The Lost Children Exhibition

Between 1873-1948 around 6,000 destitute children were emigrated from the Birmingham Children’s Emigration Homes, to Canada. Some went to work on farms in the remote backwoods while others went to The Fairbridge Farm School.

Described as “gutter children or street Arabs” they lived in desperate conditions in the slum streets of the city and faced a bleak future. Sir John Middlemore, founder of the Homes, hoped to save these children from a life of grime, crime and poverty, while at the same time providing the colonies with ‘good British stock’.

The future lives of these children varied enormously – there are tales of happiness and achievement as well as tales of great sadness. Come and learn about this hugely important, yet little known, aspect of Birmingham’s heritage and follow the fascinating life stories of some of these children.

UNTIL OCT 21ST AT ST. MARTIN IN THE BULL RING, EDGBASTON STREET, B5 5BB – 10 AM TO 4 PM DAILY