Young Immigrants to Canada

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Letter to The Editor From Barnardo Homes

(received 2001)

Dear Editor,

Barnardo's – the UK's largest children's charity, is trying to trace 2,500 'Homechildren' who were sent to Canada from the UK as child migrants in the period up to 1939. We also hold records for children sent by Liverpool Sheltering Homes, Marchmont Home and McPhersons Homes.

If you are a 'Homechild' and would like to find out more about why you were sent to Canada, who your birth family are and why they were unable to look after you, you can contact us to get access to your records. We would like to meet with you personally to discuss the past and answer some of your questions.

Our priority is to meet with those child migrants who are still alive. Our experience of meeting with the sons and daughters of home children who have sadly passed away has frequently prompted them to say: ' if only we had made contact while mom or dad were still here.'

Our participation in the child migration scheme is not a part of our organisation's history that we are proud of. We recognise that many of those sent to Canada had very distressing experiences – and we are now trying to reach as many of them as we can to offer information and support to help them come to terms with what happened to them as children.

If you are a 'Homechild' seeking information about your past, please write to: Anne Newill, Barnardo's Aftercare Centre, Tanners Lane, Barkingside, Essex IG6 1QG, UK, or e-mail: anne.newill@barnardos.org.uk or fax on: 0044 20 8498 7017

Anne Newill
Child Migration Team Leader