The Lost Children - Gordon Brown to apologise.

[10ClarionSt]

My father was part of this scheme, but luckily for him, he was given a choice; go to Canada or Australia, or join the Merchant Navy. This was the day after his 14th birthday in 1935 when he was in care in Royton, Oldham. He was one of the lucky ones. It's dispicable what the authorities did to these children in the past. As young as my dad was, he said he knew that if he went to Canada or Aus, he would never get back to England. I certainly welcome the apology but once again Gordon Brown is left holding the baby, so to speak.

[daffy654]

My paternal grandfather was also part of this scheme,he was shipped off to Canada to live on a farm where he was forced to work and live in awful conditions and treated pretty much like a slave.He returned to the UK as an adult.Apologies for him are far too late,he died several decades ago.

[raysparx1]

Barnardos are keeping a low profile on this, they should respond to it as well, it was a terrible thing to do, lots of these kids were told the parents had died it went on into the late 60s some of those who made these decisions must still be alive, what will they say on the subject? for most it was a form of slavery, some had a good life it should never have happened.

[dothawkes31]

my kids 2 great great uncles Sidney and Cecil Hale were in Barnardos in 1912 after their mother died of a perforated ulcer, her 2 youngest dauighters and baby son were taken in by her sister until their father came home from the sea, but the two older boys were shipped to canada in their mid teens and never heard of again, and so it is something baranardos were doing for quite a long time, they were very much workiong class Eastenders.

[123everton]

It went on after the war too, many of the children fostered out had aunties and uncles who were willing and able to look after them.
Some of the earlier posts about compensation I find quite obscene, and display a kind of cynical callousness of a kind I deplore.
These children suffered terribly, my friend has never been able to pick up that thread with his brother, they are relative strangers.
If the state gives him money to go and visit him, then I'd say it's worth every penny, if it's £50,000 then that's a £1000 a year, to the dissenters I ask you how much would you want for a minute of your famiy's time?
Talk about adding insult to injury, noone's even said they're claiming yet.

[sophie_1003]

After hearing some of the people who this happened to talking on the news, I don't think it's the apology they are so concerned about, more the acceptance of the harm and abuse many of them suffered, up until recently they weren't believed when they told the stories of abuse they suffered.