British Child Migration
with
Patricia Skidmore
Photo by Jack Weyler
British Child Migration has a stunning 350-year history that is not taught in our schools.
British children were sent to Canada as early as the 1830s, with the majority of the estimated 120,000 children being sent between the late 1860s to the 1930s - mainly to the Maritime Provinces, Ontario and Quebec.
Canadian Immigration Officials banned the bringing in of children under the age of 14 in 1928 - yet many children under that age were still sent.
In 1935 - the UK based Fairbridge Farm School Society applied to the British
Columbia government for permission to open a farm school in BC. Then Premier Pattullo supported it and reluctantly the Federal government allowed it. Between 1935 and 1948, 329 children were sent to this farm school (residential type school). Sadly, over 95% were not orphans. Some of the children were as young as 4-years-old - the majority were between the ages of 8-12.
Patricia Skidmore, renown author and descendent of a British Home Child, will speak about the history of British Child Migration and then will focus on her mother’s experience at Prince of Wales, Fairbridge Farm near Cowichan Station.
Parksville Community Centre 223 Mills St. (behind Starbucks) Door opens at 9:15am. Guests welcome. Entrance fee for members and guests of $5 to cover light refreshments. Contact pvprobus@gmail.com
May 25th - CCCU - Identity theft and fraud prevention
June 15th - Sylvia Grop - Port Alberni Museum Historian - BC Gold Rush
About Us
Are you new to the area or looking to meet new people?
Parksville's small but friendly Probus Club might be for you. We are one of many Probus social clubs, created internationally, to serve the retired and semi retired community. New members (singles or couples) are most welcome.
Why should I join?
We organize excursions to places of interest, theatres and concerts, as well as local restaurants and pubs. We also get together for things such as a our monthly "lunch bunch", summer bbq, and Christmas lunch.
In addition to the outings, we have our Speaker's series meetings where popular guest speakers present a wide range of interesting and informative topics. You are guaranteed to learn something new!
Monthly meetings and speaker
These are normally held on the third Monday of each month, except July, August and December, at the Parksville Community Centre, (223 Mills St, behind Starbucks) starting at 9:15am and lasting approximately 2 hours. Coffee, tea and refreshments are provided and members have a chance to socialize before the presentation. The $5 entrance fee helps to cover costs.
You are encouraged to come as a guest and check us out.
About us
Probus clubs are volunteer-based, non-political, non-profit, non-service fellowship organizations.
Parksville Probus Club was founded in 1993 and is affiliated with Probus Canada, our national organization with over 255 Canadian clubs made up of over 35,000 members.
Membership
The initiation fee is $20 and the annual membership dues are $30.
For more information, contact Lila at 250-816-2708 or email membership@parksvilleprobus.ca
To apply for membership, please click on the link below.