British Home Children, Library and Archives Canada

 

By Bonnie Hartup

Are you among the ten percent of people of British heritage who are descendants of  British Home Children? A British Home Child was an impoverished, disadvantaged child from England sent to other countries between 1869 and 1948, often to become a farm labourer or domestic servant. Over thirty organizations — including Dr Barnardo’s and the Salvation Army — scooped up these vulnerable children and hoped to give them better lives in Canada. Over 100,000 children were sent to Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and Australia.  About 60,000 children provided a work force in Canada; some were just 5 or 6 years old. Many children experienced exploitation and or abuse.

 

My step-grandfather was a Home Child. He was not an orphan but was a poor child whose mother died when he was four years old and whose father sought help by putting his three youngest children in Dr. Thomas John Barnardo’s program/orphanage in Bethnal Green, London. Almost immediately eight year old Arthur Chambers  was put on a ship, the Parisian, under the care of Mrs Annie MacPherson with 64 other children to be delivered to Halifax and then Stratford, Ontario.  Marchmont, a temporary holding facility (and child welfare organization)  was where Arthur stayed until a market farmer, Mr. T Walsh, agreed to house him, employ him, and educate him in the Christian church. Arthur lived with Mr Walsh from May 1896 until January 1898. According to a letter held by Bernardo, in September of 1896, Arthur’s father had returned to the orphanage in Bethnal Green, London to retrieve his children, but only two were still there. Arthur had been sent to Canada.

Arthur Chambers

Arthur’s yearly inspection report from his foster home stated he had “night issues” and had to leave the Walsh’s house. He was nine years old. In February of 1898 he was sent to work for Mr Wintermute, and from there in August, to Mr D. Crerar. He was contracted to stay until he was fourteen years old.

Reports about Arthur, held in Dr Bernardo’s records, which I was able to access by writing and requesting them, state he did well in this home. “ Arthur was doing nicely, was obedient and was liked by Mr and Mrs Crerar. “ At fourteen, Arthur ran away and could not be found by the inspector who was sent to track him down. He should have been free to leave because he was fourteen, but neither Arthur nor the Mr. Crerar knew his true birth date.

Somehow fourteen year old Arthur travelled as far west as he could go and landed in the Yale area of  The  Cariboo. By 1914 he was homesteading on the Beaver Valley Road near Likely, B.C.

His cabin was on a lake that now bears his name, Chambers Lake. Eager to have passage back to England, Arthur joined the 54th Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force in 1915 and sailed aboard SS Saxonia.  He served in France as a scout sergeant, lance corporal and sergeant. His service included the Battles at Vimy Ridge and Passchendaele. He was hospitalized for flu twice in 1916, and for a severe gun shot wound to his head and back in 1916;  a double hernia in 1918; and shrapnel in the right temporal lobe in 1918. He was invalided to Seaforth England receiving a Medal for Bravery. Arthur suffered from shellshock (PTSD) and  had constant headaches. Upon his discharge and return to Canada, he headed north to Whitehorse, gathered a dog team to help him tend to his fur traps and also mined for galena. Records in Dawson show he was a partner in mining claims. He moved from cabin to cabin, often alone, with only a Bible to read. He spent time in Mayo and their museum has some records of his mining and work activities there.

By 1951, he felt well enough to return to the Cariboo where my cousins of mine spotted him, having arrived by bicycle, setting up camp by a river. They invited him to dinner at their ranch and he soon became a valued member of our family. His WWI pistol came in handy when he saved my cousin from an attacking mother bear with a quick, accurate shot. Nearing retirement age, Arthur needed an accurate birth date and requested his birth date from the Superintendent of Marchmont Homes. They sent him a date but it was not accurate, and did not match his registered birth records that I have found.

Arthur’s health demanded that he spend time near Shaughnessy Veteran’s Hospital in Vancouver, so he moved to Surrey B.C. In 1960, he married my widowed grandmother and they had 11 years together, enjoying family life with his wife’s children and grandchildren. This was the first real home life he had experienced since his mother died when he was four years old.

Veterans Affairs Canada is tracking British Home Children who served in the world wars. The British Home Children organization supports families of British Home Children by helping them find records, tracking burial places and educating the public about the children’s lives. They have managed to get various provincial governments and libraries to acknowledge and share information about British Home Children. September 28th has been declared Home Child Day. Antique dealers are on the lookout for the trunks that each Home Child was given.

Arthur never spoke of how he came to Canada. We heard about simple stories of heat, or a beating he received for smoking in Ontario, but not why he was there. Often these children hide their past due to embarrassment. Do you have family member that might have a past that is difficult to find and suddenly shows up in Canada? They might be a British Home Child. For more resources, visit Home Children Canada HERE