provision for those children who are in need of help and because it is a charity it can switch direction to respond a new set of problems.
In 1920, the establishment of that Children’s Village was one of those changes of direction, founded on the idea that young people would live as a community in a number of Homes, surrounded by countryside.
As the annual report for 1921 observed,
“Here amid ideal surroundings forty six girls lived during the year. Some doubt was experienced at the outset; was it wise to let these children have the freedom among so beautiful a collection of trees and flowers and shrubs? The activities of the Society are based upon a strong belief that, given a chance and placed in similar environment, the slum child would make as good men and women as those born in happier circumstance.”**
And during the rest of the decade the reports continue to highlight the successes of the village, which is confirmed by a set of oral testimonies carried out over the last decade and cover the period from the mid 1930s through to the ends of the ‘50s.
They are a fascinating collection of “warts and all” and the charity has not sought to “air brush out” some of the questionable practices at the homes, like the treatment of children who wet the beds, or some of the petty behaviour by members of staff.
And that actually adds to the overall picture which suggests that those interviewed at best tolerated their stay and at best enjoyed it and felt it set them on the right path for the future.
So far I have read only a dozen but they seem representative and do have a uniformity of outlook.
The methodology involves grouping comments under general headings and then sorting them which produces a range of personal observations on the given theme.
By and large there is a uniformity of experiences, some of which are very factual and others which offer up a powerful insight to the feelings of these young people.
So, while it is miles away from BHC it is an interesting contribution to how some children in the care of one children’s charity in Manchester experienced life away from the family.
Next; part 3 reflecting on life in the Children’s Village.
Location; Cheadle
Pictures, from the annual reports of the Manchester and Salford Boys’ and Girls’ Refuges, 192-1939, courtesy of the Together Trust
*A new book on the Together Trust, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/A%20new%20book%20on%20the%20Together%20Trust
**52nd Annual Report, 1921
 |
| In the Meadows at Cheadle, 1921 |
But because I am now engaged in writing a book on the history of one of the children’s charities I have become interested in what happened after migration stopped.*
In the case of the Manchester and Salford Boys ‘and Girls’ Refuges and Shelters that stopped earlier than most, added to which for each young person sent to Canada, many more were cared for here in Britain.
 |
| In the grounds, 1921 |
Within a decade they had expanded their activities to include girls, established permanent homes, provided vocational training and intervened in the courts to protect children from abusive and neglectful parents as well as campaigning for action to protect young people hawking goods on the streets.
And then at the end of the Great War they took a momentous decision to move out of the inner city to a rural location and establish a “children’s village”.
The rescue work, along with the homes for the sick and disabled continued as did the summer holidays organised by the charity, but the reality was that it was no longer the case that there were large numbers of destitute children.
And in the course of the 20th century, the State began to intervene in a more positive way, culminating with the Welfare State which at both local and central government level was fulfilling the role once done by the charity leaving the charity to now work in collaboration with local authorities which provided funding for their work.
 |
| Two of the homes for boys, Crossley,& Gaddum Homes, 1922 |
In 1920, the establishment of that Children’s Village was one of those changes of direction, founded on the idea that young people would live as a community in a number of Homes, surrounded by countryside.
As the annual report for 1921 observed,
“Here amid ideal surroundings forty six girls lived during the year. Some doubt was experienced at the outset; was it wise to let these children have the freedom among so beautiful a collection of trees and flowers and shrubs? The activities of the Society are based upon a strong belief that, given a chance and placed in similar environment, the slum child would make as good men and women as those born in happier circumstance.”**
And during the rest of the decade the reports continue to highlight the successes of the village, which is confirmed by a set of oral testimonies carried out over the last decade and cover the period from the mid 1930s through to the ends of the ‘50s.
 |
| The Day Room, 1921 |
And that actually adds to the overall picture which suggests that those interviewed at best tolerated their stay and at best enjoyed it and felt it set them on the right path for the future.
So far I have read only a dozen but they seem representative and do have a uniformity of outlook.
The methodology involves grouping comments under general headings and then sorting them which produces a range of personal observations on the given theme.
 |
| Dinner, 1921 |
So, while it is miles away from BHC it is an interesting contribution to how some children in the care of one children’s charity in Manchester experienced life away from the family.
Next; part 3 reflecting on life in the Children’s Village.
Location; Cheadle
Pictures, from the annual reports of the Manchester and Salford Boys’ and Girls’ Refuges, 192-1939, courtesy of the Together Trust
*A new book on the Together Trust, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/A%20new%20book%20on%20the%20Together%20Trust
**52nd Annual Report, 1921
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