St George's Home For Boys, Orford, Warrington, Cheshire
In 1924, the St George's Home For Boys, run by the Waifs and Strays Society home, moved from its previous location at Salisbury Street, Warrington, to new premises at The Limes, Orford Green, in Orford area of north Warrington. The home was dedicated on February 27th, 1924, by the Bishop of Warrington, Dr Edwin Kempson, in the presence of a large gathering which included the Mayor and Mayoress of Warrington.
Dedication of St George's Home For Boys, Orford, 1924. © Peter Higginbotham
The new home could accommodate 21 boys aged from 6 to 10 years.
Residents of the St George's Home For Boys, Orford, c.1930. © Peter Higginbotham
At work in the garden, St George's Home For Boys, Orford, c.1931. © Peter Higginbotham
The Waifs and Strays Society emigrated many of its children, primarily those without relatives to help them in England, to new homes in Canada. Boys emigrating from Orford were each presented with a watch by the Matron.
Emigrants receiving watches, St George's Home For Boys, Orford, 1927. © Peter Higginbotham
The group picture below shows two 1927 emigrants from Orford with their luggage labelled 'Quebec'.
A last group picture before emigrants leave St George's Home For Boys, Orford, 1927. © Peter Higginbotham
In 1934, the home moved from Orford to new premises at Penketh.
The Orford property was later used by The Limes Labour Club. In more recent times, it has become a car accessories shop.
Former St George's Home premises, Orford, 2013. © Peter Higginbotham
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.
