Comments on: British Home Children: A Canadian Scandal

By: Nicole Hannah

Nicole Hannah — Sat, 25 Oct 2025 06:06:22 +0000

I watched a CBC movie about this in the 80s with RH Thomson and Cedric Smith. Very moving and a bit scary as a pre-teen.

By: Shirley (Harding) Johnson

Shirley (Harding) Johnson — Fri, 24 Oct 2025 22:09:30 +0000

There is a lot of truth to this. Thousands of children from England were shipped to Canada starting around 1915. They were called boat children. My father Stanley Harcourt Staples, was born in London England in 1910. His mother brought my dad who was four years old at the time, along with his little brother, Vernon Benjamin Staples and placed them in an orphanage in Edmonton, Alberta. Dad was adopted by an American family ( The Harding’s) and was raised in the United States. I have no idea what happened to his brother. Dad was the father of nine, grandfather to 27 at the time of his death in 1994. The family has grown to over 100, so there could possibly be a great population of English heritage in Canada.

By: Eve Lazarus

Eve Lazarus — Thu, 23 Oct 2025 14:17:23 +0000

In reply to J Lee. Thanks so much for taking the time to add to the story.

By: Kathy Hughes

Kathy Hughes — Tue, 21 Oct 2025 04:57:46 +0000

In reply to Ron Taylor.

I had no knowledge of this until now….and yes the treatment similar to Canada’s Indiginious…… But some how never brought to light!

By: J Lee

J Lee — Tue, 21 Oct 2025 00:24:59 +0000

You have not blown the story out of proportion and it is indeed part of Canada’s history with many family’s decendanting from immigrant teenagers and children. Hardship fell upon families from lack of work, not enough money to feed the family, illness and the two great wars that not only took the lives of soldiers and left many without limbs to return to previous work but also many came back with shell shock and unable to function. Finding themselves either a widow or with a husband unable to provide enough food for the family there were many mothers who did contact an agency who advertised they would keep the child (children in some cases) from starving at least and offered training for boys either in the fields growing food, caring for the livestock or on the ships. And then there were the children with fathers who found themselves with a very sick wife or deceased wife and could not care for the children by themselves. Many of the children were much loved. The parents who signed their children over to agencies (for the good of the child) no longer had a say and many of the children were sent by the agency -and – the Canadian immigration jointly to work in Canada. Canada’s office was based in London. Some children were sent via the Roman Catholic Church who received the children in much the same manner ie family lacking food or a spouse and I believe in Scotland some were from the streets sent to Quarriers and other agencies one can research.
Placement for the child/young teen was “selected ” from applications received from farmers or family’s wishing for household help. The Canadian agent did visit the child and there are progress reports filed however there were times a child was afraid to report abuse or afraid they would not get another placement and be sent back to England and possibly face hunger again… The abuse suffered included lack of warm clothes in winter, made to work long hours doing mens work, beaten, long hours cooking and cleaning for entertaining, sexual harassment, dismissal due to pregnancy, and many more that “should not have happened”.
Although many suffered greatly at the hands of abusive placement… not something Canadians should be proud of most of the men fought in the great wars for Canada. It is true that some ran away from their placements and were returned to England but not many. It is also true that most of the immigrants worked hard and the contract included them attending school and church however most did not attend either. They were paid per the contract and $ was to be deposited in (the Bank of Montreal) on behalf of the child with a small allowance given for them to buy something or attend a movie, etc.
The child was Endentured via contract through an government agency from ages 3 to 18. Not a typo.. from age 3 they could be sent. Indeed all part of our history and should be known.

By: Heidi

Heidi — Sun, 19 Oct 2025 23:05:58 +0000

The church I grew up attending, in the Eastern Townships of Quebec, included one quiet older gentleman who had been one of the home children. Supposedly the family he was assigned to treated him reasonably well, but he always seemed quite withdrawn, had few social skills, never seemed very happy and wasn’t included in many events – what sad stories!

By: Dee B

Dee B — Sun, 19 Oct 2025 17:49:48 +0000

My stepmother’s father was one of these children. The story I heard was that he lied about his age at 15 and enlisted in WWI. He was gassed by nerve gas and discharged and I think received compensation for that but I’m not sure. He abandoned his wife and 3 children in the 1930’s and returned to England where he then had another family. My stepmother never saw him again. She was 8 and the oldest of the 3.

By: Ron Taylor

Ron Taylor — Sat, 18 Oct 2025 16:02:00 +0000

It was a different era and one with vastly different ethnics from today. The treatment of these children has similarities with Canada’s indigenous residential schools which were in turn modelled on the British private schools. Children were to be seen and not heard.

By: Loretta Houben

Loretta Houben — Sat, 18 Oct 2025 15:36:03 +0000

What a pathetic story. What would have happened to the children if they had remained in England? It’s fascinating that there were so many children and now there are so few. No one has 8 to 14 children each anymore. They barely have one! (as in my case but that was due to circumstances beyond my control) I did hear of one story but the details were so dim I have no details; the 2nd husband of one of my paternal aunts (now both dead) said his parents came from Dr. Barnardo’s home, but he had no other information. He was in his 60s when I spoke to him, and he couldn’t remember anything other than that, so I was always sad he had nothing written down, and no dates etc. He said he had been told that information. Thanks for this post. I love the Canadian stamp.