They've been chucking salt in it!
After two weeks of glorious sunshine the rain appears to have returned to Manchester. So as our thoughts instead drift towards holidays and golden sands it reminded me of this image taken from our archives.
It shows a group of boys about to board a train bound to Manchester from Southport after a week at the charity’s summer camp in Birkdale. For these boys it was their only opportunity to get out of the city slums and get a week’s holiday on the beach.
For many it was also their first glimpse of the sea...
The camp was open between May and September and at its peak gave around 150 children a week a holiday by the sea. Whilst at the camp they were taken out for rambles on the sand hills and shore, taken to swim in the sea and played games on the beach, including cricket and football. During the week however, they were at all times under strict discipline;
Camp rules and regulations
O we do like to be beside the seaside!
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| Home Bound, Manchester Boys' Camp, Southport |
It shows a group of boys about to board a train bound to Manchester from Southport after a week at the charity’s summer camp in Birkdale. For these boys it was their only opportunity to get out of the city slums and get a week’s holiday on the beach.
"They’ve been chucking salt in it!"An observation from one small boy who, after accompanying his friends to the sea, got a mouthful of water. Another declared that:
"he had never seen so much room out-o’-doors before."
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| Play time at the Summer Camp |
Camp rules and regulations
- Two Orderly Boys will be appointed from the occupants of each tent, who will be responsible for the cleanliness and tidiness of the tents. Four orderlies will also be appointed each day, and made responsible for the cleanliness and general order of the Camp
- No boy allowed outside the Camp boundary without permission of the Superintendent
- Bathing strictly prohibited unless the Superintendent is in charge
- Any boy found Swearing, Smoking, Gambling, or Begging from any of the residents or visitors, will be sent home immediately
- Boys must be respectful to visitors to the Camp, and strive to maintain the good name of the Institution
- The Boys must instantly obey the Superintendent, and any breach of the rules will be severely dealt with
- The Committee particularly wish the Boys to feel that they have in them and the Superintendent, friends, who are anxious to make their holiday a happy one, and trust that the Boys themselves will do all they can to help each other to do right, and to enjoy themselves whilst they are at Camp.
O we do like to be beside the seaside!
The children are probably better behaved than mine are!!
ReplyDeleteI would be interested in knowing more about the homes on George Street, Cheetham Hill, Manchester, particularly #6 George Street. My husband's grandfather (James Glanville Street) was placed with The Manchester and Salford Boys and Girls Refuges and Homes in 1896 when both parents died. He would have been about 6 years old at the time, and he was with the society until he was sent to Belleville, Ontario, Canada with a group of 23 boys described as "Party: Rev. Robert Wallace" and under Comments: "Superintendant: George Jones" in May 1908. He must have gone to the summer camps - very nice to see the photo and read a bit about what he must have experienced.
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