The Childrens Homes

[Paddy]

South Liverpool was home to most of the children?s homes in Liverpool Strawberry Field immortalized by the Beatles was just one. I was at New Heys an assessment centre that worked on the principle of giving kids space and letting kids find their own feet, it was a sixties experiment and a very happy experience for kids who had been brutalized in the care system. New Heys was on Allerton Road . I was also at Livingstone Drive by Sefton Park and Sydney House on Linnet Lane, there was Park field on Parkfield road. Westfield on Greenbank Drive Fern Lea in Woolton and a few more places. All these establishments where large houses and some kids spent long periods at them. The people who survived the Liverpool care system have a right to have a history as it is all part and parcel of Liverpool life. Being brought up in children?s homes is nothing to be ashamed of and quite a lot of kids moved on to better things.

[Ged]

Take a gander through here Paddy.

http://www.yoliverpool.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9714&highlight=childrens+homes


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[Paddy]

I looked through those posts Ged the children?s admission unit on Acrefield road was for taking in kids who had come into care. Some kids would return to their families after very short periods others would be filtered through into the system. I went there from Bootle as I had become hostile to the foster parents in Bootle as I thought they were squandering money that was for keeping us. As in going on benders. My first home was Nazareth house Crosby run by nuns I went there when I was ten months old till I was nine and they sent me to Bootle. That was hard for me as I had previously only known the convent up until then. However I adapted. I was head butted and kicked in the balls a few times so I learn?t to fight back and stand up for myself. I wasn?t a little altar boy anymore and I had to react. Then when you start fighting back the label wild is applied.
Arriving in South Liverpool was the best thing for me it wasn?t all roses and I was very badly treated at Menlove Avenue while waiting to go to New Heys. New Heys was fantastic they had ladders in the trees and swings and you could play football and go out to the park unsupervised it was a very happy place and all the kids had a room of their own. Most of the homes in south Liverpool were okay except for Westfield the guy who run that one was eventually prosecuted. Parkfield was progressive and most of the kids were happy. There was a convent in Woolton that had a bad name but I never went there so I cannot comment. I read your post and your right, people should be able to talk about their upbringing freely. With the Catholic church acting as they are up until nine I have no childhood no photographs nothing you are never asked about or invited to reunions. Effectively your childhood does not exist it is taboo because it is a source of embarrassment for them. I never see pictures or read about the history of the place that was and still is the largest institution in Liverpool. When we were kids we marched every were in two?s forming a line quite long. If we went to the pictures or school or the shops. We had the nickname the Nazis because we came from Nazareth house that was abbreviated to Nazi house. The regime inside was very harsh on the kids. You went to church every single day first thing in the morning. Sundays you just got religion all day. Well what kind of a childhood is that? And I know it upsets people but it is the truth that some Nuns were very cruel to the Children. Still it is something they will not and won?t admit and so the victims remained emotionally in limbo.

[ChrisGeorge]

Hi Paddy

Thanks for posting your memories of being brought up in childrens' homes. I appreciate it. It makes those of us who lived with their parents realise how lucky we were, even though we didn't appreciate it at the time. You are right that this history should not be hidden, and those who grew up in childrens' homes should not be ashamed.

Chris

[Paddy]

Well Chris here?s a perspective on kids. Other kids see you when your underprivileged and they don?t have the considerations of adults. One of the hard parts about being in St Peter and Paul?s Crosby was when you came out of School parents would collect their children in cars and they all seemed so happy. A boy in my class asked if I could come to his house and play with him for an hour after School, they allowed it and I would go to his house and watch telly. I had never seen tomato sauce and some of the stuff out of the chippie in Crosby, we spent the day together at half term and I got treated to a meal from the chippie. We only got one hours telly at night in the convent and they kept a blanket on top of the telly in case any kissing occurred, so they could cover the screen. I remember watching last of the Mohicans and I was fascinated. So kids do have a world of their own that they are inclined to share. Another memory is of a painter who was painting the convent he made friends with me and asked the nuns could he take me out. He gave me a crossbar ride through Crosby on his bike I felt safe and really happy and always looked forward to seeing him. So the world does penetrate these enclosed withdrawn lifestyles, and the sun did shine in from time to time.

[Sirob]

This special school was on Acrefield Road, near Gateacre Brow. Since it was mentioned, I post 2 pics of it in 1962 and 2 during the big freeze in 1963. there are more, if anyone is interested.

[wsteve55]

Great pic's there Sirob, especially the sledging one! :nod:

[Paddy]

Yes they had quite a few places in the Woolton area. The properties were mostly old merchant mansion houses left to the authorities. Very few children?s homes were purpose built.Very spacious and full of reminders of a bygone era. The main hose of the Admission unit was an old mansion. Livingstone drive was also a very large house just by Sefton Park. New heys was almost gothic in appearance.

[kevin]

Well Chris here?s a perspective on kids. Other kids see you when your underprivileged and they don?t have the considerations of adults. One of the hard parts about being in St Peter and Paul?s Crosby was when you came out of School parents would collect their children in cars and they all seemed so happy. A boy in my class asked if I could come to his house and play with him for an hour after School, they allowed it and I would go to his house and watch telly. I had never seen tomato sauce and some of the stuff out of the chippie in Crosby, we spent the day together at half term and I got treated to a meal from the chippie. We only got one hours telly at night in the convent and they kept a blanket on top of the telly in case any kissing occurred, so they could cover the screen. I remember watching last of the Mohicans and I was fascinated. So kids do have a world of their own that they are inclined to share. Another memory is of a painter who was painting the convent he made friends with me and asked the nuns could he take me out. He gave me a crossbar ride through Crosby on his bike I felt safe and really happy and always looked forward to seeing him. So the world does penetrate these enclosed withdrawn lifestyles, and the sun did shine in from time to time.

Paddy,
I think I've mentioned it before but several of my school classmates were at New Heyes and I was a frequent visitor there (it was close to where I lived off Heath Road). A few of us would go up there and we always got on well with the kids at the home. Possibly because it seemed a happy place so the kids there were fairly well adjusted and made friends easily.

Also had classmates from other homes but they seemed very isolated and didn't really want to mix. Breaks my heart to now understand why those kids might have been like that and wish I'd understood better at the time.

[wsteve55]

Yes they had quite a few places in the Woolton area. The properties were mostly old merchant mansion houses left to the authorities. Very few children?s homes were purpose built.Very spacious and full of reminders of a bygone era. The main hose of the Admission unit was an old mansion. Livingstone drive was also a very large house just by Sefton Park. New heys was almost gothic in appearance.

I remember the admission unit,quite well,and actually enjoyed staying there,though it was only for a month,or so!:nod:

[Paddy]

Yes Kevin New Heys was very relaxed it was overseen by a child psychologist called Dr Pinkerton the kids were encouraged to mix with other kids I have always had mates around Allerton. The best part about the place was that the emphasis was on what the kids wanted to do. Unfortunately as in most situations some of the carers did not share the values of Dr Pinkerton. I remember lads coming up to hang around with us in the grounds we had tree huts and swings and a five a side pitch. If you were late for tea they would hold it back for you and the aura of an institution did not exist. I remember a lot of the children who were there I sometimes wonder what happened to them. I know some got successful placements Dr Pinkerton and Mr. Evans who run the place were good men the kids loved them. He told me I very clever, previous to that the label was hard faced.

[Paddy]

Yeah the admission unit was always temp. They spent most of their time looking for us :PDT11

[wsteve55]

Yeah the admission unit was always temp. They spent most of their time looking for us :PDT11

:D:slywink:

[phredd]

Sirob.

Great pics there.
The First one shows the front of what was Amystery Court Special School.
I was an inmate there in the mid 1950s. I was there for the Queens Coronation. Watched it on the old B&W telly in the dinning room.
The second pic is of the Lawn and playground of the same school taken from what was the dinning room by the looks of it.

Since the time I left, the Classrooms down the left side of the lawn have changed somewhat. There were two classrooms in the same building with the entrance in the middle.
In the backgrond of the playground there were three green houses, an orchard and land used for growing veg for use in the home.
At the very bottom of the grounds was a Pig Sty and Hen Run for fresh eggs.

In the 50s it was a Boys only school but later on, so I am informed, it became a girls school.

Lots of good times there. Isle of Man for two weeks every year at Port Erin/Port StMary (four roads) and other years it was to Kirch Micheal.

Memories of long ago in the days when we had nothing but we had plenty of fun.
Phredd

[Sirob]

yes, Phredd, as an ex inmate myself, I can vouch for how children were treated, without resorting to the physical punishments that were the norm in ordinary schools. In 1962, they had a photographic club, so I learned to devolop and print. It was only a Brownie 127, but I was able to make a photographic record of the time spent there. The negatives, some unprinted, have remained with me, unseen, until this thread. I have scanned and enhanced them, but they are decomposing. I will post them, as I have never seen any pictures of life inside!
these are from 1962

[phredd]

Sirob
You are lucky, all I have is memories of my time there. No pics taken them days.
Pic number one must have been taken from up a tree from what I can see. lol
Pic number two was taken from in front of the house. The two buildings on the left = The first one was the classrooms. The second was not there in my time.
The third and the fourth I do not recognize.

You had your camera. I had piano lessons from a dear old lady who lived down Gatacre Brow. Never did carry on with the piano. Went to sea instead.

Thanks again for the memories.

Phredd

[Sirob]

Phredd, the building beyond the classrooms was a gym
the third pic is taken right at the bottom of the grounds
and the fourth is half way down, where there was also a paddling pool, plus a car to wreck and holes to dig!!!!!
Outing to the Mersey Tunnel at Mann Island
Supervisors, plus backgrounds
On the Guinness boat 1963

[Kev]

Can I just say a big thanks for sharing these pics Sirob, much appreciated.

:PDT11

[drone_pilot]

Sirob, these are great images, I was in care over the water in new brighton, due to mum having a brain abscess, and dad in the navy, I was only 5ish at the time so I have very clouded memory's of it.

I have now contacted Social services in new brighton to see what info they have on me.

[Famous Scouser]

The actor Paul Barber who plays "Denzil" from Only fools and Horses gives a good insight into the Liverpool Care system and tells how he had to be split up from his siblings when his mother died. He talks about a woman in a big house off Menlove Ave who used to put bleach in his bath to make him look "whiter". Breaks your heart reading things like that. Dreadful.

[wsteve55]

Sirob, these are great images, I was in care over the water in new brighton, due to mum having a brain abscess, and dad in the navy, I was only 5ish at the time so I have very clouded memory's of it.

I have now contacted Social services in new brighton to see what info they have on me.

Will you let us know how you get on? I'ts something I keep meaning to do:nod:
Steve

[Paddy]

I know Paul Barber but I know him as Paddy Barber we spent some time together as kids. I remember him going to an audidition at the Empire for a part in Hair,the rest is history: good on yer Paddy:PDT_Aliboronz_11:

[Paddy]

I was listening to the Children?s secretary Ed Balls on Sky news this morning. What he was saying is that they need to create a safe system for child care to prevent abuse of children in society. Well thinking about it if they refuse to address historic incidents then there will be a continuity factor in occurrences, the reason being that others have got away with it. I remember as a lad listening to the bad talk in Liverpool from people who had engaged in institutionalized abuse. The reference to children was as objects and that is the problem. It was normal for staff at Menlove Avenue to boast about ill treatment. So how do these people survive and function in children?s homes? I think the answer might lie in the fact that historic denial exists.

[kevin]

Paddy,
The brown stuff starting to hit the fan in Ireland may well bring a period of openess and disclosure along the lines you wish for. Once something like that becomes a big topic in the media more excavation tends to get carried out.
You can only hide things under the carpet for so long...
Kevin

[Paddy]

Kevin it makes my blood boil. The English Catholic church is not linked in with the state as it is in Ireland. So Liverpool and North Wales plus Glasgow institutions are beyond the law. Yet the evidence of abuse is overwhelming. And again I make the point violence against children is a crime. Smut papers go in for sexual abuse yet there is far more to it. When a lot of this came to light there was a moral panic around sexual abuse leading to false allegations and payouts to people who could prove that they had been molested. I have no problem with the true victim?s only sympathy. However it is quite sad to find courts being sympathetic only to sexual abuse. What I was told by a barrister is that corporal punishment was a norm in the 50?s and 60?s. Well were barristers like Cherie Blair beaten up as children? After all she was educated by the same nuns who brought me up that?s a fact. It does seem that Catholic England is avoiding any responsibility. However if the Pope decides to apologize as in Australia and other countries it would help solicitors bring successful prosecutions against institutions and individuals. Remember a lot of the children in Australia were shipped out from Liverpool

[PIMO31]

Hello Sirob

Re the below
This special school was on Acrefield Road, near Gateacre Brow. Since it was mentioned, I post 2 pics of it in 1962 and 2 during the big freeze in 1963. there are more, if anyone is interested.

Yes Please if you have any other pictures of Aymestry Court that would be great.

Dave
lpl.dpimblett@cma-cgm.com

[teresamariaf]

I looked through those posts Ged the children?s admission unit on Acrefield road was for taking in kids who had come into care. Some kids would return to their families after very short periods others would be filtered through into the system. I went there from Bootle as I had become hostile to the foster parents in Bootle as I thought they were squandering money that was for keeping us. As in going on benders. My first home was Nazareth house Crosby run by nuns I went there when I was ten months old till I was nine and they sent me to Bootle. That was hard for me as I had previously only known the convent up until then. However I adapted. I was head butted and kicked in the balls a few times so I learn?t to fight back and stand up for myself. I wasn?t a little altar boy anymore and I had to react. Then when you start fighting back the label wild is applied.
Arriving in South Liverpool was the best thing for me it wasn?t all roses and I was very badly treated at Menlove Avenue while waiting to go to New Heys. New Heys was fantastic they had ladders in the trees and swings and you could play football and go out to the park unsupervised it was a very happy place and all the kids had a room of their own. Most of the homes in south Liverpool were okay except for Westfield the guy who run that one was eventually prosecuted. Parkfield was progressive and most of the kids were happy. There was a convent in Woolton that had a bad name but I never went there so I cannot comment. I read your post and your right, people should be able to talk about their upbringing freely. With the Catholic church acting as they are up until nine I have no childhood no photographs nothing you are never asked about or invited to reunions. Effectively your childhood does not exist it is taboo because it is a source of embarrassment for them. I never see pictures or read about the history of the place that was and still is the largest institution in Liverpool. When we were kids we marched every were in two?s forming a line quite long. If we went to the pictures or school or the shops. We had the nickname the Nazis because we came from Nazareth house that was abbreviated to Nazi house. The regime inside was very harsh on the kids. You went to church every single day first thing in the morning. Sundays you just got religion all day. Well what kind of a childhood is that? And I know it upsets people but it is the truth that some Nuns were very cruel to the Children. Still it is something they will not and won?t admit and so the victims remained emotionally in limbo.

Hi Paddy

I was in a childrens home in Druids Cross rd in Woolton, It was called St. Catherines convent for girls, or st. catherines ophanage , I have been trying to finds out its history for years, some people get it mixed up with Knoll Park which was around the corner. My brothers where both in knoll park in the 1950s, st catherines belonged to a merchant taylor who gave the mansion to the sisters of de paul in the 1920s which became st. catherines, it was a huge white house , with a chapel on the side, it was a wonderful building, which i can still see vividly ,it had tennis courts, it grew its own fruit and vegtables, it was set in large grounds, it was demolished in the early eighties and now expensive house have been build since, all that is left of the beautiful old mansion is the coach house, which at the time was the laundry house, but now someone lives there, I had some many wonderful memories of st. catherines, which sadly closed down in 1971 because the city council could not afford to help the sisters of de paul run it, all the children where shipped off to different foster homes, across the city, i would love to meet up anyone who remembers me from them days:unibrow: