Today across Canada , there will be ceremonies to mark the migration of thousands of children who were sent from Britain between 1870 and 1930.
They are the British Home Children and until recently their stories were mostly unknown, but in the space of just over a decade the history of that migration has become a serious area of historical study.
Along the way many of the individual stories have come back out of the shadows, and now along with scholarly research which fastens on the reasons why they were sent, and the impact on both Britain and Canada, there are the untold accounts of the children themselves.
Most of us with a BHC relative, stumble over their story by accident. In my case I had no idea that we had a great uncle Roger or that he was migrated by the Middlemore organization on behalf of the Derby Union in 1914.
That small revelation has taken me on a journey of discovery, leading to a book, a series of blog stories, a facebook site and finally a lot of friends who also count a BHC in their family.
My Canadian colleagues will be well aware of the day, but to those in Britain I would ask that you look up British Home Children and explore the subject.
Location; Britain, Canada and other parts of the former British Empire.
Pictures; BHC badges, courtesy of Lori Oschefski, and the poster for one of the British based BHC sites.
*British Home Children, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/search/label/British%20Home%20Children
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