Today I am in reflective mood on the story of British Home Children and one of the children’s charities which was engaged in BHC.
It is the Together Trust, and was the Manchester and Salford Boys’ and Girls’ Refuges, and is an organization I am very close to, partly because it began in my adopted city and also because with the help of the archivist I have come to learn about our own BHC.*
That said the young man who left Derby in the care of Middlemore, on behalf of the Derby Union had no connection with Manchester, but in studying the archives of the charity, I have come to have a much better understanding of the story of British Home Children.
Not that Manchester and Salford Boys’ and Girls’ Refuges, were in the “migrating business” for very long. Theirs was a shorter involvement, starting in 1873 and finishing in 1914, and represented only part of what they did.
I first came across them, as a way of getting a better understanding of BHC, and that by degree turned into a fascination for the work of the charity, which offered up a better understanding of childcare in the late 19th century.
And along the way it led to a commission to write their history to commemorate their 150th anniversary which will be next year. **
The manuscript was completed last year, and we are now in the final stages of editing and selecting the 80 images which will accompany the text.
Writing the book gave me an opportunity to trawl the archives of the Trust and that exercise has challenged many of the assumptions I first formed about the policy of sending young people to Canada and other parts of the old Empire, but also about the general role of children’s charities in the late 19th century and into the following two centuries.
It is a story of private involvement in a social problem, followed by the growing intervention of the State, which is now downsizing that involvement and in turn relying on the charities to take over.
So, the book will be useful for anyone interested in the provision of care for vulnerable and looked after children, as well as a powerful insight into the experiences of young people and their families from 1870 onwards.
Location; Manchester, Salford, and Canada
Picture; courtesy of the Together Trust, https://www.togethertrust.org.uk/
*The Together Trust, https://www.togethertrust.org.uk/
**A new book on the story of the Together Trust will be published later in the year
 |
| Boys in the care of the charity, circa 1880 |
That said the young man who left Derby in the care of Middlemore, on behalf of the Derby Union had no connection with Manchester, but in studying the archives of the charity, I have come to have a much better understanding of the story of British Home Children.
Not that Manchester and Salford Boys’ and Girls’ Refuges, were in the “migrating business” for very long. Theirs was a shorter involvement, starting in 1873 and finishing in 1914, and represented only part of what they did.
I first came across them, as a way of getting a better understanding of BHC, and that by degree turned into a fascination for the work of the charity, which offered up a better understanding of childcare in the late 19th century.
 |
| The charity's shelter, circa 1900 |
The manuscript was completed last year, and we are now in the final stages of editing and selecting the 80 images which will accompany the text.
Writing the book gave me an opportunity to trawl the archives of the Trust and that exercise has challenged many of the assumptions I first formed about the policy of sending young people to Canada and other parts of the old Empire, but also about the general role of children’s charities in the late 19th century and into the following two centuries.
It is a story of private involvement in a social problem, followed by the growing intervention of the State, which is now downsizing that involvement and in turn relying on the charities to take over.
So, the book will be useful for anyone interested in the provision of care for vulnerable and looked after children, as well as a powerful insight into the experiences of young people and their families from 1870 onwards.
Location; Manchester, Salford, and Canada
Picture; courtesy of the Together Trust, https://www.togethertrust.org.uk/
*The Together Trust, https://www.togethertrust.org.uk/
**A new book on the story of the Together Trust will be published later in the year
No comments:
Post a Comment