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Home Child migration to Australia

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  • Home Child migration to Australia

    Whilst searching one of my grandfathers, I decided to look at his younger sister to see if maybe there were any links there. I was so saddened to see that at just 14 years she was shipped to Australia as part of the Home Child scheme. As most of us know, she was among thousands of children sent there to be used in child labour, abused, raped and tortured. I was actually reading stories from survivors last night and it literally shocks me that our country organised this

    I have my tree on Ancestry and her birth, census record and departure to Australia were the only things available. Around an hour after adding this info of departure to her profile and getting so upset about it, as if by magic a new hint appeared. It was her residence in 1930 back in London!

    I was amazed as most of these children never returned. However, when I looked closely at the details it was 85-93 Southampton Row, Holborn with around 40 other names, all unrelated to each other.

    I then tried to find out what this address could have been, maybe a refuge, some kind of institution. I found nothing at all. Does anyone know how to find out what this building could have been in 1930?

    Thanks in advance?

  • #2
    The street numbers vary by a couple each way but it seems to have been a hotel for a very long time.

    On the 24th of September 1917, during World War I, a bomb was dropped by a Gotha bomber on the Bedford Hotel located at 83-93 Southampton Row in London, WC1B


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    • #3
      Hi GallowayLass!

      You are definitely on the ball. I had come across the Bedford Hotel last night but thought if it had been bombed in 1917 then maybe it would have been knocked down and repurposed in 1930. Now, I see it still exists today, obviously a newer version ?

      Wow, I am certainly on a journey with my tree. Wondering how she made it back 6 years later. Her mother was still living too until ‘37 not far from here. All these questions ?. Well, I guess it keeps me out of trouble.

      Thank you for looking that up ?

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      • #4
        have you looked through the 1939 census record for that address, might help you.


        Create an account for free with Findmypast to discover your family history and build a family tree. Search birth records, census data, death records and more.

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        • #5
          Originally posted by Val wish Id never started View Post
          have you looked through the 1939 census record for that address, might help you.


          https://search.findmypast.co.uk/reco...0256/0256C/002
          No, but I’m going to ?. Jill and Carolyn have just told me this is possible, to search by address. I’m just learning so this is going to help me loads! Thank you ?

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          • #6
            That link is for that address, good luck

            You might find her on the immigration records.

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            • #7
              Originally posted by Val wish Id never started View Post
              That link is for that address, good luck

              You might find her on the immigration records.
              Thanks Val. Haven’t been able to find much using find my past as the link takes me to just the login page and not really that good with searching by address on there. I’ve gathered quite a bit from others on here which I can be doing for now. Really appreciate everyone’s help here ?x

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              • #8
                wonder then if this will work this is the page will give you some idea how to search
                Attached Files

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                • #9
                  Hi Val. Thanks so much for this. The lady I’m looking for is not on the list because it’s ‘39 but what it does show is that the address I had was for The Bedford Hotel, It just seemed odd that there was an electoral roll for people in a hotel. After 1930, there’s nothing again. I wonder why she didn’t go back to her mother and what became of her. Thanks again for this x

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                  • #10
                    Note that the first 24 persons look like they are the guests. Person 25 is redacted but the rest from 26 onwards are hotel staff who presumably live in.
                    Have you tried matching up those names at that address on the 1930 document you found with those who are there on the 1939 Register? Might any more of the names in 1930 be Home Children too? I'm thinking along the lines of the administrators of the scheme perhaps putting the young people to work in the hotel to be trained up to have an employment skill for when they arrived in Australia.

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                    • #11
                      are they definitely the same person? If I am looking at the same records, the only think I can see is a name match Florence Haslam (no mention of middle name Celeste). Could do with 1921 census to place the family...next year!
                      Carolyn
                      Family Tree site

                      Researching: Luggs, Freeman - Cornwall; Dayman, Hobbs, Heard - Devon; Wilson, Miles - Northants; Brett, Everett, Clark, Allum - Herts/Essex
                      Also interested in Proctor, Woodruff

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                      • #12
                        Is it Florence Celeste you're looking for? If so then she's on the Australian Electoral Rolls in 1932-1934 at 11 Karanga Avenue, Killara, NSW. She then married Kenneth Eric Nicol in 1934, and can be found at the same address in subsequent years, and then later at 102 Bassett Street, Hurstville

                        ADDED: The last time I see her is 1980. Kenneth Eric may have died in 1985, but I can't see Florence in the indexes (only available up to 1990)

                        ADDED: The Australian National Archives have his WW2 service record (not digitalised):

                        NICOL KENNETH ERIC : Service Number - NX85919 : Date of birth - 20 Sep 1909 : Place of birth - KILLARA NSW : Place of enlistment - PADDINGTON NSW : Next of Kin - NICOL FLORENCE

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                        • #13
                          Florence died in 2002 and is buried in Castle Hill

                          Linda


                          My avatar is my Grandmother Carolina Meulenhoff 1896 - 1955

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                          • #14
                            Originally posted by ozgirl View Post
                            Florence died in 2002 and is buried in Castle Hill

                            https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/...-celeste-nicol
                            Aww, thank you so much! Actually, it had occurred to me last night that I may have the wrong Florence back here in 1930, so this will now save me still trying to find her. At the same time, it’s very sad. I hate to think what her life would have been like back then. She obviously married, so I hope she had some happiness and maybe children later on.

                            Once again, thank you ? x

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                            • #15
                              Originally posted by teasie View Post
                              Is it Florence Celeste you're looking for? If so then she's on the Australian Electoral Rolls in 1932-1934 at 11 Karanga Avenue, Killara, NSW. She then married Kenneth Eric Nicol in 1934, and can be found at the same address in subsequent years, and then later at 102 Bassett Street, Hurstville

                              ADDED: The last time I see her is 1980. Kenneth Eric may have died in 1985, but I can't see Florence in the indexes (only available up to 1990)

                              ADDED: The Australian National Archives have his WW2 service record (not digitalised):

                              NICOL KENNETH ERIC : Service Number - NX85919 : Date of birth - 20 Sep 1909 : Place of birth - KILLARA NSW : Place of enlistment - PADDINGTON NSW : Next of Kin - NICOL FLORENCE
                              Wow Thank you so much, all of you! Because of what happened to her, it became more important than the brother I was originally trying to find to solve this. I just hope she had some happiness in her life after the horrible start she had in life ? x

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                              • #16
                                Originally posted by cbcarolyn View Post
                                are they definitely the same person? If I am looking at the same records, the only think I can see is a name match Florence Haslam (no mention of middle name Celeste). Could do with 1921 census to place the family...next year!
                                Hi Carolyn,

                                Yes, it had occurred to me last night that I might have the wrong Florence (I was being a little optimistic, I think) It hadn’t made sense how she’d got back and no passenger details back to UK. As in Oz Girl’s post and Teasie, she indeed died in 2002 and had remained in Australia since ‘24. Bless her, I hope she had some happiness later in her life.

                                Thank you all again. Another mystery solved by the wonderful people at Family Tree! X

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                                • #17
                                  glad you got it sorted

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                                  • #18
                                    Originally posted by Val wish Id never started View Post
                                    glad you got it sorted
                                    Thank you ? ? x

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                                    • #19
                                      In case people are interested in Celeste Cowell and family I have discovered Winifred and Maud are her biological sisters of parents John William Cowell and Ann Elizabeth Taylor (maiden name). However Ethel was born in 1891 in Preston to a mum with maiden name Cowell and Lilian was born in 1897 in Barrow in Furness to a mum with maiden name Quine. I think Celeste's parents may have been raising the girls born to relatives of the father John Cowell up north. As well, I think Celeste's husband Edward might be from Bolton. The only Edward Haslam birth registered in 1876 is in Bolton. He was boarding with Celeste's family at the time of the 1901 census, maybe he was friends with the family up north. He also married Celeste that same year.

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                                      • #20
                                        I made a mistake about the two daughters Ethel and Lilian, they are the biological of John William Cowell and Ann Elizabeth Cowell (maiden name Taylor).

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