Slum boys who came
HAVING introduced the existence of the old Birkdale Summer Camp last week to those who hadn’t heard of it, and provided details of an early opening ceremony, this week we look at the history of a charitable trust’s coastal encampment that was paradise to the poor and unfortunate boys from the Manchester area.
Long before Cliff Richard sang about us all going on a summer holiday, the poverty-stricken youngsters from the Victorian and Edwardian Manchester, Salford and Wigan areas dreamed of a paradise near the seaside town of Southport.
Oh, to escape the hardship and grime and to breathe in some pure, fresh, coastal air, to bathe in refreshing, clean water, to have fun and games – and eat three meals in one day!
Without being disparaging to Manchester, the city was more renowned for its dreary weather rather than sunshine; it may well be a cliché, but the residential Victorian Mancunians knew all about frequent rain, smoke, and smoggy conditions from the numerous cotton factory chimneys.
On the other hand, “sunny Southport” was a world apart, life went at a slower, more refined pace, the atmosphere was serene – the young town had blossomed into a beautiful place, whatever the weather.
There were many children in the city slums of old who, although were living in poor conditions, had a permanent home and consequently no need for the residential services provided by the charity.
However, what they did need was a chance to get away from the dismal doldrums of city life and the opportunity to play.
They needed a holiday. Most of the camp’s residents were not under the care of the charity, but were recommended for a holiday by local unions or churches.
The Manchester and Salford Boys and Girls’ Refuges and Homes had to rely purely on charitable donations from the public, and during its early days the charity was opening a new service or home almost every year, and this could only be done due to the many wonderful contributions from a city that wanted to help its younger inhabitants.
One such service that was started after such a donation appeal included The Orphan Homes in Cheetham Hill.
After five years of caring for boys over the age of 10 it was felt provision for younger children had to be made.
A generous cheque of £600 was made by none other than Sir William Atkinson, of Southport, and two houses in Johnson Street (just off Queen Street) were purchased. Reporting on its opening in 1877 the Manchester Times described it as an “ordinary family dwelling” containing 16 boys aged three to nine.
Here the committee had taken the unusual step at the time to move away from the large institutionalised homes of old into smaller, family style units, with the boys being educated at local boarding schools.
The summer camps began in 1883 when two second-hand tents were bought by a children’s refuge charity and 20 boys were accommodated for a fortnight away in Morecambe. These few tents, a cooking stove and a rough mobile lavatory were, and proved to be, primitive arrangements, but it at least allowed the young boys to be out and about in the fresh sea air.
This small experiment proved a great success and by 1888 a more permanent site at Ansdell, near Lytham, was chosen with accommodation provided for about 120 boys per week, which proved successful for a couple of years, until more space and better facilities were needed.
By 1893, land on the seaward side of the Esplanade and the former Cheshire Lines Railway, had been handed over by Birkdale’s great landowner, Charles Weld-Blundell, and the encampment moved to Birkdale, where it remained until its closure at the beginning of WWII.
Here the site transformed into a summer camp, more than doubling accommodation to cope with 300 boys a week.
To get our bearings, the location of the original encampment was the furthest part of the southern end of Victoria Park, off Weld Road, opposite the former Palace Hotel’s railway station, and skirting the top end of Rotten Row, which later became the Archery Club ground.
The charitable organisation – which was originally known as the Manchester and Salford Boys’ and Girls’ Refuges and Homes (from 1870 to 1959) – saw its initiative grow rapidly after moving to Birkdale (some give the date as 1896), and by 1903, for example, no fewer than 2,228 lads – drawn from the poorest slums – enjoyed a week-long holiday on our shoreline.
The organisation later became The Boys’ and Girls’ Welfare Society (1960 to 2005) and is now known as the Together Trust.
The Birkdale camp, some 400 square yards in extent, appears to have been created successfully early on, slightly enlarging over the years, but the layout doesn’t seem to have altered a great deal.
The Poor Boys’ Camp at Birkdale was part of the Victorian determination to provide help for the less fortunate and, at the same time, offer them guidance for the future.
Boys from impoverished circumstances were brought here (originally by train and later by coach) and offered a mixture of instruction and recreation that would improve them physically, mentally and morally.
A large sign on one of the buildings read: “Open Air Service on Sunday at 3pm (visitors always welcome),” which most probably referred to a weekly religious service.
The timing of the founding of the camp followed the introduction of the 1870 Elementary Education Act that introduced schooling for all children aged between five and 12, which was seen as an extension of the work of the Poor Law Unions.
Several people have felt sad and upset over the images of the poor boys at the Birkdale camp, but it must be remembered that this really was a much-needed break – a holiday – for the youngsters.
It was a chance for them to breathe in some real fresh air; most of them had never even seen the sea before, and they were able to play with boys of their own age.
However, let us not kid ourselves. The camp was somewhat regimented and quite strictly disciplined.
Although the lads received three meals a day they were most probably worse than the most drab lunch you would have ever had to endure for a school meal – but, it was far better than what they would have been used to, rummaging through bins for example as homeless street urchins.
What is sad is that many of these boys shown on the pictures and postcards we have would have almost certainly lost their lives in the trenches of the forthcoming WWI.
The summer camp, although a part of the Manchester Refuge services, was run almost as a separate identity.
It had its own committee (which in itself wasn’t unusual) but the service also issued its own annual report to interested parties.
This was a successful venture, a large proportion of subscriptions and donations were allocated to the camp. It ran from the middle of May through to September and was opened every year by the Lord Mayor of Manchester.
By 1904 costs ran to about £50 a week, averaging six shillings a week per boy.
Each boy was encouraged to raise the cost of the week’s holiday, but they were still invited even if they could not.
Many of the photographs we have of the boys were those taken for publicity, advertising for sponsorship.
By 1913, at its highest peak, no fewer than 3,186 boys were given a week-long holiday here, where they played games, bathed in the sea and were given wholesome food.
Children were recommended by City Missionaries and Ragged School teachers amongst others; 1s 6d was contributed by the children towards the six (later seven) shillings it cost to accommodate each one.
Year after year the boys flooded back to the camp, ready to enjoy another quintessential British holiday by the seaside.
Although closed temporarily during WWI, and used for the picketing of horses, the summer camp was still deemed to be of use in 1919. Sadly though, of the 200 lads sent out for