‘A Birmingham workshop’, from ‘The Child Slaves of Britain’ by Robert Sherard

Sherard was a journalist who campaigned against the exploitation of child workers.

‘Before and After’ photographs of Henry from the Annual Report of Middlemore Homes

Middlemore Homes relied on public donations to fund their work. ‘Before and after’ photographs were used to promote the Homes and raise money by sh...

‘Birmingham Wheels’, Bordesley

‘Children of the poor’ taken on an outing of the Birmingham Cinderella Club to Sutton Park by J. Crwys Richards

Social reformers like Charles Dickens and Mary Carpenter in the 19th century, and Robert Sherard in the 20th were concerned that being out on the s...

‘Children of the poor’ taken on an outing of the Birmingham Cinderella Club to Sutton Park by J. Crwys Richards

‘Children of the poor’ taken on an outing of the Birmingham Cinderella Club to Sutton Park by J. Crwys Richards

‘Ginger A Story’

Ginger tells the story of a fictional boy named Harry Smith and how poverty and his stepfather’s cruelty turned him to crime. He was placed in Midd...

‘In the Happy Days of Our Childhood’ by Maria Cadbury

Maria wrote this memoir much later in life at the request of her niece. Maria was born in 1838 and was the daughter of John Cadbury and his wife Ca...

‘In the Happy Days of Our Childhood’ by Maria Cadbury

In the late 18th and 19th centuries seaside holidays became popular with those families who could afford them. With improved transport links, this...

‘Inspector and Starved Child', National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, Birmingham Branch Fourth Annual Report

In the late 19th century many children were seen as victims, not of the cruelty of the workplace, but of their parents and neighbours. The NSPCC en...

‘My Life’s Battles’ by Will Thorne

Will Thorne (1857-1946) was born into a poor family in Farm Street, Hockley on 8 October 1857. His father was a brick maker, and on weekends he wo...

‘Opening of the Christian Kunzle Alpine Home for Children’, The Davos Courier

This article reports the arrival of 36 children from Birmingham Children’s Hospital at the Alpine Home for Children in Davos, Switzerland in 1932. ...