Understandably, most of those interested in the migration of children to Canada focus on that period when organizations in Britain sent young people across the Atlantic.
And while there is a growing interest in the “big story” many still see the history as a context to place their own BHC relative, and there is nothing wrong in that.**
But here in Britain, the care and welfare of young people continued to undergo considerable change brought on by the recognition of the part the State had to play and in new ideas about how children should be looked after.
The old Workhouse as we know it and as many came to hate, went in the 1930s.
Legislation in 1929 allowed local authorities to take over the infirmaries run by the workhouses and transform them into municipal hospitals and abolished the Poor Law Unions in England and Wales along with their Boards of Guardians, transferring their powers to local authorities.
Two decades later the creation of the Welfare State in 1948 further changed the role of the children's charities and effectively created a partnership between them and the State.
Now all of this is reflected in the continuing story of the Manchester and Salford Boys’ and Girls’ Refuge which was founded in1870 and is still going strong.***
It did migrate children but stopped before most, having taken the decision in the Great War to keep young people in Britain, and then never reactivated the scheme.
After the war it also took the bold step of relocating many of activities outside the twin cities of Manchester and Salford in what it called the Belmont Children’s Village in rural Cheadle.
Young people were to be cared for in smaller “family units” and following the Curtis Report in 1946 these were further developed and became smaller more intimate homes.
The recommendations from the Curtis Report were adopted by the Government which placed local authorities at the centre of caring for children without parents, or who had an unsatisfactory home life.
Charities would now work in partnership with local authorities and were guaranteed an income by providing care homes and services.
But the Manchester and Salford Boys’ and Girls’ Refuge continued as a charity which allowed it to move into new areas where there was a perceived need which local authorities were slow to get involved in or were retreating from.
And this has continued to be the pattern with the charity involved in helping families as well as vulnerable children and changing its name to the Together Trust to reflect its broadening areas of care.
Along the way it has had to adapt to the a surge of new ideas about how how looked after children should be cared for and a growing emphasis on a partnership between the State and charities with a growing reliance on private companies.
Interestingly the creation of an inspection service for schools and children’s services in 1989 showed that when the charity was inspected it was deemed to be at the forefront of good practice.
But that retreat by the State which is driven by political ideology and financial considerations has begun to bring us full circle, back to the 1870s when the charity was established.
Local authorities are having to make hard decisions about priorities because they don’t have the money and charities are filling the gap.
Between 1992 and 2010, The Together Trust grew from 100 members of staff, five homes, and one school to over 800 staff and 30 social care, education and community services.
All of which makes the story one without an end
Location; Manchester & Cheadle
Pictures; from annual reports of the Manchester and Salford Boys’ and Girls’s Refuges, courtesy of the Together Trust, https://www.togethertrust.org.uk/
*Lord Mayor of Manchester
**BHC, British Home Children, refers to the young people migrated to Canada, Australia and other parts of the former British Empire
***A new book on the Together Trust, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/A%20new%20book%20on%20the%20Together%20Trust
 |
| The work of the charity in 1971 |
But here in Britain, the care and welfare of young people continued to undergo considerable change brought on by the recognition of the part the State had to play and in new ideas about how children should be looked after.
The old Workhouse as we know it and as many came to hate, went in the 1930s.
Legislation in 1929 allowed local authorities to take over the infirmaries run by the workhouses and transform them into municipal hospitals and abolished the Poor Law Unions in England and Wales along with their Boards of Guardians, transferring their powers to local authorities.
Two decades later the creation of the Welfare State in 1948 further changed the role of the children's charities and effectively created a partnership between them and the State.
Now all of this is reflected in the continuing story of the Manchester and Salford Boys’ and Girls’ Refuge which was founded in1870 and is still going strong.***
 |
| Their work in 1972 |
After the war it also took the bold step of relocating many of activities outside the twin cities of Manchester and Salford in what it called the Belmont Children’s Village in rural Cheadle.
Young people were to be cared for in smaller “family units” and following the Curtis Report in 1946 these were further developed and became smaller more intimate homes.
The recommendations from the Curtis Report were adopted by the Government which placed local authorities at the centre of caring for children without parents, or who had an unsatisfactory home life.
Charities would now work in partnership with local authorities and were guaranteed an income by providing care homes and services.
But the Manchester and Salford Boys’ and Girls’ Refuge continued as a charity which allowed it to move into new areas where there was a perceived need which local authorities were slow to get involved in or were retreating from.
 |
| Facing issues, 1985 |
Along the way it has had to adapt to the a surge of new ideas about how how looked after children should be cared for and a growing emphasis on a partnership between the State and charities with a growing reliance on private companies.
Interestingly the creation of an inspection service for schools and children’s services in 1989 showed that when the charity was inspected it was deemed to be at the forefront of good practice.
 |
| Everyone deserves an equal chance, 2018 |
Local authorities are having to make hard decisions about priorities because they don’t have the money and charities are filling the gap.
Between 1992 and 2010, The Together Trust grew from 100 members of staff, five homes, and one school to over 800 staff and 30 social care, education and community services.
All of which makes the story one without an end
Location; Manchester & Cheadle
Pictures; from annual reports of the Manchester and Salford Boys’ and Girls’s Refuges, courtesy of the Together Trust, https://www.togethertrust.org.uk/
*Lord Mayor of Manchester
**BHC, British Home Children, refers to the young people migrated to Canada, Australia and other parts of the former British Empire
***A new book on the Together Trust, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/A%20new%20book%20on%20the%20Together%20Trust
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