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Ancestry UK

Margaret Caillard Memorial Home for Boys, Trowbridge, Wiltshire

The Margaret Caillard Memorial Home for Boys was opened by the Waifs and Strays Society in 1935 at Wingfield House, Wingfield, near Trowbridge. The house was donated to the Society by Mr Bernard Caillard and his wife in memory of their daughter Margaret who had died at the age of 20. The home was officially opened on October 31st, 1935, by the Duchess of Beaufort, and dedicated by the Bishop of Salisbury.

The home accommodated 30 boys, aged from 14 to 16, who received training in practical skills such as gardening or carpentry. The boys would then have a trade which would make them employable on leaving the home. In 1936, the running of the home was taken over by a Mr and Mrs Smith. Mr Smith, a certified City of Guilds Carpenter, assisted the boys in carrying out improvement work on the home. Their biggest project was the conversion of the home's reception room into a chapel.

In 1938, with the threat of war making wood and other materials expensive and hard to obtain, the home was closed. Mr and Mrs Smith then took charge of the Talbot Boys Home in Bournemouth.

During the Second World War, the home was used by the army. It has now been converted to private residential use.

Records

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Bibliography

Except where indicated, this page () © Peter Higginbotham. Contents may not be reproduced without permission.