British Home Children memorial Peterborough

A memorial to British Home Children has been unveiled in front of the former Queen Alexandra School in Peterborough, commemorating 8914 orphaned or destitute children who were brought to Peterborough to be sent to Canadian families in the late 19th and early 20th century.

125,000 Home Children were sent to Canada prior to the scheme's end in 1939, with others sent to Australia until the 1960s. For some the placement was a success; for others, conditions of abuse were experienced in their new homes. As Prime Minister, Gordon Brown formally apologised in February 2010 on behalf of previous British Governments which implemented the scheme, an act which itself has been controversial in some quarters.

To read about the new memorial visit www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3306109.

(With thanks to Emma Jolly's History Daily on paper.li)

Chris