Summary

An envelope sent from the 'Daily Express' newspaper to Mrs Sheila Philpott, Terstan Hotel, 30 Nevern Square, London, England, 10 September 1965. This envelope probably contained the three photographs of Sheila taken by the newspaper's photographer when she returned to England to search for her family. Refer to these photographs in the collection (MM149523, MM149524 and MM149522).

Part of a collection of documents, photographs and an oral history inteview relating to Shelagh (formerly Sheila) Philpott (nee Bannister), an unaccompanied British child migrant. The material documents her time in care in the National Children's Home and Orphanage in England at Bramhope, near Leeds; her migration to Australia in 1950 and her efforts to trace her family later in life. The research file includes photocopied material.

Physical Description

A large brown paper envelope with cardboard backing and a printed address label of white paper with a blue printed letterhead and black typed text affixed to one side; red ink stamps and blue handwritten text. The address label contains a printed, drawn image of a building in its footer. The envelope is torn open on tree edges.

Significance

Statement of Historical Significance:
This collection documents the experience of an unaccompanied British child migrant who was relocated to Australia under the UK child migration programmes of the post War period, and to whom an apology was formally made in 2010 and reparations made under the UK Child Migrants Fund in 2019.

The documents are enriched by an oral history interview of the former child migrant, now in her eighties. The material covers the period before her migration as well as the lengthy period in Australia when she suffered from the ongoing impact of that migration programme. It documents her later return as an adult to England to find her family and her mental struggle with her identity. The material includes items showing the part played by local Australian social welfare organisations and their relationship to the after-care efforts of the UK National Children's Home.

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