Peter Higginbotham wrote to the Child Care History Network

peter@childrenshomes.org.uk

A recently published book which may be of interest: “Nobody’s Child: The True Story or Growing up in a Yorkshire Children’s Home”  by Gloria Urquhart is a eye-opening memoir of growing up in the 1950s in  some of Leeds City Council’s children’s homes (old former Poor Law one at Rothwell then a brand new family group one in north Leeds) in the course of which she experienced everything from great kindness to extreme brutality. She also describes her foster placements, the weekend  “Uncles and Aunties” scheme, and her various run-ins with the Children’s Department. It’s an amazingly detailed and engagingly written account of the early years of the post-1948 system. I found it a compelling read. You can find more information at https://amzn.to/2LMp27t