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Sunday, December 13, 2009

Charlie, A Home Child’s Life in Canada, written by Beryl Young. Key Porter, 2009. $19.95 ages 10 and up


“Charlie Harvey was just thirteen years old when his father died of pneumonia. It was the fall of 1910 and his family was living on Canton Street in Southampton, a large shipping port in the south of England. The Harveys lived in rented rooms about the sweet shop where Charlie’s father worked.”

What a memorable and informative story this was for me! I started out to skim its pages to get an idea about the plight of the home children who came to Canada in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. It was a missing piece of Canadian history for me, and through the fine writing and personal touches constantly evident, I am now much better informed about the children who were sent to Canada.

Charlie came from a large happy family whose circumstances changed drastically upon the death of his father, and the subsequent separation of children from mother, and children from children. Being one of the older ones Charlie was sent to a Barnardo home for orphans and, after a brief stay, was sent to Canada as a farm laborer. There were conditions on the labor and schooling but many placements were not honored as promised. Charlie started in a terrible place and finally moved to a loving family who showed compassion and real love for him. From there he enlisted in the army, fought for his country in the Second World War and came back to join the RCMP. He served well and made many advancements, becoming an integral part of the history of his adopted nation.

His daughter tells his story with love and reverance, and informs both children and many adults of the lives they lived and the part these children played...there are nearly four million of their descendents still living in Canada today. Beryl Young includes sepia photographs and well-documented historical references in her text, and we are better for knowing her father's story.

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