That virtually all of the Home Children sent to Canada--alone and separated from others, as they were, have reacted to their fate the same way, withdrawing into themselves, and remaining silent about their past--"building a wall around themselves", as one Home Girl put it-- is bitter and conclusive proof of the severity of their trauma. It is also sad evidence that the Child Migration Scheme, however well-intentioned, was seriously flawed. The Home Children's silent shame is Canada's and Britain's too!. Dave Lorente of Home Children Canada, 2000
NO MORE SILENCE!
The British Home Children
Approximately 118,000 children were sent to Canada from England under the Child Immigration scheme from 1833-1939 (figures from David Lornete, Home Children Canada). These boys and girls, ranging in age from toddlers to adolescents, were all unaccompanied by their parents, even though only two percent of them were true orphans. Child migration began as a mission of rescue, of poverty stricken children who were cast into the streets of London, England. However, by the 1900's on-wards, most emigrant children came from respectable families bound by strong ties of affection, who had simply fallen on hard times. Most of these children were brought to institutions such as Barnardo's, as a last resort when a crisis, financial or otherwise, prevented the family from coping. Many placements into the institutions were meant to be temporary, just until the crisis was over. But the rescue homes often had quite a different agenda. Carefully controlling and even discouraging further contact between the children and their relatives, most of the parents never saw their children again! Siblings were also often separated from their each other and remained so after being sent to Canada. Most never saw each other again and spent their lives trying to find their parents and siblings but unfortunately, most were unsuccessful.
The Barnardo homes for homeless or destitute English children, were set up in Canada and England by Dr. Thomas Barnardo. In Canada, Peterborough, Ontario; emerged as the main distribution centre for Barnardo girls from 1889 to 1922. The Hazelbrae Barnardo Home in Peterborough was built by Thomas Belcher in 1872 and was renovated in 1883 by George and Margaret Cox and donated to Dr. Barnardo. Unfortunately, it was destroyed by fire in 1923.
There were several organisations involved in the immigration of children to Canada, but Dr. Barnardo he was by far the most influential figure, in child migration, during the last half of the nineteenth century. His crusade to, 'rescue children from the streets', was one the best known social interventions in the last half of the nineteenth century. Dr. Barnardo died in 1905. At this time, there were nearly 8,000 children in the 96 residential homes he had established. Around 1,300 of these children had disabilities. More than 4,000 children were boarded out, and 18,000 had been sent to Canada and Australia. After his death, the Barnardo organization would continue in his name, and continues to be an active children's charity organization, in England, today.
Of the 118,000 children sent to Canada, 30,000 came from the Barnardo Homes. Some of the better known, similar organisations, were; Annie Macpherson, Maria Rye, Fegan Homes, Dr. Stephenson and the National Children's Home. Annie Macpherson and Maria Rye pioneered child migration to Canada starting in 1869. Emigration seemed the only way to break the tragic cycle of grinding poverty that was so rampant in the Victorian England. Dr. Barnardo began migration of children in about 1872, through Macpherson's organisation. By 1881 Dr. Barnardo established himself in his own right, in the migration of children, by the establishment of a receiving home in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and then the Hazlebrae home in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. He would go on to set up "receiving homes" across Canada, including a large training farm in Russel Manitoba. There he would send the older boys to be trained as farmers, with hopes they would acquire land from the Dominions Land Act and become farmers in their own right.
Once in Canada, the children were not usually adopted into new families, but rather were taken into households, to be trained and to work as indentured agricultural labourers and domestic servants until about the age of 18. The poor choice of placements in Canada and the subsequent lack of supervision, left these children vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. The organizations sending these children, and the Canadian Government who accepted and encouraged the immigration of these children, never adequately considered the welfare and safety of the children. Sensational stories were spread; of isolated incidents of criminal and immoral behaviour, committed by home children. Exploitation in the press and propaganda spread about the children, by influential people of the time, raised Canadians' fears about the character of the young immigrants. As much as they feared these children, Canadians needed the cheap labour on their farms and in their homes. Many farmers, especially, would not have been successful without the additional labour provided by the immigration schemes.
The Barnardo homes for homeless or destitute English children, were set up in Canada and England by Dr. Thomas Barnardo. In Canada, Peterborough, Ontario; emerged as the main distribution centre for Barnardo girls from 1889 to 1922. The Hazelbrae Barnardo Home in Peterborough was built by Thomas Belcher in 1872 and was renovated in 1883 by George and Margaret Cox and donated to Dr. Barnardo. Unfortunately, it was destroyed by fire in 1923.
There were several organisations involved in the immigration of children to Canada, but Dr. Barnardo he was by far the most influential figure, in child migration, during the last half of the nineteenth century. His crusade to, 'rescue children from the streets', was one the best known social interventions in the last half of the nineteenth century. Dr. Barnardo died in 1905. At this time, there were nearly 8,000 children in the 96 residential homes he had established. Around 1,300 of these children had disabilities. More than 4,000 children were boarded out, and 18,000 had been sent to Canada and Australia. After his death, the Barnardo organization would continue in his name, and continues to be an active children's charity organization, in England, today.
Of the 118,000 children sent to Canada, 30,000 came from the Barnardo Homes. Some of the better known, similar organisations, were; Annie Macpherson, Maria Rye, Fegan Homes, Dr. Stephenson and the National Children's Home. Annie Macpherson and Maria Rye pioneered child migration to Canada starting in 1869. Emigration seemed the only way to break the tragic cycle of grinding poverty that was so rampant in the Victorian England. Dr. Barnardo began migration of children in about 1872, through Macpherson's organisation. By 1881 Dr. Barnardo established himself in his own right, in the migration of children, by the establishment of a receiving home in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and then the Hazlebrae home in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. He would go on to set up "receiving homes" across Canada, including a large training farm in Russel Manitoba. There he would send the older boys to be trained as farmers, with hopes they would acquire land from the Dominions Land Act and become farmers in their own right.
Once in Canada, the children were not usually adopted into new families, but rather were taken into households, to be trained and to work as indentured agricultural labourers and domestic servants until about the age of 18. The poor choice of placements in Canada and the subsequent lack of supervision, left these children vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. The organizations sending these children, and the Canadian Government who accepted and encouraged the immigration of these children, never adequately considered the welfare and safety of the children. Sensational stories were spread; of isolated incidents of criminal and immoral behaviour, committed by home children. Exploitation in the press and propaganda spread about the children, by influential people of the time, raised Canadians' fears about the character of the young immigrants. As much as they feared these children, Canadians needed the cheap labour on their farms and in their homes. Many farmers, especially, would not have been successful without the additional labour provided by the immigration schemes.
".... in Canada we are deliberately adding to our population hundreds of children bearing all the stigmata of physical and mental degeneracy....The next generation must be considered, but the harvest has already commenced - a juvenile criminal here, an insane person there."
Dr. C. K. Clarke
"the Father of Canadian Psychiatry""
b1857-d1924
renowned physiologist for whom the Clarke Institute in Toronto was named
on the British Home Children
Lecture given at the Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada
from: The little immigrants - the orphans who came to Canada
Kenneth Bagnell
Need help researching your
British Home Child/Child Migrant?
Join us on Facebook where there are researchers available to help
British Home Children Advocacy & Research Association
Families of British Home Children / British Child Migrants
British Home Children of Chatham Kent, Ontario, CA
British Home Children Advocacy & Research Association
Families of British Home Children / British Child Migrants
British Home Children of Chatham Kent, Ontario, CA
For more information on this event & up coming events please visit
British Home Children Advocacy & Research Association
British Home Children Advocacy & Research Association
Newly released!
By Brad Barnes
"The Reluctant Canadian"
|
This fictional story is inspired by Canada’s real-life Child Immigration Scheme, a largely forgotten program that brought upwards of 100,000 supposedly orphaned and abandoned British children to Canada to act as much-needed farm labourers and servants (“home children”) from 1860 to the 1920s. The Reluctant Canadian follows the unforgettable and haunting journey of Sidney, a spirited victim of this immigration scheme who, after the death of his father, is taken from his mother and placed in a London orphanage. When eight-year-old Sidney is sent to Canada to live with new parents, he soon learns that his appointed guardian is the furthest thing from a father figure that he can imagine. As Sid comes of age amidst heartache and abuse, he struggles to retain his hope of one day returning home to his family. But as he desperately tries to escape his circumstances and free himself from the hold that the scheme has on him, he finds that he’s been marked for life by the program that supposedly wanted to help him.
|
Book signing events with Brad:
1) Saturday, March 16, 2013-Coles at the Parkland Mall in Red Deer-noon until four
2) Saturday, March 23-Crowfoot Chapters-66 Crowfoot Terrace, N.W. Calgary-noon until five
3) Sunday, March 24-Indigo in the Crossiron Mills Mall (between Calgary and Airdrie)-
noon until five
1) Saturday, March 16, 2013-Coles at the Parkland Mall in Red Deer-noon until four
2) Saturday, March 23-Crowfoot Chapters-66 Crowfoot Terrace, N.W. Calgary-noon until five
3) Sunday, March 24-Indigo in the Crossiron Mills Mall (between Calgary and Airdrie)-
noon until five
"As the great granddaughter of a Barnardo's home child, I couldn't put this book down and read it in one sitting. Well written, I think it will not only educate about the child immigration scheme, but also give personal insight into the lingering devastation that it caused for many of the children and their subsequent families."
British Home Child Tribute Movie
with special use of "Frederick Shortt's Lament"
sung by Marion Parsons
Visit our Library of BHC books & articles - the largest index of BHC books available on the internet today
Faces of our Canadian Home Children
Upcoming British Home Child Events
For more information on this event & upcoming events for 2013
please visit
British Home Children Advocacy & Research Association
Dedicated to all who experienced Child Immigration 1618-1967
Forgotten Children
by Walter Richard Williams
|
Can anybody hear me
I'm neither brave nor bold, I'm just a child from Birmingham I'm only 9 years old, We're standing on the cold deck Franconia is her name, they say it's high adventure but it doesn't feel the same, Mommy's taken poorly Daddy just can't work, Injured in the Great War fighting in the dirt, We're sailing off across the sea, a better life they say There's seven of us children, but Mommy and Daddy stay. Please don't forget us Mommy, please bring us back some day, Don't leave us in this wilderness, don't hurt us Lord we pray. We're going on holiday, across the ocean blue, but something just don't seem right, shouldn't Mommy and Daddy too, They say we'll all learn farming, Whatever that may mean, We'll love the pigs, hug the sheep, and keep the stable clean, They mention things like "young blood", to help the country grow, Beatrice 3, Louis 10, seven birthdays in a row, I lost them at the station, they said it's for the best, I don't like the look of this they're taking off my vest. Please don't forget us mommy Please bring us back some day, Don't leave us in this wilderness, Don't hurt us Lord we pray. |
I'm told I'm fit and healthy
they put me on a train, for what seemed like forever I traveled in the rain, A man was there to meet me, He didn't seem to care, That I was cold and hungry in the middle of nowhere, "work hard" he said, and then you'll eat, Co's that's the way things go So wipe them tears from your eyes You're Mommy and Daddy know, "I'll teach you how to farm" he yelled, then beat me with a stick, I've had not food for 3 long days Oh Mommy I feel so sick. Please don't forget us Mommy, Please bring us back some day, Don't leave us in this wilderness Don't hurt us Lord we pray. 60 years we've been here they never told us why, After 30 years I found the rest. I couldn't even cry, Some were lucky, some were not but one thing we all shared, Our families had forgotten us and no-one really cared. We can't go back to England, as no-one knows we're here, Maybe the day will come about Some family will appear. Then we can tell our story, Orphans we are not - Just forgotten children Of this lonely plot..... |
The first chapter in the book by Kenneth Bagnell, The Little Immigrants, tells the story of Horace Weir for whom this poem was written.
an online excerpt of this book can be seen at:
"The Little Immigrants"
an online excerpt of this book can be seen at:
"The Little Immigrants"
an undated photo, Dr. Barnardo Children having their trunks inspected before leaving for Canada
The Arthur Clarkson Story
|
A child kept in a loft, no heat, his feet frozen in his bed at night from snow falling on his bed!! Sent to work in his bare feet when his feet swelled with frost bite. His feet became infected and he became too ill to work so the farmer dragged him out of bed at 4:30 am and horse whipped the child. He was only 13 yeas old.
Arthur Clarkson's pre shipping photo
|
|
British Home Child Blogs
These blogs are very informative and well worth reading.
Ups and Downs - The British Home Children Blogs
by Genealogical Researcher and Advocate Lori Oschefski
by Genealogical Researcher and Advocate Lori Oschefski
The British Home Children
by Historian Andrew Simpson
Author of the book "Chorlton-cum-Hardy A Community Transformed (due to be released Autumn 2012 delves into the sometimes complex subject of the British Home Children. Andrew offers a British view of the issues which surround the migration of these children and today's attitudes in both Britain and Canada.
by Historian Andrew Simpson
Author of the book "Chorlton-cum-Hardy A Community Transformed (due to be released Autumn 2012 delves into the sometimes complex subject of the British Home Children. Andrew offers a British view of the issues which surround the migration of these children and today's attitudes in both Britain and Canada.
Child Migrant/Home Children
by Poet, Journalist and Author Sean Arthur Joyce
Mr. Joyce is poet, journalist, author, photographer and book designer. He presents a compelling and interesting point of view on the subject of our child migrants.
The Promise of Home
by Author Rose McCormick Brandon
Author Rose McCormick Brandon, granddaughter of a British Home Child shares her story and the stories of other Home Children in her blog. Mrs. McCormick Brandon will soon be releasing her new novel "The Promise of Home.
Publications on Canadian Home Children
For more information and how to order see:
|
Gwen in West Wind Calling
|
|
|
GLORIA V. PHILLIPS
"A Pilgrim Passing Through" is a Nationally nominated historical fiction chronicling the life of a "Home Boy", also known as a British Home Child. It is based on a true life situation and tells of the challenges and triumphs, strength and determination of an individual who may indeed represent one of your own ancestors.
" A Pilgrim's Daughter" , the newly released sequel, follows the life of Alicia. Seen through the eyes and memory of an old woman in a nursing home, it also is based on a true life story. Alicia lives through the Great Depression of the 1930' s in Toronto, Canada; the homeland life during the global conflict known as the Second World War and continues wondering what direction her life will take in a post-depression, post-war world.
" A Pilgrim's Daughter" , the newly released sequel, follows the life of Alicia. Seen through the eyes and memory of an old woman in a nursing home, it also is based on a true life story. Alicia lives through the Great Depression of the 1930' s in Toronto, Canada; the homeland life during the global conflict known as the Second World War and continues wondering what direction her life will take in a post-depression, post-war world.
Please visit Gloria Phillips's web site for more information on these books & her upcoming events.
Canadian Stories - An Anthology of British Home Child Stories
An Anthology of stories and poems submitted by British Home Children Descendants
Published by:
Canadian Stories
A magazine containing literary folk stories written by or about Canadians
available by subscription
www.CanadianStories.net
Copies of this book are available by contacting
Edward Janzen at:
ejanzen345@sympatico.ca
The Street Arab - The Story of a British Home Child
By Sandra Joyce
The Street Arab is a powerful story of a boy from a small mining town in Scotland, whose family is torn apart by World War I and poverty. Young Robbie comes home one day to find his family missing and consequently suffers a horrific accident.
With strength and determination, Robbie rises above the obstacles of his life of deprivation. Sent to Canada, along with countless other British Home Children, he hopes for a better life. What awaits him is more then he could have imagined.
The Street Arab, written almost a century later, pays homage to one of the largest immigration schemes Canada has ever experienced. It is estimated that ten percent of Canadians are British Home Children descendants.
Copies of Sandra Joyce's book are available through her web site: www.sandrajoyce.com
and available through Kobo, or see Welldone Publishing on Facebook
With strength and determination, Robbie rises above the obstacles of his life of deprivation. Sent to Canada, along with countless other British Home Children, he hopes for a better life. What awaits him is more then he could have imagined.
The Street Arab, written almost a century later, pays homage to one of the largest immigration schemes Canada has ever experienced. It is estimated that ten percent of Canadians are British Home Children descendants.
Copies of Sandra Joyce's book are available through her web site: www.sandrajoyce.com
and available through Kobo, or see Welldone Publishing on Facebook
Charlie - A Home Child's Life in Canada
By Beryl Young
Charlie - A Home Child's Life in Canada is a beautifully written book by Beryl Young, the daughter of British Home Child Charlie. Beryl is the author of many children's books, this book is an excellent choice for teaching our young British Home Children descendants and others about their heritage. Charlie - A Home Child's Life in Canada has been nominated for many awards across Canada.
For more information see Beryl's web site:
Beryl Young - arthur of books for children
Soon to be published - The Promise of Home
A novel by Rose McCormick Brandon
The Promise of Home is a historical fiction novel. Three British Home Children, separated after landing in Canada in 1912, promise to reconnect at 18 when their service in Canadian homes ends. They expect to reclaim their mother’s home in England and return there to live. Their tears, struggles and unexpected kindnesses from strangers change them forever. New relationships threaten to destroy their plan and keep them apart. The novel takes place from 1910-1920.
For more information and stories of our Home Children see: The Promise of Home
This web site was created by Lori Oschefski in honor and memory of
the British Home Children in her family
William Cheesman, Frederick Usher, Samuel Usher, Emma Usher, Mary Taylor, Sarah Taylor,
Archibald William Cheesman, Edward Ralph Cheesman, Helena Mary Cheesman,
Gwendoline Grace Cheesman, Olive June Cheesman, Sidney Basil Cheesman
& Katie May Sanderson
of these children Olive June, Lori's mother, survives
This site is meant to catalog the information and Home Child stories which I have come across while researching the British Home Children and their Canadian connections. It is not a complete listing of anything & I am adding information daily. Where possible I provide the links to where more detailed information may be found and/or credit. I am more then happy to provide credit for any source of information and if there are any omissions I would welcome being notified so I may give credit where credit is due.
Other web sites by Lori Oschefski
Ancestral and Family Research Services
For in depth research into your family history
The Gillinghlam Park Fete Tragedy
On July 11 1929 a demonstration put on by the Gillingham, Kent, England fire brigade went horribly wrong. This well rehearsed display was intended to show case the skills of the fire brigade by staging a mock rescue of young boys from a structure built in the corner of the park. Fifteen people lost their lives, nine of them children. One of these children was the nephew of Willliam Cheesman, a British Home Child sent to Canada in 1894. William would never see his family again and would never know of the tragedy which befell them back in England.
The Gillingham & Battle B-26 Crashes of 1944
On June 6th 1944 two B-26 Marauders on route to France suffered a mid air collision and crash in Gillingham, Kent, England. The crew of both planes perished as well as four civilians on the ground. Less the half an hour later two more B-26 Marauders from the same squadron suffered the same type of accident over Battle, Sussex. Only the pilot of one plane was to survive.
Site published December 2011
