Joseph Payne was born during the Industrial Revolution in Birmingham, England in 1905. It was a time of great poverty. Britain had too many starving and orphaned children in crowded cities, and Canada had acres and acres of green fields and a need for farm workers. In 1915, Joe became one of 100,000 children sent to Canada and indentured to work on a farm until he was eighteen years of age.
​
https://www.amazon.ca/Alone-Again-Carolyn-Anne-Macisaac/dp/0359785891/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=all+alone+again&qid=1575835351&sr=8-1
​Short biographies of the British home Children buried at La Chaudiere Military Cemetery.

To purchase visit: https://goo.gl/oLZ7mR
​by Mr Paul Grahame Tompkins
This is the story of a London East End “orphan”, Walter Charles Tompkins, Number 29. He was one of the more than 100,000 Home Children who were shipped to Canada between the years of 1833 and 1939. It was a small but not insignificantchapter in the history of Canada. Based on true events the novel makes extensive use of letters, documents, newspaper articles and archive material from the period. It begins with the conscription of his father, Herbert, into the British Army, his training in the Machine Gun Corps, his war experience in Salonika and consequent injuries, capture and incarceration as a POW. What has happened to his father determines Walter’s future as one of Canada’s indentured labour force. But at first, Walter must become an “orphan.”It is the story of a man and his son struggling to live in the midst of a world over which they have no control.

For purchase visit: https://goo.gl/z8ewSu
​ This is Roddy’s story of working at Fairbridge Farm, serving in the Canadian Army, making a new life in the United States, and eventually, reuniting with his family. This is Roddy's story.
A combination of true stories of BHC intermixed with the history of the programs. Compiled in 2015. 

Contact Lori Oschefski for purchase
​info@britishhomechildren.com

​

Marjorie Too Afraid to Cry: A Home-Child Experience 
Patricia Skidmore (Author) 

Marjorie Arnison was one of the thousands of children removed from their families, communities, and country and placed in a British colony or commonwealth to provide "white stock" and cheap labour. In Marjorie's case, she was sent to Prince of Wales Fairbridge Farm School, just north of Victoria, British Columbia, in 1937. As a child, Patricia was angered that her mother wouldn't talk about the past. It took many years to discover why — it wasn't because she was keeping a dark secret, but because she had "lost" her childhood.

For 10-year-old Marjorie, forgetting her past, her family, and England was the only survival tool she had at her disposal to enable her to face her frightening and uncertain future. This is Marjorie's account as told by her daughter. It is a story of fear, loss, courage, survival, and finding one's way home.About the AuthorPatricia Skidmore began exploring the story of child migration to Canada in the late 1990s. She is the editor of the Fairbridge Gazette and lives in Port Moody, British Columbia.
Her family broken apart and her identity taken away, she had to forget her past in order to face her future. But forgetting isn’t forever. Taken from their mother’s care and deported from England to the colonies, ten-year-old Marjorie Arnison and her nine-year-old brother, Kenny, were sent to the Prince of Wales Fairbridge Farm School on Vancouver Island in September 1937. Their eight-year-old sister, Audrey, followed the next August.

Marjorie's new home was on an isolated farm — a cottage she shared with at least ten other girls and a “cottage mother” at the head, who had complete control over her “children.”

Survival required sticking to bare essentials. Marjorie had to accept a loss, which was difficult to forgive. Turning inward, she would find strength to pull her through, but she had to lock away her memories in order to endure her new life.

Marjorie was well into her senior years before those memories resurfaced.

The Arab and the Brit
by Bill Rezak

Born of a Palestinian father and a British mother, Rezak has always been intrigued by the different worlds from which his parents came. His father’s ancestors were highwaymen on the Arabian Peninsula in the eighteenth century. They sparred unsuccessfully with ruling Ottoman Turks and escaped with their families to America. His mother’s parents were sent separately from Great Britain into indentured servitude in Canada, alone at the ages of ten and sixteen. They worked off their servitude, met, married, and moved to New York State. In The Arab and the Brit, a memoir that spans multiple generations and countries, Rezak traces the remarkable lives of his ancestors. Narrating their experiences against the backdrop of two world wars and an emerging modern Middle East, the author gives readers a textured and vivid immigrant story. 

Rezak recalls his paternal grandmother apprehending would-be Russian saboteurs during World War I, his grandfather’s time at Dr. Bernardo’s home, a shelter for destitute children, and his father’s work with the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Association following World War II. Told with humor and captivating detail, The Arab and the Brit chronicles the trials and triumphs of one family’s struggle to succeed in the New World.

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 


British Home Children
Their Stories
Compiled by the
 British Isles Family History Society of Ottawa 

To commemorate The Year of the British Home Child, BIFHSGO has assembled a collection of stories prepared by the researchers about the lives of some of these these children — their ancestors — that demonstrate the strength of character, sense of purpose and good humour that enabled them to overcome adversity and contribute a positive and lasting legacy to their new country. 

For copies see:
http://globalgenealogy.com/countries/canada/home-children/resources/index.htm 

British Isles Family History Society of Ottawa

The Legacy of a Home Child
by Mary Pettit

Mary Janeway, born in Scotland in 1887, came to Canada as a "home child" at a very young age. Separated from her brothers and sisters, the "tiny" Mary was sent as a domestic to a farm near Innerkip, Ontario. This is Mary's story -- a recreation of her life set in Victorian rural Ontario, from the time of the tragedy that split her family to her eventual escape from a life of drudgery. Robbed of her childhood years but buoyed by an inner resolve and an indomitable spirit, Mary Janeway reveals the tragic events surrounding this period of Canadian history -- the Home Children.

Mary Janeway was godmother to author Mary Pettit.

Whatever happened to Mary Janeway?
by Mary Pettit

Sixteen-year-old Mary Janeway, a home child, is desperate to escape from her rural home child placement and flees to London, Ontario, to find a domestic position. When conditions become unbearable, she moves on, vowing never to relinquish her freedom again. After she arrives in Hamilton as a young bride, she rejoices in the urban conveniences and the marvels of new inventions that include electric sewing machines, sulphur matches, street stoplights, a one-horsepower Brunswick refrigerator, the advent of the zipper, and the beginning of radio. But even the latest technology can't stop the ravages of disease and other family tragedies. Mary lives through two world wars, the Spanish Influenza, and the Great Depression. In spite of many hardships, including the imprisonment of her husband, she remains a strong, resilient woman well into her senior years and makes many contributions to Hamilton, the city she calls home 

The Home Children 
Phyllis Harrison (Editor)

From 1870 to 1930 British Home children, over 1000,00 of them, arrived to work on Canadian farms. Travelling in groups of up to 400, their worldly possessions in small metal trunks, they came from the discipline of British Homes to the land that was believed to offer the best hope for their future. Some of them are still living; their personal stories have been compiled and edited by Phyllis Harrison. From childhood memories, the writers tell of the harsh conditions that separated them from family and friends, of the reality of loneliness, of grinding hard work, discrimination, and disappointment. 
​BHC mentioned in this book: Harold Green, age 13, SS Melita, St. John, NB, 1923; page 32 Wallace Ford, ran our of Canada into Hollywood fame, page 60 Rachel Hall, her death reported on May 7, 1903, rheumatism, page 60 Ralph Baxter, SS Sicilian, page 79,80 Alice Rutty Griffin, 1903, age 10, page 80-82 Edith Hutchinson, 1909, Sicilian, page 82. Mentions mother, sisters and baby brother David Hugh Caesar, March, 10, 1910, age 14, page 83 Dolly Griffin, October 1, 1910, Sicilian, page 85 Mary Warriner, page 86, 87 Helen Gough, page 88-90 C. W., page 91, September 10, 1914, Corinthian, 11 years old Daisy Peacock, September, 1914, Corinthian, pages 92-95 Annie Hall (Richmond), pages 95, 96 Doris Frayne, 1915, pages 96, 97 Len Russell, 1916, pages 98, 99 Francis M. Williams, June, 1920, 12 years old, pages 99-105 Ethel Lewis, September, 1922, Odanah, age 13?, pages 105-108 George and Walter Longyear, pages 108, 109 Margaret Wilson, page 109 Louise Stevens, 1923, page 110 Leslie Coombs, Montrose, page 111 Harold Green, age 10, 1923, twin brother sent to Australia, pages 112, 113 John Holman, April 10, 1931, Duchess of Richmond; brother Bill, pages 113-116 Jim Inwards, 1937, Duchess of Bedford, pages 117, 118 Jamie Jarvis, first child, emigrated to Canada with Annie Macpherson's party, 1868, page 121

Ellen 
by John Willoughby

This is the story of the orphan whose adoption by Pierce and Rachael Macneill of Cavendish was the inspiration for "Anne of Green Gables" by L.M. Montgomery. The book has a lot of black and white photography. 216 pages. Baxter Ramsay, Brad Smith (illustrator)
John's Blog
​Doll in the Woodpile: A Home Child's Journey From England to Canada in 1908

Doll in the Woodpile is a true story of a young girl, Edith Farr, who is signed over to the Dr. Barnardo Institute by her destitute mother in England at the age of eight and sent to Canada in 1908 to become a child labourer in rural Ontario. Edith's life is a testament that while society dares to call a child without a legal father, illegitimate; that child is never bound by such limitations. Edith survives a tumultuous childhood, filled with loss and loneliness, but when she meets Ernest Mowbray, a handsome, but wounded soldier after World War I, she discovers that what was once taken from her, she has the power to re-create for herself: A family that throughout the next century, grows to over two hundred descendants who become an integral part of Canada's future; and the living legacy of two "orphaned" children from England. Despite insurmountable obstacles of poverty, World War I and The Great Depression, they persevere and discover that while everything can be taken away; love, faith and compassion can bring restoration and fulfillment.

Home child 
by Barbara Haworth-Attard

Editorial Review - Canadian Book Review Annual
During the late 1800s and well into the Depression years, 100,000 children, mostly orphans, were shipped from Britain to Canada as cheap farm labor. This story is about one such child, 12-year-old Arthur, who is worked to the point of exhaustion at the Wilson farm. Although Arthur finds an ally in Grandma Wilson, he is treated as an inferior being, both on the farm and at school. When certain items disappear from the farmhouse, Arthur is accused of theft and threatened with deportation. A sudden turn of events and a dramatic rescue redeem Arthur in the eyes of the Wilsons and the community, and he is finally accepted as a member of the family. Adults and children alike will be moved by this poignant and simply told story, which is based on real-life experiences. Highly recommended. 


Fegan's Homes News letters
The Red Lamp 1913-1920

Vol. 10 - Fegan's Homes Newsletters. The Red Lamp 1913-20
Compiled by Douglas V. Fry & Fawne Stratford-Devai
Introduction by Marj Kohli

 The newsletters are filled with stories of how various boys came into Fegan's care, or boys who were doing well in Canada with supportive families and placements. Mr. Fegan placed great emphasis on the after-care given to boys in Canada. We know that every year inspections were made of the homes and circumstances of the boys under 18. The original Canadian record books bear testimony to this. The newsletters, however, tell us about the most positive and promising placements. 
 

95 Years with John "Jack" Day - The Orphan Nobody Wanted

Picture

The late John Day, 95 Years With John (Jack) Day, grew up in the famous Barnardo's Orphanage in London. At the age of ten, he was sent across the North Atlantic to Canada to work on a farm. He eventually worked his way to Decatur, Illinois, where he spent the remainder of his life, frequently writing letters to the editor in various local and regional publications. His very candid biography includes his estrangement from his only son, his reaction to his first wife's love affair, to the Great Depression, to his own love affair, and to a second marriage. An active, competent, and graceful man until his last days, Day left a truly honest legacy of the life of an ordinary man. 

 Middlemore Memories, Tales of the British Home Child 

Tales of the British Home Children is a collection of stories that follow the lives of children sent to Canada from orphanages in Great Britain. It tells of the hurt, anguish and torment of not being wanted by the country of your birth. 

Title:     Middlemore Memories, Tales of the British Home ChildBookID:     midmem-nonficAuthors:     Michael StaplesISBN-10(13):     0968821812Publisher:     M.A. Staples, Frederickton, New Brunswick, CanadaPublication date:     2003Edition:     1stLanguage:     English
Price:     $18.99 CA 

The Other Half

Title:     The Other HalfBookID:     otherhalf-nonficAuthors:     John WorbyISBN-10(13):     N-O-N-E12Publisher:     J. M. Dent and SonsPublication date:     1937Edition:     VariesLanguage:     English
Price:     Varies

[EDITORS NOTE:  This book contains graphic passages, so please be advised that we rate it as for Older Teens and Above.] 
ASKS BAN ON BOOK
Toronto Star Saturday, March 6, 1937 

London Daily Express takes most of a page to say that a book "The Other Half" written by John Worby and published by J. M. Dent and Sons, should be banned.  This is the life story of a Barnardo boy as told by himself and as a specimen of low-life literature it ranks high.  The author has a knack of getting tough experiences and of writing them.  About 50 pages of the this book should have been killed by the publishers as unfit for any decency-loving reader.  Much of the rest is less revolting than many so-called respectable books of realism.  Passages here and there have a high spiritual quality.  One speech of the girl-hobo to the author, in the "jungle" is real emotional gold.  A good deal of the hobot scne is in Canada; the toughest parts in the United States and England to which the wastrel was deported.  One page of this in a S.A. hostel is on a par with some of the worst spots in a recent slum-novel of Glasgow.  What this book needed was thorough editing.  Much of it is too good to destroy; a great deal of it too raw to read.

Kirkus Reviews said:

Aims at market of Angels in Undress, perhaps, but misses. Worby escaped from an orphan home and soon learned the tricks of the trade, how to beg, borrow and steal -- and than move on. A succession of shoddy experiences, -- meets up with homosexuals, girl hobos, is deported to England, is adopted by a wealthy woman who turns out to be a drug addict -- then back on the road. Sprinkled with hobo lingo to lend veri-similtude, but is unconvincing.

Ups and Downs: the Story of Nellie Winifred Platt 

In 1923, Nellie Winifred Platt made a trip to find her two brothers and a sister, who had been sent to Canada in 1911 from the Middlemore Home in England.

Her grandson, Michael Staples, a well known New Brunswick journalist, used her search as the focus of his book “Ups and Downs”. 

Title:     Ups and Downs: the Story of Nellie Winifred PlattBookID:     upsdowns-nonficAuthors:     Michael StaplesISBN-10(13):     0887901247Publisher:     Brunswick PressPublication date:     1997Edition:     1stLanguage:     English
Price:     Varies 

Neither Waif Nor Stray: The Search For A Stolen Identity 

Title:     Neither Waif Nor Stray: The Search For A Stolen IdentityBookID:     neither-nonficAuthors:     Perry Allan SnowISBN-10(13):     1581127588Publisher:     Universal PublishersPublication date:     February 15, 2000Edition:     1stLanguage:     English
Price:     $25.95 US

Mr. Snow gives hope for researching these lost ancestors. Too many people do not know that these children were placed on both sides of the US/Canadian border. Mr. Snow's analysis of the psychological effects on the Home Children will assist their descendants in understanding how the British Home Child scheme shaped their lives. 

The Home Child
by Richard P. Tanos

Trafford Publishing | August 14, 2003 | Trade Paperback
The Home Child tells the story of Henry Dewberry, a twelve-year-old orphan from London, England. Henry was one of a hundred thousand children who made that incredible ocean voyage to a so-called better place, called Canada. Blessed by a stroke of fate, Henry clumsily meets Lizzie, a local middle-class girl who lives in the town of Waterford, Ontario. Lizzie, along with her best friend Clara suddenly figure out what is taking place and both of them do everything possible to find out where Henry has been sent. This historical story is based on actual events and reflects life in South Western Ontario, Canada in 1907 -- called Canada West. A documented shameful period in Canadian history that was suppressed for years by all those that were involved in its execution. Canada and Australia, young nations trying hard and fast to grow up, engaged in an organized, lucrative child slave movement with mother England. This cruel and harsh immigrant trade continued for almost forty years, all the while being ignored by the world. The story reflects what life was like for young immigrant children, local children, and their strong will and desire to explore and be together. The unfortunate event at the end of the novel propels Henry from boyhood into an adult and changes his character forever. The Home Child is a story that embraces human tolerance, unthinkable harsh isolation, commitment, and the ultimate will to survive in this so-called better place called, Canada.Your heart will certainly be touched. Henry and Lizzie were my grandparents -Richard P. Tanos

Chasing Grandma

Picture
The hobby of genealogy, of tracing family connections, is currently popular as people look for a place to fit in an increasingly chaotic and disconnected society. Young took on the challenge of tracing her family tree and found herself unexpectedly stonewalled in her grandmother's generation. Why did her grandmother lie about her real name, her birthplace, her parents? Genealogy buffs will enjoy the details of Young's search, others the information about the Home Children. These were British orphans, and children whose parents couldn't afford to keep them, who were sent out in batches to Canada in the early part of the 20th century, generally to be house help (the girls) and farm help (the boys). Being a Home Child, an orphan, or an illegitimate child was shameful until fairly recently, and the grandma of the title does all she can to obscure the facts of her early life. She later has a child out of wedlock, and hides that, too. 

After all the stories are told, we have a portrait of two strong women who are at odds with each other because of silence and lies. Unhappily for Grandma and her daughter, the rift lasts. Happily, Young's tolerance, understanding, and complete absence of rancour ensure that the revealing of family secrets makes for an unexpectedly inspiring read. 

Celtic Odyssey
William Robert Price

(Review from BHC Mailing list 2001)

If you wish to read about a home child who made a success of a bad situation [read] "Celtic Odyssey" by Bill Price. Bill was a young Home Child from Wales, whose father was killed when he was very young and the mother had TB. Bill was put into a home and eventually shipped out to Canada. His life according to his book was a life of misery for many long years but Bill was made of tough stock and held in there. He eventually went on to become the Reeve of Arnprior in eastern Ontario.  Then he was general manager of the local Canadian Tire Store. The last I heard of him he was retired and living in Ottawa. I met him at one of the Home Children reunions in Ottawa, a truly nice person. Best $10.00 I ever spent.

Black Boots and Short Trousers 

Title:     Black Boots and Short TrousersBookID:     blackboots-nonficAuthors:     Sydney Albert SharpISBN-10(13):     095252810XPublisher:     Syd SharpPublication date:     1995Edition:     1stLanguage:     English
Price:     $11.99 and up
A personal memoir of life in Fegan's Home for Boys in Stony Stratford, England. 149 pages, illustrated. 

 Bastard Without Portfolio 

Title:     Bastard Without PortfolioBookID:     bastard-nonficAuthors:     Alfred Austen as told to Eileen Sheila HillISBN-10(13):     9780533048137Publisher:     Vantage PressPublication date:     1981Edition:     Language:     English

Autobiography of an ex-Barnardo boy who was emigrated to Canada in 1908. The author was also known as Bert Carter.

No copies have been found available for sale.  Do you have this book and wish to sell or trade?  Please contact us!

Barnardo Boy - A look back at Seventy

THIS is a fascinating tale told by a born story-teller. John Clarke gives with humour and sensitivity, and without any self pity, a detailed account of his childhood in the care of Barnardo's. He then recounts his five years in the Army, tells of his marriage, and describes how he set up and ran his own business. It is the story of a man who, facing many difficulties, has never wanted for courage and determination to overcome them. 

Ma Vie d’Enfant Orphelin 

Title:     Ma Vie d’Enfant OrphelinBookID:     mavie-nonficAuthors:     George FullerISBN-10(13):     2980550604Publisher:     Self PublishedPublication date:     1997Edition:     Language:     English

Autobiography of a home child's life.  In French.  Can only be viewed through the LAC at this time. 

Memories of a Home Boy 

Title:     Memories of a Home BoyBookID:     memhomeboy-nonficAuthors:     G. PinchinISBN-10(13):     N-O-N-E6Publisher:     Self-PublishedPublication date:     Edition:     Language:     EnglishAn autobiographical work by a home child.

NOTE: No copies of this work can be found.

However, it may still be possible to obtain a copy from the author by writing to him at:
rpinchin@aol.com