#121 PROFILE OF A BARNARDO HOME CHILD
ALFRED JOLLEY—PART 3
Alfred Jolley was killed in action at the Somme on October 22, 1915, aged 39. My blog about his military service was intended as a remembrance of his sacrifice. I never expected to find much else about Alfred's life, but then happened upon the details about his service in the Guelph militia and then his months with the 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles in South Africa. I then also discovered that Alfred was a Barnardo Home Child so there was yet another story to tell.
BARNARDO HOME CHILDREN
From 1869 to 1948, over 100,000 impoverished children were sent from the United Kingdom to Canada, purportedly as orphans, but in reality only 12% of them were truly without parents. This migration, facilitated by over 30 sending organizations, aimed to provide Canada with farm labourers (for boys) and domestic servants (for girls). Barnardo’s was the most prominent of these charities.
Thomas John Barnardo opened his first shelter for homeless, destitute boys in London in 1866. Responding to the widespread poverty and orphan-like circumstances of British children in the Victorian era, his charity developed a scheme to send children overseas to British colonies, including Canada. More than 100,000 children were sent to Canada as part of the Home Children policy; of these, Barnardo’s sent about 35,000. The idea was that children removed from the slums and workhouses would have better opportunity in Canada, healthy air, farm life, training in trades or domestic work and a fresh start in life.
Barnardo did not expect these young people to become “magnets wielding the power of colossal wealth, or of social or political influence”, but he did foresee that they would fulfill Canada’s greater need for “willing, industrious, contented tillers of the soil, owners of farms purchased by the sweat of their brows and setting an example of thrift, industry and honesty.” In 1899, Barnardo wrote to his “My Old Boys in Canada” to proffer his principles for a happy and prosperous life. He advised them to:
1.Be Chivalrous in all your relations with girls and women.
True manhood is always gentle and courteous. Treat every girl as you wish your
own sister, mother or your future wife to be treated by other men. 2. Beware of
anything which to eye or ear or touch would sully your mind. In America, I have
found on bookstalls the most abominable printed filth that ever defiled a man.
God gave you the grace never to countenance such things. 3. Don’t gamble.
Gambling begins generally with little things but soon it becomes the tyrannous
master of the heart and soul. Avoid lotteries, sweepstakes and coupons. 4.
Beware of drink. If you never drink intoxicants at all, even in moderation, you
can never go on to excess. 5. Do you observe the God’s day as you should? I
know that in country places some of you are miles from a place of worship.
Never mind! Go if you can possibly get there. If you cannot, you can find time
in your room. Take The Book. Open it on your knees. Who knows but God may meet
and bless you there. 6. About Prayer. How easy to slip one’s habit of prayer!
With prayer generally goes the reading of His Word. 7. Be straight. Be above a
lie, above deceit, above a questionable deal, above the level of the standard
of the business world, above the ordinary level of church membership. 8. Don’t
forget the old Homes now you are doing so well over the seas. There are others
to follow you. See that you lend them a helping hand on their way up life’s
ladder.
The Barnardo Home Children programme developed from a
sincere desire to rescue Britain’s poorest children from the crushing poverty
of Victorian cities. It offered thousands a chance at fresh air, steady food,
and the promise of a new beginning in Canada-- a land offering health, work and
opportunity. Many children did, indeed, find stability on Canadian farms,
learned practical skills, formed enduring relationships, married and had
children and served their new country.
Yet behind this hopeful vision lay a series of complex realities. Canada’s need for cheap farm labour meant that the children were placed primarily as workers, not adoptees, and their well-being depended on the character of the receiving household. Oversight was thin across the vast rural distances and this left many children isolated, overworked--often beyond what was reasonable for their age-- and mistreated. Many were physically exhausted, physically abused, poorly fed and lived in awful conditions. One 15 year old was found dead at his placement; he had frost-bitten feet, numerous bruises and was malnourished. Many children had little support or supervision; inspections were few, placements many and remote. Schooling was sporadic.
Emotional costs were great; many of the children were not
true orphans but victims of circumstances like poverty, illness or family
crisis and once sent abroad they forever lost contact with their parents;
siblings were frequently separated. Some never saw their British families
again. Some were placed repeatedly; names were changed and records lost which
left families unable to trace their own history. Some died or committed
suicide.
There were long-lasting
emotional scars. Many felt shame and “different’ from Canadian-born children.
Many were told they should be grateful even when their experiences were
negative or traumatic. The value of the children was often labour first,
welfare second. Canada needed farm labour and these children were readily
available. Decisions were made for children, never with them. Girls were often
placed in “rescue homes’ where strict rules governed behaviour; the system
focused heavily on moral reform, and children were shamed and punished for
perceived moral failings.
UPS AND DOWNS
Barnardo was a master of publicity. Ups and Downs was the charity’s newsletter for the boys and girls who had been sent from Britain to Canada and it was key in shaping the image of the Barnardo Home Child Movement. It was a propaganda and fundraising tool used to reassure British donors and supporters that the emigrant children were prospering and becoming upright citizens. It emphasized “success stories” of industrious, grateful boys and girls which reinforced the idea that Barnardo’s work was moral, necessary and effective.
Ups and Downs published letters from the children themselves, describing farm placements, wages, church attendance and moral conduct; articles often adopted a sentimental tone, celebrating diligence, temperance and Christianity while glossing over harsher realities. The newsletter was circulated and it gave children a small sense of connection with one another. Its sentimental stories and moral tone helped sustain an ideology of gratitude and redemption and children were reminded that they had been “rescued” and should prove worthy.
MY LUCKY BREAK!
And here was my lucky, lucky break as a family historian—to actually
find some articles that Alfred submitted to Ups and Downs. Most Home Children
left only the faintest paper trail, personalities lost behind dry records like
just a name on a passenger list. But Alfred broke through that silence offering
a glimpse of his personality, resilience and hopes and describing in his own
words his work, impressions and the life he had carved out in Canada. Here was
a young man describing his Canadian life with honesty and detail. Discoveries
like this for a family historian are rare, precious, humbling and deeply moving.
I have pieced together Alfred’s many articles to Ups and
Downs to tell his story as a Home child. This is how he told it.
ALFRED’S EARLY LIFE AS HE REMEMBERED IT
Alfred was born October 26, 1877 in Denford, England--a
small village of about 500 inhabitants, situated on the river Nem in
Northhampshire. People there were mostly farm labourers and shoemakers. The
family moved from Denford to Rushden, a larger town of about 10,000 people
where most worked as shoemakers in one of the eight large shoe factories.
Rushden, Alfred remembered, was a very pleasant place to live; the country was studded with woods
and hazel nuts grew aplenty.
Alfred was one of three children of James Jolley (1843-) and
Sarah Litchfield ((1855-1885). They were married in July 1873. James worked
as a painter. Alfred had an older sister, Laura Elizabeth (1873-1956) and a younger
brother, Frederick Litchfield (1880-1949).
Alfred was seven years old when his mother, Laura, died on
June 2, 1885.
The family moved to Bedford in Bedfordshire, a large town on
the river Oise, remembered by Alfred for its large market gardens that employed
many. They then moved to Woburn Sands, noted for its white sand and a large
estate close to the village where Alfred would go to pick huckleberries in the
woods. “The public were allowed to go through the woods as long as they did not
shoot any game or injure the trees.” The family then moved to London.
His father could not find a job so on December 10, 1889 he placed Alfred and his brother, Frederick, in the Barnardo Home at Stepney Causeway. Their sister, Laura age 18, was in the Union Workhouse, Wellingborough.
The Stepney Causeway home, “No Destitute Child Ever Refused Admission,” could house up to 400 boys and the workshops gave them training in tailoring, shoe-making, carpentry, brush-making, engineering, blacksmithing, tinsmithing, mat-making, wheel-making, printing and bread-baking. The building had classrooms, a chapel, library, swimming pool, a boardroom, and a private bathroom for Dr.Barnardo. On the top floor was a studio where each child was photographed on admission to the home and again on leaving. There was a playground and drill yard. The home had its own uniformed band that played at outside events; musical training also provided the boys with later employment as military bandsmen.
ALFRED DESCRIBES HIS FARM LIFE
Alfred sailed from Liverpool to Quebec on June 20, 1890 aboard the Circassian.
He was at the Barnardo home in Toronto before being sent to his placement in Mount Forest.
On the 1891census, he is listed as a lodger at William Roberts' Hotel. Alfred worked on a farm in Arthur Township, 2 miles out of Mount Forest. He described the land as rolling, dotted with clumps of bush and swamp. The soil is a sandy loan except some of the lower land where it is more of a clay. Oats, peas, barley, corn and roots succeed here, but wheat does very poorly. Fruits of all kinds also succeed here. The people here are of Irish and Scottish descent, with very few English…This township was an unbroken forest sixty years ago…The River Maitland runs through a deep ravine; there are large mills on the river: two grist mills and a saw mill…there are a number of boat houses along its banks. There are five large churches here, and a number of other fine public buildings, a fine large furniture factory and a foundry…This is said to be one of the highest towns in Ontario…Two miles on the west of Mt Forest is a large lake called Pike Lake; it is a very pretty place…picnics are very common this time of year…also boating and fishing. (Alfred Jolley. A Description of the Country within five miles of where I Live. Ups and Downs, August 1896)
Alfred described his winter work routine. I have worked on the farm this last few winters. My work is as follows: we generally rise about six o-clock, go to the stables, feed the stock, and clean out the stables. this takes about an hour. We then come in for breakfast and when over, we go and feed the horses and harness them, if we are going to use them. If we are not going to use the horses, we either split wood at the house or clean grain for chop or sale, or go to the bush and saw wood or logs till about a quarter to twelve, and then come home and have dinner. After dinner we feed the horses and pigs and water and feed the cattle and away to work again. We work till about dark and then come home and have supper. After supper the women go and milk; after they are done, we go and feed for the night. We are generally done about half past seven or eight o'clock. If we are working the horses, it is for to take grain to the mill for chop or sale, or to draw wood to the house or town, or to cut straw or draw logs. One of us work the horses and the other do the chores and fill the spare time splitting wood and putting it in the shed. We go through this routine of work from the last of November till about the middle of March, except when the snow gets too deep. (Alfred Jolley. My Winter Work in Canada. Ups and Downs. February 1897.)
Alfred described his work and hobbies. Before attempting
to describe how I spend my leisure hours, it will be necessary to mention what
leisure hours I have. I am working on a farm; there is not much spare time in
the summer, as we work early and late, and when night comes, we are glad to get
a rest, but in winter we have more spare time. I generally have from one to
three hours every day, and we can use this spare time to improve our knowledge
in some way or another. One of my favourite employments during my spare time is
reading. I am very fond of …good books. I read all the good books I can, but I
do not read cheap, trashy novels; I think these cheap novels are ruinous,
especially for young people. Another pastime I am very fond of is music. I have
studied the violin for some time, although I have not one at present, but
expect to have before long. I think music is a grand thing, it ought to brighten
every home when we get gloomy, as we are apt to do sometimes. We can get our
instruments and we will be so absorbed that we will soon banish all our gloomy
thoughts. I would feel lonely without a musical instrument near me, so that
when I get lonely I can go and cheer me up a bit. I have at present a
mouthorgan and a flute. Anyone who has no taste for music does not know what company
is. I am also very fond of holding conversations with one or more persons on
some interesting topic. I think much can be learned in this way, and we learn
to respect the opinions of other and to have patience while they are speaking. It
improves our delivery of speech and makes us guard against using improper
language. (Alfred Jolley. How I Like to Spend my Leisure Hours. Ups and
Downs. July 1896)
In another article, he wrote. On the farms, where there is a hired hand kept all the year around, there is generally some outside work to do, such as drawing wood and manure or sawing and chopping wood. When it is too stormy …we sometimes fill in the time between chores filling the grain for chop or cleaning for marker, sharpening our saw and grinding our axes. There is, as a rule, plenty of things to be done on stormy days, but I have known it to be that stormy that we would be in the house…every day for a week or more at a time. When such a time as that, if my boots need greasing, I do that first and then get all the latest newspapers read through, and sometimes I get my mouthorgan and practise awhile, and if I have any writing to do, or fill in the time with a good book. I generally have plenty of things planned to do in case of a stormy day. (Alfred Jolley What I Do on Days When It is Too Stormy to Work Outside. Ups and Downs. February 1897.)
In 1896, Alfred attended a meeting of the Farmers' Mutual Improvement Society and he summarized their suggestions on how to improve farm life. Three chief points were Lessen the Drudgery, increase the products, and beautify the Home. There is too much drudgery on the farm. Work regular hours, and then take a rest. Get some machinery if you can afford it. Get the wife a washing machine. Give the boys a chance. Give them a little money of their own, or give them a calf or lamb or two, and a piece of land. [There is a story] of a man who gave his son a calf and his father noticed the calf getting fatter than the rest. He asked his son what was the reason. His son said, "Why, pa, I scratch its back every day at noon." When winter came, his father sold the calf and kept the money and gave his son another calf. "Is that the way to keep the boys on the farm?" In order to keep up the products, we must remember these 3 C's--Cows, Corn, Clover. This would increase the products if managed the right way. Lastly, plant a few trees around the house; have a nice garden and walk; keep things tidy and neat...Log houses look more like home than some of the finest brick, just by a little taste and neatness. (Alfred Jolley. Our Mutual Improvement Society. Ups and Downs. October 1896.)
About 1892, Alfred got in trouble with his
employer and was fired. King Solomon says “Whoever keepeth his mouth and tongue, keepeth
his soul from troubles.” And it is a very good proverb. A boy of about fifteen
year was working on a farm. One day the master was called to town on some
business, and he was left to do the chores. During the master’s absence, his
mistress went to the stable for something and noticing the cattle mangers
empty, she thought they had not been fed. Upon the master’s return in the
evening, he was informed of the cattle not being fed. The hired boy was then
called and being asked if he fed the cattle, he replied “yes”. The woman
contradicted him in strong terms. And the boy, angry to think he had been
wrongfully accused, exclaimed “You are a liar.” He was shown the door at once
and turned into the cold January night. That boy was myself. I have told [this story] that
it may be a warning to others and a warning to me in the future—not to speak
till I think of the effects of what I say. The word hurt not only myself, but
those that heard it. I find it a good rule not to say anything that you will be
sorry for. Upon reflection one harsh word spoken may sting for years and cause
the speaker a lot of misery and a kind word spoken in season may bring many a
blessing. (Alfred Jolley. Government of the Tongue. Ups and Downs. November
1896.)
The above incident may explain why Alfred was working on a farm in West Flamboro, near Hamilton. In April 1896, he reported that in the past year he had twice broken his collar bone “Rather unfortunate, but I am well and strong again. I lost over two months work time during the summer. It was rather discouraging, but we all have mishaps sometimes and I am not going to fret about the past, but I am going to push on to the things that are ahead.” (Alfred Jolley. Ups and Downs. February 1896)
Alfred seemed always grateful for the start given him by Barnardo and made small donations when he could to give other destitute children a similar opportunity.
Alfred joined the Guelph militia and, in 1902 served four
months in South Africa with the 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles.
On November 16, 1904, he married Lillie Cook in Guelph and three
children were born—Frederick William (1907-1989), Elsa Winnifred (1908-1995) and
Doris Lillian (1912-1915). On the 1911 census, he was listed as a
labourer/painter at the Guelph Sanitorium; his $720 yearly income put him in
the skilled working class, not poor, and slightly above the earnings of the
average labourer. For a former Barnardo child who arrived in Canada with almost
nothing, Alfred’s wage showed that he had reached the level of a skilled, independent
wage-earning family man, able to support a household on his own labour—something
many Home children never achieved.
Sadly, Alfred died at the Battle of the Somme on October 22 1915 and is buried there in an unmarked grave.
SOME OF ALBERT’S ARTICLES
It felt like winning the lottery to find so many of Alfred’s submissions to the Barnardo Ups and Downs newsletter. I used some of these above to paste together his life as young man trying to make it on his own. But I also feel obliged to Alfred’s memory to include some of his other articles; these paint a picture of Alfred as a man of religion, duty, learning, strength and reflection. Despite his troubled start in life, he comes across as positive and a man who was proud to contribute to his adopted homeland. It also helps explain why he was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice in 1915. Historians estimate that 10,000 to 12,000 Canadian Home Children served in the Great War.
FRIENDS AND FRIENDSHIP—THE VALUE OF THEM (Ups and
Downs, June 1890)
True friends are like precious stones, hard to find and of great value.
The rich have many friends, but the poor have few,
When troubles and
distress come; then we feel the value of friends.
When all things go
smooth and calm we do not feel the value of friends
Friendship makes us feel
better and more noble, and causes our thoughts to go out towards others.
If we were without
friends, this world would seem very cold and we would soon weary of it.
If we want friends we
must be friends; there are plenty who do not seem to have friends; we should be a
friend to such, help them and encourage them and the world will seem brighter
to them and us.
If we have a friend that
has proved his sincerity, we should be very grateful to him, and stay by him
through storm and calm.
We should be a friend to
the friendless, and comfort those who are in trouble, weep with those that
weep, and lift up the fallen.
The friendship of
Jonathan and David is a good example of true friendship; it is said that
Jonathan loved David as his own soul.
If we have a good and
noble friend we shall grow like him and grow better and nobler men.
Alas for those that live
apart,
That sweet solace never
knew
Friendship sheds around
the heart.
WHY I LIKE TO LIVE IN CANADA (Ups and Downs. January 1899)
There are a great many reasons
why it is desirable to live in Canada, but I shall attempt to give only a few.
FIRST--It is a free
country-a country where people of all nations, religions and colour are tolerated.
Wherever the Union Jack flutters, it means freedom. Our cousins across the
border may boast of their freedom, or France of its liberty, but give me British
liberty.
SECOND--It is an industrial
country. Canadians are workers; almost all persons, from the newsboys on the street
up to the statesmen are workers. Some of our best and greatest have been
engaged in hard toil such as farming.
THIRD--It is a moral and
religious country. Where can be found a more sober and law-abiding people? Here
temperance has made great strides…Its cities and towns are studded with places
of worship. Canadians are a God-fearing people. There are also some of the
finest hospitals and charitable institutions to be found here.
FOUR--It has great resources.
Its mines produce almost all kinds of minerals. Its forests are a wonder. The
soil is rich and the great tracts of land of the West are almost exhaustless,
making it a very suitable place for the farmer.
FIFTH--It is a very
healthy country, the sharp, frosty winters clearing the air of all impurities.
The summers are warm, only occasionally very warm. Taking all things into
consideration, it is a very fine, healthy climate.
SIXTH-It is a country of
advancement. Excelsior is the watchword. Produce the best, and the best to the
top. This is the rule, and all are striving for the top rung of the ladder.
SEVENTH—It is a very
loyal country. The Motherland has a warm place in the heart of every true son
of Canada. The blood of that noble people, the United Empire Loyalists, is
still coursing through the veins of Canadians. And whenever the opportunity
comes to demonstrate it, I feel confident that Canada will remain true to the
Rose, Thistle and Shamrock.
“The land of the Maple
is the land for me,
The home of the loyal,
of the brave and the free,
For the sons of the
Thistle, the Shamrock and the Rose,
All dwell in the land
where the maple tree grows.”
THE IMPORTANCE OF AN OBJECT IN LIFE (Ups and Downs. April 1897)
If we are inclined to be
observant we will notice a great many persons wandering aimlessly through the
world, as though they had nothing to live for.
Such people seldom make
life a success. To make life a success we must have an object in view, something
that when we are apt to get weary we look to the reward that awaits us at the
end and take courage and push on.
It is for each of us to
choose the object in life. Unless it is a right and noble aim, it will fail
although it may seem to prosper.
It has been said by
different men, “Think not so much of making a living as making a life.” That’s
it. That is the object to strive for, a beautiful character. You may lose all
your earthly goods, you may lose all your friends, but if you have good character
you have the best thing still.
Character is all we can
carry away from this world so we had better strive to have it good.
How shall we start to
build a beautiful character? Get the love of God in your heart, and study and
follow the life of our Saviour Jesus Christ; in him only do we find perfect
character, and we shall grow like Him every day.
We need more than frail
human nature can supply, but in Him we find fulness. If we have love in our
hearts, life will be to us a pleasure, and we will find life too short to
accomplish all we intended, and if we have to glorify God and do His work, we
are bound to make life a success.
THE KIND OF BOOKS I LIKE TO READ AND WHY (Ups and Downs. May 1896)
There is no other book
that I would exchange for the Bible. The Bible is the book I like best; in it
we find words of comfort in times of trouble, and promises that no other books
can give. The Bible is the best guide we have. In it we have all kinds of
advice—advice to young men and women, also aged men and women, to kings, magistrates,
husbands, wives, children, masters, servants of every class. In it we have the
lives of various kinds of men and women, some for us to imitate, others for us
to shun. It is a lamp for us to see our way through this world, and lead us..
Next to the Bible I like
biographies of great and noble men—men who have lived to accomplish some great
and noble end such as John Wycliffe, David Livingstone, Christopher Columbus
and a great many others. I admire them because there is something noble and
grand about them that is worthy of our imitation. It does us good to know the
good others have done and make us resolve to try and follow in their footsteps.
“Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime;
And departing leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time.”
I also like reading
about pioneers, especially of America; it gives us an idea of the hardships and
privations the early settlers of this continent had to endure in clearing the
forests and making ready their seeds. But for these men we could not have our
fine farms and orchards. We owe a great deal to these hardy men for their
labour in preparing the land for us. Many of these men are dead and forgotten,
but their work remains. But there are some men living in Ontario who have
cleared farms for themselves; now they and their sons are living on them. We
ought to feel thankful when we think of these men and how they had to labour
for a time. Now we can come on a farm and start to work without an axe.
ALBERT’S ADVICE TO THOSE CONSIDERING IMMIGRATION TO CANADA
In April 1900, Alfred submitted a very lengthy article,
entitled Almost Ten Years in Canada to the Barnardo newsletter. Below is
a summary of his firm and practical advice to any young man wishing to emigrate
to Canada. His thoughts obviously reflected his own experience as a Home Child and
were shaped by his own work ethic and moral principles. This article paints a
good picture of Alfred—his ambitions, personality, lifestyle. My view is that
Alfred would have made an excellent advertising land agent for Laurier’s
government!!
Albert began by emphasizing that Canada was not a land of
effortless wealth. Anyone who expected easy money or imagined that prosperity could
be found lying on the roads was fooling himself. Success depended on personal
qualities: a man had to be honest, steady, sober, and willing to work hard. Alfred
insisted that character was more important than circumstances; the
opportunities were there, but they rewarded only the industrious and the
determined. Canada, he wrote, was a fine country for those who wanted to build
a good life, but it did not tolerate idleness, carelessness, or weakness of
will.
A major theme of his advice was preparation. He urged
prospective emigrants to come equipped with a useful trade, whether farming,
carpentry, mechanical work, surveying, or blacksmithing. Skilled workers were
in demand, and their abilities gave them a strong start. Unskilled men might
still succeed, but they would face harder beginnings, lower wages, and fewer
choices. Equally important was a man’s behaviour: employers valued good
manners, punctuality, neatness, and reliability. Jolley strongly warned against
drink. He called drunkenness one of the worst enemies a young man can have, and
insisted that sobriety and good conduct opened doors that talent alone cannot.
Jolley also stressed the importance of financial prudence.
Before leaving Britain, a man should save enough to support himself for a time.
Canada offered opportunity, but the first months might bring irregular work,
cheap lodgings, and simple meals. A man who arrived without savings would find
himself in immediate hardship. This was not a country for someone fleeing debts
or trouble, he said; it was a place for someone ready to make an honest start.
When discussing occupations, Jolley gave special
attention to farming. In his view, a farm was the soundest long-term path to
independence, but it was not easy. A newcomer must be ready to labour for
others before taking up his own land, and he must expect hard physical work,
long hours, and the challenge of turning raw land into a productive homestead.
Farming required patience, thrift, and endurance, but it also offered the
promise of a stable, respectable, and self-reliant life. He cautioned against
those who thought they can step off the boat and immediately become prosperous
farmers; it was a gradual process.
Alfred spoke highly of the Canadian West, which he
described as the land of greatest opportunity for a young man with energy and
determination. The West was expanding rapidly, with cheap land, growing towns,
and abundant work on railways, farms, and new settlements. Ontario also had
plenty of employment, but land was more expensive and competition heavier. A
man might begin in Ontario to earn money and gain experience before heading
west to take up a farm of his own.
Throughout his advice, Alfred returned to a central
message: Canada rewarded the right type of man. Someone who was honest,
thrifty, adaptable, and serious about building a better life would find that
Canada offered both opportunity and personal freedom. But someone who was idle,
careless, or hoping to escape responsibility would be disappointed. Emigration,
he said, was not something to do on a whim or because others encouraged it. It
required self-knowledge, ambition, and the willingness to start at the bottom
and rise through effort.
FINALLY--MY THOUGHTS ABOUT ALFRED’S PERSONALITY AND PRINCIPLES
Alfred twice fought for Canada and made the prime sacrifice at
the Somme. A read of his many articles make his later decisions more understandable.
Alfred’s writings revealed a young man profoundly shaped by
early instability, institutional upbringing, and the self-reliant ethos of the
Barnardo system. Across his essays, he consistently presented himself as
disciplined, morally serious, and determined to build a life of purpose and
dignity—traits that grew not only from personal conviction but from the
expectations and survival strategies instilled during his years in care.
Barnardo children were taught that their future depended on sobriety,
obedience, hard work, and impeccable conduct. Alfred absorbed these values
deeply, treating them not as rules but as a personal creed. His emphasis on
“beautiful character,” industry, thrift, and the avoidance of vice reflected a
psychological belief—common among institutionalized children—that stability could
be earned only through flawless behaviour and constant self-improvement. His
religious writings, too, reflected an emotional need for anchoring and
community; he continually framed God as a stabilizing centre, giving purpose in
a world that had once been unpredictable.
Beneath this principled exterior, however, Alfred revealed
quieter emotional undercurrents. Though he rarely spoke directly about feelings, his
reflections on the “coldness” of being without friends, the uplift he found in
music, and the need to fight off gloominess hinted at the loneliness and
emotional caution often seen in young people who grew up without consistent
attachment figures. Music became a companion, conversation a comfort, and
friendship a treasure he both longed for and guarded closely. These small
glimpses of vulnerability suggested someone who felt deeply but learned early
to regulate emotion through routine and duty.
Alfred’s loyalty to Canada also reflected the Barnardo
experience. For many Home Children, Canada represented not just a new start but
the first place where they could carve out stability, self-respect, and a sense
of belonging. The Guelph militia gave him respect and community. Alfred’s enthusiastic praise of his adopted homeland—its moral
order, its opportunities, its “God-fearing people”—reads as the gratitude of
someone who finally felt anchored. His practical, unsentimental advice to
prospective immigrants echoed this same pragmatism: success, he insisted,
depended on a trade, savings, sobriety, and realistic expectations. This is the
voice of a boy trained to believe his future rested squarely on his own effort.
He also admired men defined by purpose, hardship, and
conviction—which mirrored his own desire to transform hardship into virtue. His
reflections on early pioneers showed historical awareness and an appreciation for
the sacrifices of others. His
fascination with self-improvement, good books, conversation, and moral
steadiness shows a young man intent on becoming respectable in a world where he
once had little control over his circumstances.
Alfred’s optimism is notable. And while he acknowledged
hardships, he chose positivity. He consciously directed his thoughts towards
gratitude, industriousness and loyalty. His was the optimism of someone who had
seen bleakness and decided never to go back there. He had been shaped by hardship
but not broken by it.
Taken together, Alfred’s writings portray someone
conscientious, resilient, reflective, and quietly sensitive—an individual whose
identity was profoundly shaped by the Barnardo system’s emphasis on discipline
and moral uplift yet also marked by the emotional gaps that institutional
childhood often leaves behind. His optimism was deliberate rather than
innocent; his sense of duty was personal as well as patriotic; and his
enlistment later in life aligned with his longing for structure, service, and
the chance to give back to the country that offered him belonging. Ultimately,
Alfred emerged as a young man who took the strict values of Barnardo’s and
transformed them into a personal ethic—a blend of hard work, gratitude,
loyalty, and a steady, self-made dignity.
I have been humbled by the chance to know Albert. He was a
good man shaped by hardship into someone resilient and thoughtful, a man of
duty, purpose and quiet dignity. His later military service, his steady work
life, and even his tone as a writer all align with this picture.
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