Mixed feeling about child migrant apology

I must admit to just a little twinge of mixed feelings about the decision to apologise to those children sent to the former colonies, mainly Australia. Where the children suffered abuse or were exploited there is absolutely no question that an apology should be offered. However I'd question whether that was the whole story in every case.

The Methodist run charity for children and young persons Action for Children, formerly the National Children's Home, has a page on its website acknowledging Methodism's role in these transportations.

When I worked with NCH in the 1980s there were still people around the organisation that remembered this programme. It aroused strong, though mixed, feelings and emotions. Some felt that they were doing the very best for the children and would talk of there being an element of choice and counselling. Others described it as shameful. By then it was something that was very much hushed up.

The nature of my work meant that I was often the first port of call for unusual visitors or telephone calls to NCH's national headquarters. On at least three occasions I met adults who had been sent to Australia as children by NCH. They were visiting the UK, and the NCH was their only link with the land of their birth.

What struck me is that all three were very much of the opinion that being sent to Australia for them had been a good thing. Had they been abused, they didn't tell me, though they may have said more to those who counselled them as they were shown their records. (Incidentally from time to time I also took calls from people who had stayed in NCH homes in the UK who did claim they had been abused). They commented about what they had seen during their visit to England and were pleased that they had been brought up in Australia.

It may be that NCH were more choosy about the destination of the children in it's care than other organisations. Possibly this minuscule sample were not representative.

As a teenager I remember seeing a leaflet from the "Big Brother Movement" that helped teenage migrants get to Australia, not all child migrants went through children's charities. In fact myself and a friend dropped into Australia House and met the staff of the Big Brother Movement who were stationed there. As can be seen from the illustration here (blow it up) there was an element of racism in the desire to get migrants from the UK.

It may seem odd now but the idea of going to Australia, New Zealand, Canada or Southern Africa was seen as a very live choice for young people and one that was attractive to me as a 14 or 15 year old in the 1960s.

There was just one little personal twist. Two of my uncles returned from Australia in the 1950s. I never quite got to the bottom of it. A few years ago the family secret spilled out. Sometime in the 1930s they had "got into trouble with the police", apparently they were convicted of arson. Their punishment was to be sent to Australia and but on their return they constantly said how much better their lives would have been had they stayed "down-under" rather than return to their home in the Midlands.

My heart goes out to those who were abused and I hope the various apologies - hopefully backed by some compensation - will go some way to giving them peace. But that is not the whole story.