Together Trust Archive

Earlier in the month we looked at how some of the young people from the Manchester and Salford Refuges celebrated May Day . Though the charity itself did not formally observe this day, another May holiday that the charity celebrated with great enthusiasm falls this Sunday 31 st – Whitsun .

Today is May Day , a day often observed by European cultures to celebrate springtime; filled with traditional dance (often around a maypole), and, chiefly in England, the crowning of the May Queen . 

We all know the story by now – on the 4th January 1870 two businessmen, Leonard Shaw and Richard Taylor opened a ‘Night Refuge for Homeless Boys’ at 16 Quay Street , Manchester. This provided primitive accommodation for up to 40 boys as well as work within messenger and shoeblack brigades set up by the charity. Shaw and Taylor excelled at setting up the home and ensuring sponsors and assistance from members of the community. What they did not have experience in however, was caring for the boys themselves. This problem was solved by the appointment of a couple from London, Walter Thurlow Browne and his wife Emma. They became the first Master and Matron of the Quay Street home providing care and support to the boys. Walter T Browne on the back row 

With this weekend heralding 100 years since the catastrophic sinking of the RMS Titanic , my mind wandered towards the 2,129 of our children who made the similar long journey across the ocean to start a better lift elsewhere. Like many on board the Titanic, the journey was seen as a means to improve circumstances and leave behind the crowded smoky cities of England to the spacious lands of Canada and America. In the open fields of Canada c.1900 (PH/5/4)