British Home Children and Barnardo Boys Who Paid the Ultimate Price

Until quite recently this blog only recognized one British Home Child. Private William Edwin Hunt, reg. no. 54081 was an 18^th Battalion “Original” having enlisted in Guelph, Ontario on October 27^th, 1914[i]. Sadly the research notes I have do not indicate the source as to how this soldier was discovered but his daughter, Mary Hunt Filipetti, took the time to write a detailed blog biography with letters that illuminates the life and contributions of this soldier and Canadian.

This aspect of Canadian history is not forgotten but it also suffers from a gap in recognition and celebration. As Jennifer Layne has stated”

“What all of these boys did was something so outrageously courageous that I stand in awe of them all the time, every day.

They strapped on Canadian uniforms and they went back to the country that had sent them away. They went home to defend the land and the freedom of the very people that used them as slaves.  They gave everything when they were given nothing. They had no reason to fight, and yet they stood for us. They died for us.”[ii]

Jennifer Layne – Head Researcher of the BHCARA First World War Project.

Who where the British Home Children (and by extension other children brought to Canada under other programs such as the Barnardo Boys)?

There are many articles and resources online to research this aspect of British and Canadian history and there is a connection to my home town of Galt (now Cambridge), Ontario and my father’s home town of Belleville, Ontario, as Annie McPherson, a major figure and proponent of the British Home Child movement, set up receiving homes in Belleville, Galt, and Knowlton, Quebec.[iii]

In the specific case of the 18^th Battalion 21 members have now been identified as having served and sacrificed their lives. This in no way denotes or represents to total contribution of British Home Children towards their service to Canada. Consider the following [ii]:

• Almost 100% of male British Home Children enlisted in the C.E.F.
• By April 7^th, 1917 70% or 7,000 British Home Children had enlisted in the C.E.F.
• Eventually, approximately 10,000 male British Home Children served in the C.E.F.

The matrix below lists the BHC/Barnardo Boys who served and died with the 18^th. There is a link to each Soldier’s Page and from there one can go to the British Home Children site dedicated to the men who sacrificed their lives during World War 1.

Additions Subsequent to Original Post

[i] Soldier’s Page: Pte. W.E. Hunt

[ii] British Home Children Commemoration of Service

[iii] For more information, see “A Silent History: The British Home Children”