Eleanor McGrath, of Apple Hill, was honoured to present her documentary “Forgotten” at a special reception recently at the Legislative Assembly in Toronto, held to mark the 155th anniversary of the start of the British Home Children program.
McGrath, who operates Springfield Farm with her husband Finbarr McCarthy, has received acclaim for her touching film that tells the story of the British Home Children, who were brought to Canada between the 1850s and 1939.
Her interest was piqued back in 2011, when she walked by a dilapidated structure at 295 George St. in Toronto. It turned out that the building was once the “Fegan Home for the Distribution of Boys,” operated by James William Condell Fegan to house boys who were destined to become farm workers across Canada.
McGrath would later persuade Toronto city council to accord the site heritage status in 2012.
During her two years of research, as she began to understand the motivations for child migration to Canada, and after meeting British Home Children, McGrath became convinced that this was a story that should not be forgotten.
The reception at Queen’s Park happened “due to the tremendous work and advocacy of co-host MPP Kristyn Wong-Tam and their co-host British Consul General Fouzia Younis, MBE, to honour the over 125,000 children who arrived to Canada from England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Armenia as Home Children, indentured to serve as domestics, farm labour and other roles,” McGrath says.
Today, these young children are represented by descendants who comprise over 12 per cent of Canada’s population.
“The opportunity as a filmmaker to screen my documentary at Queen’s Park to Ontario’s Members of Provincial Parliament, their staff, Home Children descendants and citizens who are interested in learning more about this chapter of our history, was incredibly moving,” she says.
Several guests were interviewed in her film. A most special guest was Sir George Beardshaw, who at 101 is the last Home Child interviewed in the documentary and the oldest Home Child in Ontario. He was recognized in the Legislature and thanked by everyone as a Home Child and his service as a World War II veteran.
Also acknowledged was former MPP Jim Brownell who was pivotal in bringing the Home Children to the forefront and secured the date of September 28 initially as Ontario’s day of recognition and finally, as the annual national day of recognition.
“As a Canadian, a citizen of Ontario, and mother, the story of the British Home Children found me and has stayed with me since I walked by 295 George Street in Toronto in October 2011,” McGrath comments.
Her resolve was shared by her husband and her family. “Each of my endeavours, especially around the preservation of 295 George Street, has happened because of my family’s belief and commitment to sharing these stories of the descendants in their personal journeys to understand their connection to the child migration scheme and to promote education for all Canadians to reflect on the impact child migration had on our nation.”
Speaking on behalf of the Ontario East British Home Children Family, president Carol Goddard said, “It was a honour and a privilege to attend this reception at the Ontario Legislature. We are working to ensure the stories of these young children are told so that this part of our history becomes more widely known.”
