Together Trust Archive

Alongside the Charity's regular work in providing homes for destitute children they also operated a Summer Camp offering boys from the poorest districts of Manchester and Salford the opportunity of their first holiday. The camp began on a small scale in 1883 but operated fully from 1886 when between June and September 262 boys enjoyed a week away. This number increased to over 1700 boys by 1899. Before the camp was firmly established in Birkdale, Southport in 1894, it operated from Morecombe, Llandudno and Lytham. M189/9/2/1 Boys Summer Camp, Ansdell near Lytham, 1891 Descriptions of the camp at Llandudno in 1886 from the Charity's Annual Report states a 'military idea pervaded the whole camp' with bugle calls to prayers morning and night. The Superintendent of the camp described how the children had not seen the sea before and the children referred to playing cricket on the beach.  Outside the Summer Camp there would have no opportunity for bathing in the sea or going ...

Although less than one per cent of this blog’s audience is made up of readers from Australia, a nice little story has sprung up from down under, unearthing a connection between the Australian horticulturalist and broadcaster, Peter Cundall , and our summer camp at Birkdale.

As a charity archive we have many things to be grateful for. Firstly the fact that our ancestors have so lovingly preserved our records of old and passed them through the generations. There is a wealth of social history at our hands which contribute substantially both to the history of Manchester and to the history of childcare. We are also lucky that we have the means to continue to care for this collection today. Like many charities however, the Together Trust does not have the facilities to do this onsite. Archives need special conditions to ensure they are preserved for as long as possible. These include factors like stable temperatures and humidity, dust and pest free environments and protective packaging. Without these, archive materials can deteriorate at a faster rate, making access difficult. Records storage

After the last few days of snow and ice I felt a need for my thoughts to turn to warmer days and the approach of spring (a little premature but a delightful thought all the same!) And what better way to do that then to revert back across to Birkdale and have another look at our dear old summer camp and the thousands of children who were given a much needed break by the seaside. Summer Camp, Birkdale, 1900s

Within the Together Trust ’s photograph collection is a small section from the 1920s and 1930s, which are made up of postcards of the various services provided by the charity.  ‘The Children’s Garden Village “Belmont”, Cheadle, Cheshire’

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. Home Bound, Manchester Boys' Camp, Southport

Seeing as it’s a Friday we are going back to our odd photograph of the week.

With the excitement of the London Olympics and Euro 2012 , the summer has been filled with sporting achievement. There’s not really been time to sit back and relax however, as barely a week after the closing ceremony of the Olympics the football season kicked off again. As one friend commented "We now have something to live for again".  The nation’s sport frustrates and thrills in equals measure.  Football at the Summer Camp, c.1920s

Glancing out of a window in Manchester its not often you see the sun. This may be a Manchester cliche but unfortunately for us residents it’s regularly a true fact. On the Together Trust site in Cheadle where our central offices are now resident, the buildings are surrounded by countryside, making it a beautiful place whatever the weather. In fact when we first moved here in 1920 we had 22.5 acres of land for the children to enjoy. Previous to this however, when we worked in the centre of Manchester, the city slums of old must have been a dismal place in the frequent rain. Typical city slum in Manchester