Now, understandably for most people engaged in the study of British Home Children, the focus of attention is that period when young people were migrated from Britain to Canada and other parts of the Commonwealth.
Of course, for all of us there is the ongoing search for how our BHC fared in the years after the programmes ended, and how each coped with what had happened to them, and by extension the impact it had on their families.
But taking the long view, the migration of looked after children from Britain was only one response to the problems of destitute children, abusive parents and an economic system which left many families facing dire poverty, seasonal unemployment with little hope that things would improve.
And it is easy to overlook the fact that even during the “migration period” the role of the State was slowly evolving, with a growing raft of legislation, making it possible for the courts and the authorities to intervene in cases of abuse and neglect, while approaches to looked after children in institutions was also transformed from the large care home to smaller family style provision.
That intervention was stepped up after the last world war with the creation of the Welfare State, and new powers and responsibilities for local authorities who took over the care of young people in need.
This in turn led some children’s charities to redefine their activities. Many had come into being during the late 19th century when the State was pretty much absent from the care of neglected and homeless children.
And in the years after 1948, they sought to work in partnership with municipal councils and in some cases broke new ground, filling gaps where there was no State provision.
Just over 70 years later as the State now narrows its activities, those charities are finding themselves again looking to take a great share of the care.
All of which brings me to The Together Trust and the book that tells its story from 1870 to the present day.
It started by rescuing just six boys from the streets of Manchester and Salford, and offering them a bed and breakfast in a place of safety. Within a decade it had expanded to take girls as well as boys, ran training schools, intervened on behalf of neglected and abused children, campaigned for improved legislation to protect young people at work, offered holiday camps by the sea and even provided help for recently released prisoners.
And while it did migrate some young people it stopped in 1914, never to start again..
Its history over the last 150 years mirrors the changes in how we thought and carried out the care of young people, and that makes it an interesting subject to study, offering as it does insights into the changing thinking and policies surrounding looked after young people.
That story is contained in the book, The Ever Open Door, which chronicles the charitie's 150 years.*
The book was commissioned to coincide with the 150th centenary, and here I declare an interest as the author.**
But that said it is a detailed description of its work in Manchester, Salford and beyond, split into three sections covering the changing picture of child care, with as you would expect a section devoted to offering practical help for anyone wanting to trace a family member.
Pictures; courtesy of the Together Trust, https://www.togethertrust.org.uk/
*A new book on the Together Trust, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/search/label/A%20new%20book%20on%20the%20Together%20Trust
** The Ever Open Door: 150 years of the Together Trust, Andrew Simpson, The Together Trust, 2020, 140p, £14-99. ISBN 978-1-5272-5671-2. You can obtain copies of the book from, books@togethertrust.org.uk
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| Boys taken in by the charity, 1880s |
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| Emma, 1914 |
But taking the long view, the migration of looked after children from Britain was only one response to the problems of destitute children, abusive parents and an economic system which left many families facing dire poverty, seasonal unemployment with little hope that things would improve.
And it is easy to overlook the fact that even during the “migration period” the role of the State was slowly evolving, with a growing raft of legislation, making it possible for the courts and the authorities to intervene in cases of abuse and neglect, while approaches to looked after children in institutions was also transformed from the large care home to smaller family style provision.
 |
| Activity and Achievement, 1985-86 |
And in the years after 1948, they sought to work in partnership with municipal councils and in some cases broke new ground, filling gaps where there was no State provision.
Just over 70 years later as the State now narrows its activities, those charities are finding themselves again looking to take a great share of the care.
 |
| Everyone deserves an equal chance, 2018 |
It started by rescuing just six boys from the streets of Manchester and Salford, and offering them a bed and breakfast in a place of safety. Within a decade it had expanded to take girls as well as boys, ran training schools, intervened on behalf of neglected and abused children, campaigned for improved legislation to protect young people at work, offered holiday camps by the sea and even provided help for recently released prisoners.
And while it did migrate some young people it stopped in 1914, never to start again..
That story is contained in the book, The Ever Open Door, which chronicles the charitie's 150 years.*
The book was commissioned to coincide with the 150th centenary, and here I declare an interest as the author.**
But that said it is a detailed description of its work in Manchester, Salford and beyond, split into three sections covering the changing picture of child care, with as you would expect a section devoted to offering practical help for anyone wanting to trace a family member.
Pictures; courtesy of the Together Trust, https://www.togethertrust.org.uk/
*A new book on the Together Trust, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/search/label/A%20new%20book%20on%20the%20Together%20Trust
** The Ever Open Door: 150 years of the Together Trust, Andrew Simpson, The Together Trust, 2020, 140p, £14-99. ISBN 978-1-5272-5671-2. You can obtain copies of the book from, books@togethertrust.org.uk
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