What to do with the children? …… British Home Children …. a story only partly told … the talk June 10th

 Between 1870 and 1930 100, 000 children were sent to Canada, and placed on farms and in domestic service ….. the youngest were aged just 4 years.

Young people admitted to the Manchester & Salford Boys' & Girls Refuge, undated

Opinions are still bitterly divided as to why they were sent, the morality of the project and the impact on the young people who were migrated.

Emma before admission, undated

In the early years some of the children were those who were found homeless, living on the streets and potentially vulnerable to predators and open to petty criminality.

Others were from families who had fallen into poverty through illness, unemployment or the death of one of the parents and sought help from charities who promised that migration offered a better life and a new start for one or more of the children.

And it was children’s charities, along with the Poor Law Unions who offered the opportunity to participate in the scheme.

Critics pointed out that many were used as cheap labour, were open to all sorts of abuse and in the case of those sent to farms were cast adrift at 16 to fend for themselves.

In the absence of strict supervision some farmers failed to keep the promises they made to adequately feed and clothe the children or ensure they had access to a school.

To these critics the programme was the exploitation of young people who were powerless to protect themselves, an opinion summed up by William Edward Skivington one of the three Socialist Poor Law Guardians on the Chorlton Union in 1905 who wrote, “they were robbed of their childhood and of the opportunity of a sound education .... the emigration of young children for working purposes savoured of a traffic in child labour carried on between agencies in this country and agencies in Canada and children would not be allowed to go from the care of the Guardians to anything like such conditions in this country.”

Leaving for Canada on the steps of Manchester Town Hall, 1897

It was a policy which those engaged in the practice recognised was a cheaper solution to keeping the children in care.

But many of the advocates of the policy genuinely believed they were engaged in giving hope and lifting children from appalling conditions. 

Leonard Shaw of the Manchester and Salford Boys’ and Girls’ Refuges argued that “some [children] would be dragged back to vagrant, drunken and vicious associations …. their only salvation for them was to be placed far away from the baneful environment of their early life … and supplied a colony with one of the other needs – healthy, honest Labour”.

Mr. Shaw was speaking in 1910 of the situation that he had encountered forty years earlier, when destitute children were to be found in many of our cities and towns, and while that scandal had pretty much vanished there were still families who were on the margin of poverty and some who had toppled over.

Application for a BHS boy, 1914

Today the arguments about the policy remain and the battle lines no less tightly drawn. Many who discover they have a family member who was transported are bitter and condemn the practice.

Other’s like me whose great uncle went out in 1914 aged 16 are more nuanced, and as the study of British Home Children finds its way on to University courses, and attracts more writers, the story enters the grey zone.

That said it is a subject which is still not well known.  More so in Canada than in Britain but still a story which deserves better coverage.

So, while there are a growing number of books and sites devoted to British Home Children across Canada, here in Britain the list is small which led me and Tricia Leslie to set up a Facebook site, where stories can be shared and information exchanged all of which will raise awareness of the subject. *

And added to the site I am back again talking to groups about the story which is the lead into my next presentation this coming Tuesday at 1.30 on June 10th to Chorlton Good Neighbours at St Ninians Church on Wilbraham Road.**

And beyond the talk  .... there is Home Children Canada which is "a proactive charity established in 2012, has been dedicated to elevating the profile of the Home Children and preserving their memory. 

Emma after admission, undated

Through diligent efforts, the organization has worked tirelessly to shed light on the historical experiences of the Home Children and to honor their legacy. With a strong commitment to raising awareness and promoting understanding, Home Children Canada strives to ensure that the stories of these children are recognized and respected. 

By honoring their memory, the charity seeks to ensure that the Home Children's contributions and struggles are never forgotten and that their rightful place in history is acknowledged with dignity and compassion".***

Location, June 10th, 1.30, St Ninians Church on Wilbraham Road 

Pictures; Young people admitted to the Manchester & Salford Boys' & Girls' Refuges, undated, Emma before and after admission to the same Charity, undated, party of boys on the steps of Manchester Town Hall about to leave for Canada, 1897, courtesy of the Together Trust, Application for a BHS boy, 1914, British Home Children, poster from the collection of Andrew Simpson

* British Home Children ....... the story from Britain, https://www.facebook.com/groups/1624406061006317

** Chorlton Good Neighbours, https://chorltongoodneighbours.org/ Wilbraham St Ninians Church, Egerton Road South, Manchester M21 0XJ, 0161 881 2925

***Home Children Canada, https://www.britishhomechildren.com/