Greetings.
September 28th is British Home Child Day in Canada.
On February 7, 2018, the Government of Canada declared September 28th of every year national British Home Child Day recognizing the contributions made by over 100,000 British Home Children who were brought to this country as child immigrants and indentured laborers between 1869 and 1948.
As 2019 marks the 150th (sesquicentennial) year since the first BHC arrived in Canada, the British Home Children Advocacy & Research Association (BHCARA) is asking communities in Canada and the UK to participate in a Beacons of Light tribute by illuminating memorials, monuments, buildings or other areas with the colors of the BHCARA. It is a symbolic gesture showing these children are not forgotten. Many Canadian & UK cities have agreed to participate.
The reason I am writing to the Express, is that our grandmother, Ellen (Ward) McCrady was a British Home Child. At age 15, she was uprooted from England in 1910 and sent with many other children to Canada and indentured out to farms in the Peterborough area. When she was old enough, she found work and met her husband Charles McCrady. Together, they moved to Moose Jaw where they lived, raised their three children, and laid to rest in Rosedale Cemetery. My Grandmother confirmed to us the trauma of sailing to Canada, of being indentured out, treated poorly, and the loneliness of being split from any family.
Remembering my grandmother, I support the British Home Children Advocacy & Research Association and its reminder for us to remember the British Home Children, many of whom we descend from.
As other families in Moose Jaw and the surrounding communities may also have an interest in remembering British Home Children, I am writing with optimism that the Moose Jaw Express might mention September 28 is British Home Child Day in Canada.
On behalf of grandchildren all born and raised in Moose Jaw:
Keith McCrady (Saskatoon), Rob McCrady (Calgary), Bill McCrady (Edmonton), Donna McCrady (Toronto), Gloria Wright (1943-2013) (Moose Jaw), Terry McCrady (Kelowna), and Joe Chan (Moose Jaw).
Thank you,
Cheryel Goodale
