The Lost Children Project

In 1873, twenty-six waifs and strays, from the poorest backgrounds imaginable, set sail for Toronto, Canada, some 4000 miles from the industrial heart of Birmingham City.  Many left parents and siblings behind.

The average age of a child migrant was eight but some as young as two were sent.  There are stories of great sadness but also stories of great success.

It is estimated that around 13% of Canada’s population is descended from British ‘Home Children’,  130,000 of which were sent in total from all over the UK.

Many families were separated, with some children remaining in the UK while their siblings were sent to Canada.  Where siblings sailed together, most of them were separated once in Canada. We have connected families both in the UK and Canada, many of whom had no knowledge of their living relatives across the Atlantic

The Lost Children Project Is Made Possible With
Funding From The National Lottery Heritage Fund

In 19th Century Birmingham, John Middlemore saw poor children living in overcrowded slums, in unhealthy conditions. Some children were suffering from neglect and at risk of falling into crime through a need to survive. His original mission in establishing the Middlemore Homes was to offer children a healthy upbringing, the chance to receive training and what he perceived as a better life through emigration to Canada. Children were often placed into the care of the homes by the local magistrates or were transferred to the homes from the cottage homes of the local poor law unions. 

The surviving records of the homes reveal the mixed fortunes of these children once in Canada. Many child migrants, as John Middlemore had hoped, were better off in Canada than if they had remained in England. Others experienced ill-treatment from their employers.