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Record #2718

Name :: : Herbert Cecil PORTER (1888 - 1964)
aka : Bert Porter
Father: :
Mother: :

BMD and other details

Date of Birth: : 4 Feb 1888
Marriage (1): :
Marriage (2): :
Date of Death: : Feb 1964 Notes : Cancer

Abode (1) : Place of BirthEngland, Surrey, Battersea

Abode (2) : Place of Death / BurialCanada, Ontario, Veterans Hospital, London

Sailing Information

Date of Arrival: : 3 May 1902
Country: : Canada
Ship: : Tunisian
Placement Family: :

Homes / Agencys

Institution (GB): :
Agency: : Shaftesbury/Bisley Farm School

NotesA birth registration was found for Herbert Cecil Porter: Year of Registration: 1888; Quarter of Registration: Jan-Feb-Mar; District: Wandsworth; County: Greater London, London, Surrey; Volume: 1d; Page: 685. Parents: Edwin James Porter and Kate Breach, married 1882, Richmond, Surrey, England.

My BHC story would probably be different than the Barnardo stereotype. My grandfather came from a working class railroad family. Bert's father was an engineer for the LSW Railway. The family encountered hard times after the mother died and of course when the father died 4 years later. However they weren't poor as were many of the families in the slums of industrial British cities. Bert was not scooped from the streets of London. He and his siblings probably went to a reception centre of some sort (holding house) where it was decided by the parish of Wandsworth or some ad hoc group (Childrens Aid Society), the best placement for each child.

The 2 younger children were sent to a home for motherless children (orphanage) in Chiswick. The older sister went with an aunt who had a daughter of similar age. The older brother was probably sent to a training school and later apprenticed to a fishmonger. Bert was in the middle at 10 years of age. He was sent to the Shaftesbury Farm School in Bisley. This was a more conservative route and more in the 'Old Boy-Church of England' establishment tradition as opposed to the Evangelical movements like Barnardos. Barnardos thought they were on a social mission to rid the British slums of waifs and strays and send them, wholesale, to the colonies. The Shaftesbury Society came out of the 'Ragged School' charity movement which was more concerned with educating poor children and turning them into good useful citizens, i.e., meeting their needs and giving them a chance to succeed.

Some of Shaftesbury's kids were sent to a sailing ship where were trained to become seamen. Others were sent to the Farm School where they were trained to become agricultural workers. Others, especially the girls, were trained in various homes for domestic service. Some boys were trained in trades such as shoemaking at the School and other locations in the London area. All were given basic education until they were 14. Only then were they placed in employment positions. Emigration to the colonies was an option when the job market in England was difficult, and then only if the teenager wanted to go abroad. The emigration option was considered a good one and encouraged because of the opportunities available in the colonies, especially Canada. Shaftesbury was (and is) an effort which was child centered and caring.

In 1902, Albert Parker (Herbert Porter), 14, arrived at Quebec, Canada, in a group of 40 Roman Catholic children from the Liverpool Catholic Children?s Protection Society, 99 Shaw Street, Liverpool, Lancashire, England, and en route to 11 St. Thomas Street, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (SUBMITTERS NOTE: Herbert was actually one of five Shaftesbury "Old Boys" from the Shaftesbury farm/school in Surrey. Shaftesbury used other agencies to transport their boys abroad when they were ready. They were escorted by an Anglican group called the SPCK (Society for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge) to Shaftesbury receiving homes in Canada. The particular party of which my grandfather was a part were sent to a farm near Ingersoll, Ontario where some were later sent on to Winnipeg and assigned to farms in that area. Some were assigned to farms in Ontario.)

Even if an orphan went the Shaftesbury route, life for the child was not easy. It still meant separation from family, institutionalization and growing up to a large extent on your own. If a teenager were sent abroad, he still faced loneliness, being far from home, and often abusive conditions in placements and the negative attitudes of society in the new country. They were often treated like slaves and regarded as the cast-offs of British society. Many 'made it' and did well. Many others suffered and were left with psychological scars for a lifetime.

In Bert's case some of the hardship of being a BHC could have been alleviated had there been follow-up in Canada and a better aftercare program. Shaftesbury's fault was that they did not have the organization in place in Canada to look after their former charges. By 1902 they were relying on "Old Boys' from the Society and Anglican clergy. The system was very weak and was of little real support.

According to "Ups and Downs" Bert was sent to a farm in Houghton, Ontario. The story goes that he wasn't well treated and actually threatened the farmer to get something to eat. He then bolted and came to London, Ontario where he had a cousin. Just how long he stayed on the farm, I don't know. In London he found work as a labourer in construction until WWI broke out. He then joined the Original Canadian Expeditionary Force and went Overseas with the RC Engineers.

On September 25, 1914, at Valcartier, Quebec, Canada, Herbert Porter, 26, enlisted in the Canadian Armed Forces. He declared that he was born in Chiswick, England; that his next of kin was Edward Porter who resided at 7 Mint Road, Wallington, England; that his date of birth was February 4, 1893; that he was a labourer; and that he was married. He was described as 5 foot 9 inches in height; medium complexion; brown eyes; brown hair. He had 4 vaccination marks on his left arm and a scar on his right knee.

He saw some pretty rough service in France and Belgium defending the country which had abandoned him and sent him packing as a youth.

While in England he met my grandmother, Ellen Marshall, near Ipswich while convalescing in a hospital. One cousin tells me he was recovering from a wound when he met my grandmother, a nurse. He told me he had fallen off a horse coming home from the pub where he'd had a few too many ales and that grandma was in fact a volunteer domestic at the local hospital. I like the second version better! My grandmother had been engaged to Herbert's older brother, Frederick, I think, but he was killed in France. Grandma later took up with Bert. They were married in 1918. The Cdn troops came home early in 1919 and grandma followed as a warbride several months later. She had to wear tight clothing because she was pregnant with my mom who was "Made in England" but born in Canada the following November. They went on to have 4 more children in the space of 5 years.

Herbert Cecil Porter is buried in Woodland Cemetery in London, Ontario, alongside his wife, Ellen (Nell) Marshall Porter who died in January of 1965 in Sarnia, Ontario from complications of surgery to remove gall stones.

ContributorsCreated : 2009-01-11 19:21:12 / From original database

Last Updated : 2009-02-07 15:05:05 /

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Surnames starting with: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z 87 Entries

Surnames starting with: P »PALM »PARR »PATO »PEAR »PELO »PERR »PFLA »PICK »PITC »POND »POUL »PRET »PROD » PZZZ

ID	Name	DOB	Place of birth	Arrivals & Ships	Dest.	Agency	Family links
13543	POND, Celia	1879	ENG,	Jun 1890 : Sardinian	CAN	Maria Rye
22269	PONDFORD, George Elliot	1915	ENG,	1925 : - Unknown -	NZ_	Young Pioneers Mansell and Bebbington Home New Plymouth
23600	PONMAN, David G	1910	ENG,	May 1924 : Demosthenes	AUS	Barnardos
27242	PONSONBY, Douglas	1921	ZA_, , Potchefstroom	Nov 1935 : Balranald	AUS	Fairbridge Homes
15741	PONT, John	1875	ENG,	May 1889 : Nestorian	CAN	Unknown
8214	PONTIN, Stephen J	1912	ENG, , Reading	Sep 1928 : Antonia	CAN	National Childrens Home
9866	PONTING, Harriet	1885	ENG,	Jul 1898 : Labrador	CAN	Barnardos
5451	PONTING, John R. C.	1946	ENG,	May 1959 : Strathaird	AUS	Fairbridge Homes
8261	PONTING, Mercy M	1882	ENG, LND, Poplar	Jul 1898 : Labrador	CAN	Barnardos
8260	PONTING, Sidney	1878	ENG, YKS, York	Mar 1891 : Norwegian	CAN	Barnardos
8259	POOK, William	1877	ENG,	Apr 1890 : Sardinian	CAN	Unknown
18064	POOLE, Alfred	1897	ENG,	Jun 1909 : Carthaginian	CAN	Middlemore
2753	POOLE, Elizabeth	1878	SCT,	May 1888 : Corean	CAN	Quarriers
15613	POOLE, Elsie May	1906	ENG,	Jun 1920 : Scotian	CAN	Barnardos
21402	POOLE, George	1874	ENG,	Sep 1888 : Circassian	CAN	Waifs & Strays
9925	POOLE, Harold	1895	ENG,	Mar 1901 : Tunisian	CAN	Barnardos
23458	POOLE, Sidney Roland	1897	ENG, , Northamptonshire	May 1914 : Lake Manitoba	CAN	Sailing Alone
9487	POOLE, Wallace Edwin	1909	ENG, , Loughborough	Jul 1923 : Minnedosa	CAN	Barnardos
25018	POOLEY, Charles	1900		Mar 1910 : Tunisian	CAN	Barnardos
12773	POOLEY, Ernest George	1897	ENG, LDN, London	Aug 1906 : Dominion	CAN	Barnardos
17111	POOLEY, Frederick	1890	ENG,	Aug 1907 : Tunisian	CAN	MacPherson Homes
16712	POPAY, Charles Alfred	1878	ENG, NFK, Great Yarmouth	May 1892 : Sardinian	CAN	Rev. William J. Pady
3251	POPE, Albert Edward	1888	ENG,	Oct 1900 : Tunisian	CAN	Barnardos
3558	POPE, Daisy Lillian	1890	ENG,	Aug 1901 : Parisian	CAN	Barnardos
4272	POPE, Eliza	1875	ENG,	Jul 1886 : Parisian	CAN	Barnardos
7747	POPE, Eliza	1863	ENG,	Jul 1870 : Prussian	CAN	Maria Rye
6191	POPE, Ellen L.	1881	ENG,	May 1892 : Mongolian	CAN	Maria Rye
3814	POPE, George Henry	1896	ENG, LAN, Fallowfield	Mar 1906 : Dominion	CAN	Barnardos
3993	POPE, Gertrude Alice	1882	ENG, MDX, London	Aug 1893 : Oregon	CAN	National Childrens Home
27282	POPE, Gladys	1924	ENG,	Jul 1935 : Moreton Bay	AUS	Fairbridge Homes
8559	POPE, Harry	1889	ENG, LDN, London	Jul 1902 : New England	CAN	Barnardos
10642	POPE, Ivor G	1899	ENG, , Swindon	Jun 1913 : Corinthian	CAN	Barnardos
4425	POPE, Leonard Percy	1907	ENG, KEN, Maidstone	Oct 1921 : Minnedosa	CAN	Father Hudsons Homes
6217	POPE, Mary Ada	1883	ENG, LND, Lambeth	May 1892 : Mongolian	CAN	Maria Rye
7844	POPE, Susan	1865	ENG,	Jul 1870 : Prussian	CAN	Maria Rye
23122	POPE, William	1897	ENG,	Apr 1912 : Empress of Ireland	CAN	Fegan Homes for Boys
2674	POPLAR, Benjamin	1904	ENG,	Aug 1920 : Grampian	CAN	National Childrens Home
5132	POPPLE, Henry	1880	ENG,	Jun 1887 : Polynesian	CAN	MacPherson Homes
21733	POPPLE, Henry	1884	ENG,	May 1895 : Labrador	CAN	Fegan Homes for Boys
20096	POPPLE, Walter	1870	ENG,	Jun 1886 : Lake Superior	CAN	Barnardos
24392	PORT, John	1853		May 1870 : Peruvian	CAN	Annie MacPherson Homes
18778	PORTER, A	1890	ENG,	Sep 1899 : Arawa	CAN	Barnardos
13993	PORTER, Arthur	1880	ENG,	Apr 1886 : Parisian	CAN	Barnardos
2930	PORTER, Daisy	1878		Mar 1895 : Mongolian	CAN	Maria Rye
15628	PORTER, Ernest Henry	1894	ENG,	Apr 1905 : Kensington	CAN	Barnardos
21674	PORTER, Ethel Maud	1877	ENG, , Eastville, Bristol	Sep 1899 : Arawa	CAN	Barnardos
10731	PORTER, Eva	1862	ENG,	Jan 1880 : Peruvian	CAN	Maria Rye
15550	PORTER, Florence	1911	ENG,	Sep 1923 : Minnedosa	CAN	Barnardos
15696	PORTER, Frank	1888	ENG,	Apr 1924 : Scythia	CAN	Dakeyne Boys Farm
18047	PORTER, Frank	1880	ENG,	Apr 1901 : Dominion	CAN	Marchmont Homes (now Barnardos)
2718	PORTER, Herbert Cecil	1888	ENG, SRY, Battersea	May 1902 : Tunisian	CAN	Shaftesbury/Bisley Farm School
21461	PORTER, Leonard	1897	ENG, WAR, Birmingham	Apr 1905 : Kensington	CAN	Barnardos
26680	PORTER, Margaret	1898		Oct 1910 : Sicilian	CAN	Barnardos
6239	PORTER, Phyllis	1901	ENG,	Jul 1909 : Sicilian	CAN	Barnardos
18921	PORTER, William George	1888	ENG, , Bristol, Gloucestershire	Sep 1899 : Arawa	CAN	Barnardos
19636	PORTHBURY, E	1886	ENG,	Jun 1897 : Labrador	CAN	Barnardos
4783	PORTIS, Irene	1909	ENG, CHS, Birkenhead	May 1925 : Montclare	CAN	Catholic Emigration Association
13905	PORTSMOUTH, Stephen	1873	ENG, BRK, Wokingham	Aug 1887 : Toronto	CAN	Church Emigration Society
12568	POSNETT, George	1902	ENG,	May 1913 : Corsican	CAN	MacPherson Homes
18427	POST, Arthur	1897	ENG,	Apr 1910 : Empress of Ireland	CAN	Fegan Homes for Boys
20356	POTHAGE, Christopher	1894	ENG,	Oct 1903 : Dominion	CAN	Barnardos
6857	POTHECARY, Ethel	1890	ENG, , Thrapston	Oct 1900 : Tunisian	CAN	Barnardos
8262	POTTAGE, Robert	1891	ENG, STS, Wolstanton	Apr 1899 : Scotsman	CAN	Barnardos
9224	POTTEN, Herbert	1887	ENG, LDN, London	Jul 1901 : Numidian	CAN	Barnardos
13339	POTTER, Alice	1897	ENG,	May 1906 : Tunisian	CAN	MacPherson Homes
9488	POTTER, Herbert Arthur	1900	ENG,	Mar 1909 : Dominion	CAN	Barnardos
19078	POTTER, Jessie	1899	ENG,	Mar 1914 : Sicilian	CAN	Barnardos
14038	POTTER, Joseph	1891	ENG,	May 1901 : Numidian	CAN	MacPherson Homes
5402	POTTER, Marjorie	1918	ENG,	May 1928 : Ballarat	AUS	Fairbridge Homes
12391	POTTER, Robert Thomas	1893	ENG,	Mar 1903 : Canada	CAN	Barnardos
25651	POTTER, Samuel	1895	ENG,	May 1909 : Corsican	CAN	Catholic Emigration Society
13340	POTTER, Thomas	1898	ENG,	Jul 1904 : Southwark	CAN	Barnardos
26437	POTTICARY, Charles	1904		Jul 1913 : Belgic	AUS	Fairbridge Homes
26436	POTTICARY, George	1903		Jul 1913 : Belgic	AUS	Fairbridge Homes
12509	POTTLE, Frederick	1895	ENG, , Portsmouth	Aug 1905 : Dominion	CAN	Barnardos
11741	POTTLE, Lydia	1888	ENG, , Portsea Island	May 1902 : Dominion	CAN	Barnardos
26098	POTTS, A W	1886	ENG,	Mar 1903 : Canada	CAN	Barnardos
15697	POTTS, Cyril	1910	ENG,	Apr 1924 : Scythia	CAN	Dakeyne Boys Farm
21009	POTTS, E.	1881	ENG,	Apr 1898 : Labrador	CAN	Barnardos
12394	POTTS, Edward	1894	ENG,	Mar 1903 : Canada	CAN	Barnardos
9929	POTTS, Emily	1891	ENG, LDN, London	1903 : - Unknown -	CAN	Barnardos
23279	POTTS, Grace	1897	ENG,	Mar 1910 : Tunisian	CAN	Barnardos
18855	POTTS, Henry	1888	ENG,	Sep 1899 : Arawa	CAN	Barnardos
23456	POTTS, James McConning	1896	ENG, LAN, Manchester	Apr 1907 : Tunisian		MacPherson Homes	Manchester Rambler
15809	POTTS, Mary	1871	ENG,	Sep 1884 : Sarmatian	CAN	Liverpool Catholic Childrens Protective Society (now Nugent Care)
15913	POTTS, William	1875	ENG,	Sep 1884 : Sarmatian	CAN	Liverpool Catholic Childrens Protective Society (now Nugent Care)
21532	POTTS, Williiam Gordon	1914	ENG, DUR, Sunderland	Jun 1929 : Berrima	AUS	Barnardos
ID	Name	DOB	Place of birth	Arrivals & Ships	Dest.	Agency	Family links

Surnames starting with: P »PALM »PARR »PATO »PEAR »PELO »PERR »PFLA »PICK »PITC »POND »POUL »PRET »PROD » PZZZ

Surnames starting with: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z 87 Entries

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