Helston Home For Boys, Helston, Cornwall
The Helston Home For Boys (also known as the Truro Diocesan Home for Boys) was established by the Waifs and Strays Society in 1901 at The Old Vicarage, 32 Church Street, Helston.
Waifs and Strays Home for Boys, Helston, 1901. © Peter Higginbotham
The official opening took place on Wednesday 5th June, 1901, in the presence of a distinguished gathering which included the Bishop of Truro; the Mayor of Helston, Mr G. Beringer; the Mayor of Falmouth; and the Society's Founder, the Rev. Edward Rudolf. A collection amounting to £13 was taken. It was also announced that Mr Beringer had donated a bed which would bear his name. The home could accommodate 20 boys aged from 6 to 10 years, with the first four having already taken up residence. Miss Hunt was appointed as the permanent Matron.
Dedication Service at Waifs and Strays Home for Boys, Helston, 1901. © Peter Higginbotham
Boys at the home regularly took part in the town's traditional 'Furry Dance' procession, held each year on Flora Day (May 8th).
Boys outside the Helston Home on 'Furry Dance' day, 1907. © Peter Higginbotham
In October 1909, the home transferred to larger premises at Newquay.
Records
Note: many repositories impose a closure period of up to 100 years for records identifying individuals. Before travelling a long distance, always check that the records you want to consult will be available.
- Index of the Society's first 30,000 children's case files ordered by surname.
- Index of the Society's first 30,000 children's case files ordered by date of birth.
- The Children's Society Records and Archive Centre is at Unit 25, Springfield House, 5 Tyssen Street, London E8 2LZ (email: archives@childrenssociety.org.uk). Files for children admitted to its homes after September 1926 were microfilmed in the 1980s and the originals destroyed. Some post-1926 files had already been damaged or destroyed during a flood. The Society's Post-Adoption and Care Service provides access to records, information, advice, birth record counselling, tracing and intermediary service for people who were in care or adopted through the Society.
- The Society has produced detailed catalogues of its records relating to disabled children, and of records relating to the Children's Union (a fundraising body mostly supported from the contributions of children).
Bibliography
- Bowder, Bill Children First: a photo-history of England's children in need (1980, Mowbray)
- Church of England Waifs and Strays' Society [Rudolfe, Edward de Montjoie] The First Forty Years: a chronicle of the Church of England Waifs and Strays' Society 1881-1920 (1922, Church of England Waifs and Strays' Society / S.P.C.K.)
- Higginbotham, Peter Children's Homes: A History of Institutional Care for Britain's Young (2017, Pen & Sword)
- Morris, Lester The Violets Are Mine: Tales of an Unwanted Orphan (2011, Xlibris Corporation) — memoir of a boy growing up in several of the Society's homes (Princes Risborough, Ashdon, Hunstanton, Leicester) in the 1940s and 50s.
- Rudolf, Mildred de Montjoie Everybody's Children: the story of the Church of England Children's Society 1921-1948 (1950, OUP)
- Stroud, John Thirteen Penny Stamps: the story of the Church of England Children's Society (Waifs and Strays) from 1881 to the 1970s (1971, Hodder and Stoughton)
Links
- Hidden Lives Revealed — the story of the children who were in the care of The Children's Society in late Victorian and early 20th Century Britain.
- The Children's Society
Except where indicated, this page () © Peter Higginbotham. Contents may not be reproduced without permission.
