by Sian Herron
A century ago today, on 30th June 1922, my Great-Uncle Gilbert Evans from Dowlais was sent to Ontario, Canada to work. He was a “British Home Child”, who along with around 100,000 other British children, from the 1860’s until the 1930’s, was sent to be used as cheap farm labour.
The Evans family lived in Muriel Terrace in August 1909, when William Arthur Evans was killed in a pit accident in Fochriw, leaving his wife Mary with 9 children and my Grampa, Arthur Evans, on the way.
In March 1915 Mary Evans was admitted to The Workhouse and her youngest 5 boys were admitted to The Cottage Homes in Llwydcoed – both run by The Merthyr Board of Guardians.
In October 1915 Mary’s son, Brynmor Cornwallis Evans, aged 9, died of tubercular meningitis whilst being cared for by The Homes. By December 1915 the other children were removed to the care of their mother, however her youngest two, Gilbert and my Grampa, Arthur soon returned to spend their childhood there.
In 1922 Gilbert was emigrated, via The Liverpool Sheltering Home, on behalf of The Llwydcoed Children’s Home & Industrial School.
He spent 5 years slaving on a remote farm in Forest Falls, Ontario, from dawn until dusk, living in an out-building & washing in a water trough, alongside another boy of a similar age. In 5 years, he never entered the main house, and his report card states, “Boy well pleased with the situation – happy”.
So happy that 5 years later, in 1927, Gilbert, then aged 19, transported himself back to Dowlais!
If you want to find out more about these children, I can recommend the book pictured, entitled “The Little Immigrants”, although I can guarantee it will make you cry.
The hardships endured at such a tender age made the Government award each British Home Child £20,000 in an attempt to compensate them for what was done.
Gilbert never received his compensation, since he died in 1986, long before the compensation was offered.
People have asked me what happened to Gilbert following his return to Dowlais. He stayed with his elder brother Johnny, wife Leticia and their three children at Castle Row in Pengarnddu.
Gilbert returned home shortly before The Great Depression and work was scarce. He joined The Army, served in India, and improved his education by doing his exams. He later worked for The MOD in Bath. I’ve been told he had a small bag of Roman coins that he’d found in the tunnels under the city of Bath, when he was a ‘runner’ carrying messages through these tunnels.
Gilbert married Agnes Buckle and remained in Bath until his death. They had a council flat in a block just behind Royal Crescent, where I visited them as a child. They didn’t have children.
Gilbert regularly stayed in Merthyr with my Grampa, Arthur. Together they took me for a college interview in Carmarthen when I was seventeen. I just wish I’d asked more questions when I had the chance!
Many thanks to Sian for sharing this remarkable and incredibly well-researched story with us.
If anyone has any interesting family stories (Merthyr-related obviously) they would like to share please get in touch.