I am looking at a picture of a group of young people who were migrated from Manchester to Canada in 1898.
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| The Emigration Party, 1898 |
It was sent over by Lori who runs one of the leading Canadian British Home Children research sites.*
Lori added that “I posted this photo in 2013 all I said was they were from the Manchester Union - thought I'd pass it along. No idea who brought them”.
All of which seemed unpromising as a line of inquiry.
But, and there is always a but, the fact that the young people were from Manchester offered up the chance that they were migrated by the Manchester and Salford Boys’ and Girls’ Refuges and Homes, and that took me to the charity’s archivist.
Liz replied “I do recognise the image. It is one of our parties – Mrs Shaw is sat in the middle. We did migrate children from the unions so it is possible some are. I would guess most are from our homes though”.
And that opens up the possibility that a trawl of the charity’s records will reveal the names of some of the children.
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| Mrs. Shaw all dressed in black |
But that research will always have to be qualified by considerations of confidentiality and so I rather think for now, those young people will remain in the shadows.
But not so Mrs. Shaw whose husband was one of the founder members of the charity which had been established in 1870 to provide a night’s lodging and breakfast to destitute boys who lived on the streets of Manchester and Salford.
The charity quickly grew into an organization which looked after the welfare of both boys and girls, was involved in industrial training for young people, migrated some, and ran homes as well as holidays by the sea for others.
It also sought prosecutions for parents who were cruel or neglectful, campaigned to change the law on the employment of young children and helped newly released prisoners offering them a meal and assistance in finding work.
And although it has undergone a series of name changes over the last 150 year it is still in the business of helping young people. Today it is known as the Together Trust and its headquarters are in Cheadle.
All of which is covered in the new book The Ever Open Door which was commissioned by the charity as part of the celebrations to mark their 150th year.**
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, is available from, The Together Trust, https://shop.togethertrust.org.uk/
A subject matter that is very dear to my heart.
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