RootsChat.Com
Research in Other Countries => Australia => Topic started by: Berlin-Bob on Thursday 07 May 15 19:19 BST (UK)
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When we hear the phrase "British Home Children" we usually think of Canada. And this is indeed where the the majority of British Home Children (BHC) ended up.
But British Home Children were also sent to Australia and to New Zealand.
The RootsChat database for BHC has over 20.000 records - 781 are records of British Home Children who were sent to Australia, and 9 records are of New Zealand BHC.
Perhaps you would like to add your British Home Children to the database ?
See these topics:
Topic: A Rootschat Database for British Home Children
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=716214.0
and
Topic: DBSIG: British Home Children.
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=716206.0
For DBSIG access:
» Reference Library (http://surname.rootschat.com) (link at bottom of every RootsChat page)
» DBSIG - Database for Special Interest Groups (http://surname.rootschat.com/lexicon/dbsig/index.php)
» Select your interest
And here are the help pages, to show you what is possible, and how to enter your data:
http://surname.rootschat.com/lexicon/dbsig/dbsig-help.php?dbsig_num=2&show=gi#gi
Looking forward to seeing you there ....
Bob
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Hello Bob, :)
While it might be self explanatory for all those families involved directly from Britain, it may not suffice in Australia. Australia is made up with people from many, many Nations and some of those others and I will include myself as well, may need a bit more information on just what "British Home Children" are.
Is it possible to have that on the database, or here?
Neil ;)
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Hi Neil,
Here is a short (canadian based) description from the home page of our database:
Over a period of 70 years from 1869 to 1939, up to 120,000 British children were sent to Canada to work as indentured farm workers and domestics.
The descendants of what are now known as 'The British Home Children' number up to ten percent of the current Canadian population.
Many children were sent to Canada by various institutions and Childrens' Homes in the UK.
regards,
Bob
Image : one of 16 pages of records for British Home Children sent to Australia
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Hi Bob,
The wildcard * in the surname in advanced search is not working for me :(
It just keeps coming up as no records found. What am I doing wrong?
Debra :)
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Oh OK, I have to choose 'soundex'. Got it.
LOL, no, that doesn't work either.
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Hi Debra,
Do you get any kind of error message ?
What did you enter in the surname field ?
Here is an example with "starting with"
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I thought I had to use a wildcard as in Car* for the search to work but I see now that I don't.
Thank you.
Debra :)
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Just a note regarding documents related to the BHC in Australia.
The National Archives have started to digitise not just incoming 20th century passenger lists, but also the documents in Series B4094 - "Ships' files relating to the Assisted Passage Scheme".
These documents include reports by the onboard welfare officers and matrons and sometimes mention individual passengers/children by name.
They also usually contain separate lists of those children onboard who were from Barnardo's and Fairbridge and also the Dreadnought boys etc.
A couple of examples are here:
Benalla arrived 1925
http://soda.naa.gov.au/record/413700/1
Baradine arrived 1928
http://soda.naa.gov.au/record/414875/1
Searching and viewing is free - just use 'Basic Search' to search for the ship name and year and then scroll through the results for records that have been digitised.
http://www.naa.gov.au/collection/search/index.aspx
Keep checking back if your ship has not yet been digitised and don't forget to choose the right voyage as there may have been a number of different ones during the year.
As usual with these types of records you have to be prepared to see things that you may not like.
Debra :)
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Hi Debra,
Thank you for posting those links, very interesting reading!
Karen
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Hi Debra,
Karen beat me to it, so that's both of us Data Co-ordinators accounted for! ;D
Thanks for those links. Great stuff and just what we need. Perhaps you should repeat the search one in a post to Australia Resources, assuming I've not missed one there already.
I had a good read of the document re the Benalla. As Karen says it's very good reading. From our point of view there is only one page (p.44 of 48) of major interest - the list of 40/41 Barnardo's Boys. It states 40 in several places in the document but there are 41 names on the list. The odd one is top of the list, a 9 yr old when all the rest are 14+. I'm puzzled by the frequent use of the term 'Nominee' which also applies to the 9yr old. but I'll put that query in a separate post.
Of that list of Benalla passengers 28 of the 41 Barnardo's Boys are already on the database so I feel the need to complete the task.
For other readers' benefit, anyone can transcribe such lists of Home Children (or as you might recognise them better, Child Migrants.) The only thing we ask is that you check the names against the database to avoid duplicate entries. The best way is to use Advanced Search and look for the ship, year and month only. Days of arrival sometimes vary with port of landing.
alanmack
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If you get the chance to get to Liverpool, England before the 4th of October 2015 there is a very interesting exhibition at the Liverpool Maritime Museum called "On Their Own", I went to see it yesterday and it was really moving.
http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/maritime/exhibitions/child-migrants/
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Excellent resource, found information about my grandfather. Thank you
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British Home Children was still coming to Australia into the 1970's. I know a number of these "children" some refused to find more on their British family and got on with their new life while others did find their family. Many was told that their parents had died and later found that this was not correct.
Yonks
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see https://www.childmigrantstrust.com/ and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Humphreys
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Hello Bob, :)
While it might be self explanatory for all those families involved directly from Britain, it may not suffice in Australia. Australia is made up with people from many, many Nations and some of those others and I will include myself as well, may need a bit more information on just what "British Home Children" are.
Is it possible to have that on the database, or here?
Hello Neil, incase this can help anyone who is unclear about who British Home Children are. According to my friend who is the chairman of the Olde Fairbridgians, British Home Children is not really the description they wish to use, or be used I suppose, for the children who got emigrated to Australia without informed consent.
British children aged 3 to 18 ish were packed on ships in huge quantities constantly.
It's difficult to believe this extraordinary miscarriage of justice was government sponsored children put to slave labour. Estimate most have not had good ebecause those with power used their suffering to break them completely by
were taken from their families usually because of an unforseen trauma, such as parental death. This traumatic transportation, or trafikking in reality - as uk government admits - of children without their families or a legal known guardian is hurting our broken up families still. There is no justice in Britain Australia, Particularly. Canada were last to have apology by the government.
Sorry this is not as well explained as I wish it. However serious anxieties were stamped into the brains of our relatives sent to Australia Canada New Zealand South Africa Rhodesia etc. Empire building by filling with Good white stock. and shares of profit from Child care keeps making these companies/charities richer day by day.
Please try to look at The Leaving of Liverpool film.
Oranges and Sunshine film.
Empty Cradles book by Social worker who found out and told the truth. Margaret Humphreys. Child Migrants Trust founder. office in Perth Western Australia and Nottingham England.
Thank you for reading this. RiP the ignored British child Migrants and families who died with their identity still not given by the organisations.
a group of families and individuals Australia Fairbridge Farm School Pinjarra
justnre
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The link to the original database doesn't seem to work anymore. Is there an update?
Gen in NBL UK
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The link to the original database doesn't seem to work anymore. Is there an update?
Gen in NBL UK
Hello. I admit I only access the British Home Children database by difficulty, and sometimes I can't remember how to access the convoluted route I found works. I try leave the database page constantly open on my gadget.
I'm unsure if there will be a reply with information that database is accessible a straightforward way. Hope so please. if not I can try explain my method of access? soon. thanks.
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Thanks pinjarra1929
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http://surname.rootschat.com/lexicon/dbsig/dbsig-quick-search.php?dbsig_num=1&letter=S&surname=SCALES
Hi I hope this gives you access to the database British Home Children.
please say if not.
When I clicked on the above link, it takes you into the open database. Above the records listed are the alphabet letters. Click on the letter for surname you want. It then gives the first 3 letters of surnames begin with eg H. Click on nearest for surname needed. Will list them. if when you see your desired BHC/British child Migrant., front screen has basic details but if Click the icon symbol above left of the name (looks bit like looking down on a frying pan with a plus sign on it) and the whole record opens. scroll down if lucky there will be information under "notes", of various amounts. Some unfortunately have none or a basic note. Others are full of valuable information.
Let me know if I can help more. I am granddaughter of a 12 year boy from UK sent to Western Australia, Fairbridge, Pinjarra until age 21. He therefore was repatriated with three similar cases, on SS Ormonde, in 1937.