The archives in Birmingham Library contain quite a number of letters sent back to England by children emigrated to Canada. Some are positive.
One girl wrote, “I have got fat and red cheeked now and I go to school every day. I am learning the times tables and doing sums on a slate” .
A boy finished his letter, “I like Canada pretty well but I feel a little lonesome”.
This letter from Albert Seymour dates from the First World War.
It is very striking that he is sad for the children in Belgium.
Some children were able to keep contact for years but others lost all their family connections and must have felt very alone in the world. Most of them never saw their parents again.