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Record #8956
Name :
: Robert STEPHENS (1943 - )
  aka : Bob Stephens


Father
:
Mother
:
BMD and other details
Date of Birth
: 1943

Marriage (1)
:
Marriage (2)
:

Date of Death
:
Abode (1) : Place of BirthEngland
Abode (2) : Place of Death / Burial
Sailing Information
Date of Arrival
: Jul 1952
Country
: Australia

Ship
: - Unknown -

Placement Family
:
Homes / Agencys
Institution (GB)
:

Agency
: Fairbridge Homes
NotesAs an 11 year old child, in July, 1952, he was sent to Molong, a Fairbridge Farm School, Australia. He was placed in Goldsborough Cottage.

"WHEN DID YOU LAST SEE OUR FATHER?

From the Echo, first published Monday 6th Jun 2005.

MORE than half a century after being shipped out to an Australian orphanage, Robert Stephens will be returning to Bournemouth later this month in a desperate bid to trace his father.

The painstaking search for clues to their father's whereabouts has already taken the art gallery director and his sister Margaret more than four decades.

Robert, 62, who now lives in Canberra, has only fleeting memories of John S Harris, the man who had a five-year affair with their mother Mary Stephens in the 1940s.

If he is still alive, Mr Harris, who may be known as Sidney, is in his late 80s.

When Mary Stephens died in 1961 from heart failure she took the identity of her secret lover with her to the grave. Her husband Wallace Stephens died in 1994.

Mary's relationship with Mr Harris is believed to have begun while they were attending light engineering classes in the St Alban's area of Hertfordshire after Mary's husband went to war in 1942.

Robert was born a year later. Within weeks he was put into an orphanage in Havant, Portsmouth, where he stayed for the next six years before going to live with his mother and her husband in Peckham, London.

Records show that Mary left her husband in January 1946 to set up home in Bournemouth.

"While I was at the Havant orphanage quite often my mother would take me to stay with her in Bournemouth," Robert recalled. "My most vivid memory of my father is being taken for rides on his black motorbike.

"I understand that my mother used to run a dating agency in Bournemouth, quite an adventure in those times. She had various other jobs including secretarial work and took typing exams, possibly attending a local college.

"From what her brother and sister have told me the years she spent with my father, although brief, were the happiest of her life."

Robert and Margaret's exhaustive research has traced Mary Stephens to six addresses in Bournemouth in the late 1940s; Strathmore Road, Burnaby Road, Edifred Road, Lonsdale Road, Kimberley Road and Bellevue Road in Southbourne where Margaret was born in December 1947.

Margaret, 57, now lives in Battle, East Sussex, with her husband Andrew.

Robert was among ten child migrants sent to the Fairbridge Farm School, an orphanage in New South Wales, Australia, in July 1952.

"The one ambition I had from the day I arrived was to go home," said the father-of-seven. "Sadly this was never to be. Time is running out; if our father is still alive he's about 88. We are desperate to find him - before it is too late."

Robert and Margaret are planning to visit Bournemouth from June 18 until June 21 in the hope of being reunited with their father.

First published: June 6"

Bob did go to Bournemouth to search for his father, only to discover the truth. This was documented by BBC TV:

"In search of a childhood lost - Bob Stephens

Inside Out (BBC) follows Bob Stephens on an emotional search for his father - a quest that starts in rural Australia and ends with a mysterious death on a Dorset roadside.

Bob was one of thousands of unwanted children who were sent to Australia for new lives in the 1950's.

He was brought up at the Fairbridge Farm School in New South Wales from the age of seven.

But unlike many of his classmates at the orphanage, he still had parents living in England.

Bob's mother died before he had the chance to see her again and he never knew the name of his father.
Village hall
Fairbridge Farm School where Bob was brought up

When he asked for information about his dad, he was told that the Fairbridge Society didn't have any details in their records.

But decades later, Bob finally got to see his file and discovered that it had contained his father's name, John Harris, all along.

"It was one of the worst days of my life when I was given these files," Bob tells the programme.

"When I opened them the first thing that came out was my application. In that application, written in black ink by my mother's hand, was the name of my father.

"It was in the sixties that I had asked them and they had denied having the knowledge. So here we are years later with the information in front of me, that I could have had in 1964."

In the programme, Bob travels to Dorset to find the John Harris that he believes may have been his father.
Bob with his mum
Family photo - a rare shot of Bob with his mother

Unfortunately, he arrives too late. John Harris had been found dead on the roadside near Christchurch a year earlier.

The coroner doesn't know how he died, because his body was already a skeleton when it was discovered.

Bob discovers that John Harris has spent his final years sleeping rough in an underpass near Bournemouth train station.

"It's tragic to think that we have come this far only to miss out by 12 months or so," he says.

"Had they told us the information they had in 1964, I would have been much happier. But more importantly, we might have found my father and he wouldn't have led the tragic life he did, ending up a skeleton on the side of the road."

Bob and several other Fairbridge former inmates, including former managing director of the ABC, David Hill, faced the horrors they suffered at Molong by accusing a World War II hero, William Slim, revered in his homeland, Britain, for his leadership in war - especially in Burma during World War II, of unspeakable acts. William Slim rose from modest origins to achieve the highest military rank, that of field marshal. He became the Queen's representative in Australia at a time when governors-general were usually British. His tenure at Yarralumla was without controversy; indeed, historians regard him as one of Australia's best governors-general.

Slim - later to become a peer of the realm has been alleged to have groped pre-pubescent boys at Fairbridge Farm School at Molong, in the central west of NSW, when he visited in 1955.

The allegations have this week been supported by a number of former Fairbridge boys. Robert Stephens, told in a newspaper, The Australian: "Other boys spoke of fondling in the back of cars as he toured the farm," Stephens, 64, said. "In my case ... two of us were picked to go in his car as it was leaving."

Stephens was forced to sit on Slim's knee while another boy sat on the knee of a second adult, he said. As they drove 1km to the main road, Slim slid his hand up inside Stephens's shorts (apparently Fairbridge boys were not allowed to wear underpants).

"How do you explain it?" Stephens asked. "We were innocent kids. I guess we were vulnerable and in a position where no one could really speak out." Stephens did not speak to anyone about the incident until Hill's revelations at the weekend. A former student had told Hill, who was researching Fairbridge for a book, how he had been assaulted in the back of the vice-regal Rolls-Royce. In retirement, Slim became head of the Fairbridge Society.

"No adult would believe these things happened so you didn't talk about it. You think you are the only one. Like so many things that happened at Fairbridge, they don't go away. They live with you all your life."

But life was conquered by the strength and tenacity that makes up Robert Stephens inner core. He is now the owner of Aarwun Gallery in Gold Creek Village, Canberra, Australia. Open and down-to-earth, Bob is excited about the English garden he's recreated at his multi-acre property in Hall.His passion for his "relaxed, friendly gallery that has something for everyone" is palpable and heart-warming. 
ContributorsCreated : 2009-07-18 12:49:12 / From original database


Last Updated : 2009-07-18 12:50:54 /

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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  149 Entries        
Surnames starting with:   S »SAUL »SCHN »SCHW »SETH »SHER »SING »SMIT »SPAR »STAN »STEP »STOL »STYC » SZZZ
IDNameDOBPlace of birthArrivals & ShipsDest.AgencyFamily links
4295 STEPHEN, Edward Arthur1915ENG,     Jun 1924 : Demosthenes AUS Fairbridge Homes  
16558 STEPHENS, Alfred1892ENG,     Apr 1902 : Dominion CAN Barnardos  
23095 STEPHENS, Charles W.1895ENG,     Apr 1910 : Empress of Ireland CAN Fegan Homes for Boys  
20131 STEPHENS, Frances L1894ENG,     Jul 1910 : Virginian CAN Maria Rye  
27286 STEPHENS, Frederick Charles1923ENG,     Jul 1935 : Moreton Bay AUS Fairbridge Homes  
20040 STEPHENS, George1873ENG,     Jun 1886 : Lake Superior CAN Barnardos  
12806 STEPHENS, James1914ENG, LAN, Manchester May 1930 : Duchess of Bedford CAN Crusade of Rescue  
8956 STEPHENS, Robert1943ENG,     Jul 1952 : - Unknown - AUS Fairbridge Homes  
7638 STEPHENSON, Hannah1859ENG,     Nov 1870 : Peruvian CAN Maria Rye  
7027 STEPHENSON, Jane1858ENG,     Aug 1871 : Prussian CAN Maria Rye  
9536 STEPHENSON, John1885ENG,     Jul 1900 : Tunisian CAN Barnardos  
13094 STEPHENSON, Redvers John1900ENG, LND, Southwark Jun 1910 : Sicilian CAN Barnardos  
7685 STEPHENSON, Susan1858ENG,     Nov 1870 : Peruvian CAN Maria Rye  
26889 STEPHENSON, Sylvia Pervis1922ENG, YKS, Bridlington Nov 1931 : Ballarat AUS Fairbridge Homes  
26201 STEPTOE, J1889ENG,     Mar 1903 : Canada CAN Barnardos  
26200 STEPTOE, R1887ENG,     Mar 1903 : Canada CAN Barnardos  
27527 STERAY, Bella1865 Aug 1872 : Sarmatian CAN Macpherson Homes  
22536 STERLING, Albert1906ENG,     May 1923 : Montclare CAN Salvation Army  
2701 STERLING, James1865ENG, YKS 1887 : - Unknown - CAN Unknown  
16473 STERNE, Richard Joseph1909ENG,     Sep 1921 : Minnedosa CAN Barnardos  
23329 STERRETT, Albert Walter1895ENG, LDN, London Jul 1904 : Southwark CAN Barnardos  
23330 STERRETT, Sidney Joseph1893ENG, LDN, London Jul 1904 : Southwark CAN Barnardos  
14774 STETTINER, Guido1910GR_,     May 1921 : Minnedosa CAN Father Hudsons Homes  
27415 STEUART, Terence1931ENG, LND, Lambeth Jan 1949 : Ormonde AUS Big Brother Movement  
3253 STEVENS, Albert1887ENG,     Oct 1900 : Tunisian CAN Barnardos  
6234 STEVENS, Arthur1892ENG,     Jul 1900 : Tunisian CAN Barnardos  
23605 STEVENS, Arthur E1908ENG,     May 1924 : Demosthenes AUS Barnardos  
13925 STEVENS, Arthur Ernest1876ENG, BRK, Tilehurst Aug 1887 : - Unknown - CAN Middlemore  
14886 STEVENS, Catherine E1888ENG,     Aug 1901 : Parisian CAN Barnardos  
15004 STEVENS, Christopher1884ENG,     Sep 1898 : Numidian CAN Westminster Catholic Society  
13927 STEVENS, Christopher Charles1880ENG, BRK, Tilehurst Aug 1887 : - Unknown - CAN Middlemore  
3783 STEVENS, Edith Ellen1895ENG,     Aug 1908 : Dominion CAN Barnardos  
15176 STEVENS, Elizabeth1890ENG,     Oct 1900 : Tunisian CAN Barnardos  
5037 STEVENS, Ernest 1914ENG, LDN, London Sep 1930 : Duchess of Bedford CAN Barnardos  
17254 STEVENS, Ernest1908ENG,     May 1911 : Tunisian CAN MacPherson Homes  
13924 STEVENS, Frank Edmund1875ENG, BRK, Tilehurst Aug 1887 : - Unknown - CAN Middlemore  
4851 STEVENS, Frederick James1909ENG,     Apr 1925 : Montclare CAN Barnardos  
19875 STEVENS, Harry1895ENG,     May 1907 : Empress of Britain CAN Fegan Homes for Boys  
4414 STEVENS, Henry William1903ENG,     Jul 1914 : Victorian CAN Crusade of Rescue  
26786 STEVENS, Horace William1927 Dec 1934 : Baradine AUS Fairbridge Homes  
21064 STEVENS, J J1881ENG,     Apr 1898 : Labrador CAN Barnardos  
21543 STEVENS, Jack1918ENG,     May 1929 : Berrima AUS Barnardos  
15822 STEVENS, James1900ENG,     1912 : - Unknown - CAN Barnardos  
19534 STEVENS, James Samuel1910ENG,     Jul 1926 : Celtic CAN Canadian Government Scheme  
15943 STEVENS, Jesse Balaclava1873ENG,     Aug 1886 : Sardinian CAN Maria Rye  
19336 STEVENS, John Williams1903ENG,     Sep 1912 : Sicilian CAN Barnardos  
16775 STEVENS, Minnie Louisa1893ENG,    , Oxford Aug 1905 : Dominion CAN Barnardos  
26668 STEVENS, Mona1900 Oct 1910 : Sicilian CAN Barnardos  
13926 STEVENS, Rosa Ellen1878ENG, BRK, Tilehurst Aug 1887 : - Unknown - CAN Middlemore  
16383 STEVENS, Thomas ENG,     Jun 1891 : Circassian CAN Barnardos  
13928 STEVENS, Walter Cecil1881ENG, BRK, Tilehurst Aug 1887 : - Unknown - CAN Middlemore  
15821 STEVENS, William Oliver1899ENG, GLS, Chipping Sodbury May 1909 : Corsican CAN Barnardos  
20435 STEVENSON, Dorothy1898 May 1908 : Corsican CAN Louisa Birt  
17716 STEVENSON, Elizabeth1912ENG,     Jul 1927 : Metagama CAN Unknown  
17717 STEVENSON, Elizabeth1892ENG,     May 1908 : Carthaginian CAN Middlemore  
22869 STEVENSON, George1895ENG,     Apr 1908 : Lake Champlain CAN Fegan Homes for Boys  
6579 STEVENSON, Harry1913ENG, LDN, London Jul 1927 : Minnedosa CAN Barnardos  
6580 STEVENSON, Jack 1913ENG, LDN, London Jul 1927 : Minnedosa CAN Barnardos  
8119 STEVENSON, John Muir1912SCT,    , Port Menteith Apr 1927 : Athenia CAN Quarriers  
14704 STEVENSON, Margaret1882ENG,     Jun 1893 : Carthaginian CAN Quarriers  
9537 STEVENSON, Thomas Henry1887ENG,     Apr 1904 : Southwark CAN Barnardos  
21308 STEWARD, Beatrice1904ENG,     Jun 1913 : Corinthian CAN Barnardos  
19890 STEWARD, Oliver1886ENG,     Jun 1897 : Labrador CAN Barnardos  
10550 STEWARD, Stuart1914ENG,    , Lambeth Oct 1927 : Montclare CAN Barnardos  
15805 STEWART, Agnes1872SCT,     Aug 1887 : Nova Scotian CAN Maryhill School (Glasgow)  
6044 STEWART, Albert1893ENG,     Oct 1904 : Bavarian CAN Barnardos  
21661 STEWART, Albert B.1878ENG,     Apr 1891 : Sardinian CAN Waifs & Strays  
13375 STEWART, Beatrice1881SCT, LKS, Glasgow Mar 1889 : Siberian CAN Quarriers  
25603 STEWART, Beatrice1898ENG,     May 1909 : Corsican CAN Barnardos  
3914 STEWART, Caroline1883ENG,     Jun 1890 : Sardinian CAN Maria Rye Eve.R  
15490 STEWART, Catherine1873IRL,     Apr 1882 : Parisian CAN Maria Rye  
26089 STEWART, D1894ENG,     Mar 1903 : Canada CAN Barnardos  
20031 STEWART, Frederick1869ENG,     Jun 1886 : Lake Superior CAN Barnardos  
17718 STEWART, George Robert ENG,     Aug 1908 : Dominion CAN Barnardos  
23326 STEWART, George Sherlett1898SCT, MLN, Leith Apr 1912 : Scotian CAN Quarriers  
26265 STEWART, Gordon1930 Jan 1937 : Oronsay AUS Fairbridge Homes  
15126 STEWART, Isabella1891ENG,     Jun 1901 : Tunisian CAN Barnardos  
15494 STEWART, James1872ENG,     Apr 1882 : Parisian CAN Maria Rye  
27397 STEWART, John William1936ENG, NBL, Tynemouth Jan 1949 : Ormonde AUS Fairbridge Homes  
26103 STEWART, Joseph1886ENG,     Mar 1903 : Canada CAN Barnardos  
6203 STEWART, Laura1883ENG,     May 1892 : Mongolian CAN Maria Rye  
13377 STEWART, Mary1880SCT,     Jun 1885 : Siberian CAN Quarriers  
15314 STEWART, Mary1869ENG,     Sep 1884 : Sarmatian CAN Liverpool Catholic Childrens Protective Society (now Nugent Care)  
20687 STEWART, Mary1903ENG,     Oct 1913 : Corinthian CAN Barnardos  
23703 STEWART, Mary1890ENG,     Aug 1906 : Dominion CAN Barnardos  
27396 STEWART, Richard Alexander1935ENG, NTH, Tynemouth Jan 1949 : Ormonde AUS Fairbridge Homes  
15829 STEWART, Robert Arthur1897ENG, NBL, Newcastle Oct 1908 : Dominion CAN Barnardos  
15495 STEWART, Sarah1871ENG,     Apr 1882 : Parisian CAN Maria Rye  
13373 STEWART, Susan1875SCT,     Mar 1889 : Siberian CAN Quarriers  
13374 STEWART, William1875SCT,     Mar 1889 : Siberian CAN Quarriers  
13376 STEWART, William1879SCT,     Jun 1885 : Siberian CAN Quarriers  
8943 STICKLAND, Kathleen 1915ENG,    , Southampton Apr 1931 : Duchess of Richmond CAN Barnardos  
9845 STIFF, Abraham Albert1900ENG, LND, Battersea Mar 1911 : Sicilian CAN Barnardos  
9844 STIFF, Arthur Thomas1901ENG, LND, Wandsworth Mar 1911 : Sicilian CAN Barnardos  
8761 STIFF, Edith1881ENG,    , Stowmarket Aug 1892 : Oregon CAN Waifs & Strays  
24190 STIFF, Robert1852ENG,     May 1870 : Scandinavian CAN Boy's Home Great Queen Street, London Sandranne  
23981 STILCOE, Alice1910ENG,     May 1920 : Minnedosa CAN Middlemore  
23982 STILCOE, Westley1914ENG,     May 1920 : Minnedosa CAN Middlemore  
12209 STILES, Arthur 1914ENG, DUR, Teesdale Dec 1928 : Bendigo AUS Fairbridge Homes  
8944 STILL, Arthur 1915ENG, LDN, London Apr 1931 : Duchess of Richmond CAN Barnardos  
7788 STILLWELL, Johanna1858ENG,     Jul 1870 : Prussian CAN Maria Rye  
7818 STILLWELL, Mary1863ENG,     Jul 1870 : Prussian CAN Maria Rye  
10187 STIMPSON, Daisy1897ENG,     Jun 1912 : Tunisian CAN Barnardos  
22157 STIMPSON, William George1887ENG,     Apr 1897 : Labrador CAN Barnardos  
16521 STIRLING, Alice Jessie1878ENG,    , Edinburgh Sep 1886 : Carthaginian CAN Emma Stirling  
16522 STIRLING, James Brunton1874SCT, MLN, Edinburgh Sep 1886 : Carthaginian CAN Emma Stirling  
25818 STIRLING, Lizzie1879 Jun 1891 : Norwegian CAN Quarriers  
25849 STIRLING, Lizzie1882 Jun 1891 : Norwegian CAN Quarriers  
18307 STIRZAHER, Henry 1884ENG,     Mar 1901 : Tunisian CAN Barnardos  
11790 STITSON, William1888ENG,     May 1902 : Dominion CAN Barnardos  
23006 STITSON, William F.1888ENG,     May 1902 : Dominion CAN Fegan Homes for Boys  
10825 STOBIE, Peter1899ENG, ESX, West Ham Apr 1914 : Empress of Britain CAN Fegan Homes for Boys  
18308 STOCK, Florence1891ENG,     Jul 1897 : Parisian CAN Louisa Birt  
20268 STOCK, George Thomas1870ENG,     Jun 1887 : Sarmatian CAN Bedfordshire Reformatory, England  
20267 STOCK, Thomas1893ENG,     Jul 1897 : Parisian CAN Louisa Birt  
7213 STOCKBURN, Gladys May1896ENG,    , Knaresborough Jul 1911 : Sicilian CAN Barnardos  
7214 STOCKBURN, Marian Eliza1899ENG, YKS, Wharfedale Jul 1911 : Sicilian CAN Barnardos  
23308 STOCKDALE, Annie Elizabeth1901ENG, YKS, Scarborough Jul 1914 : Corinthian CAN Barnardos  
23309 STOCKDALE, Florence Elinor1903ENG, YKS, Scarborough Jul 1914 : Corinthian CAN Barnardos  
23310 STOCKDALE, Herbert John1900ENG, YKS, Seamer Oct 1913 : Corinthian CAN Barnardos  
10640 STOCKER, Charlotte J1896ENG, HAM, South Stoneham Mar 1907 : Dominion CAN Barnardos  
5634 STOCKER, Edith1896ENG,     Aug 1908 : Dominion CAN Barnardos  
6379 STOCKER, John1887ENG,     Apr 1900 : Cambroman CAN Barnardos  
10641 STOCKER, Mornington1898ENG, HAM, Bitterne Jun 1913 : Corinthian CAN Barnardos  
20399 STOCKINGTON, Frederick1892ENG,     Oct 1903 : Dominion CAN Barnardos  
15610 STOCKLEY, Gertrude Hilda1905ENG,     Jun 1920 : Scotian CAN Barnardos  
8355 STOCKLEY, Phyllis Eleanor1912ENG,    , Wareham Jun 1920 : Scotian CAN Barnardos  
16477 STOCKLEY, Reginald Cecil Ralph1906ENG,     Sep 1921 : Minnedosa CAN Barnardos  
9538 STOCKMAN, John J1884ENG,    , Portsea Mar 1901 : Tunisian CAN Barnardos  
21704 STOCKWELL, Alfred1879ENG,     May 1895 : Labrador CAN Fegan Homes for Boys  
7142 STOCKWELL, Charles1856ENG,     Aug 1871 : Prussian CAN MacPherson Homes  
3605 STODDARD, Matilda1891ENG, CON, Truro Apr 1906 : Friesland CAN Barnardos  
27587 STODDART, Dan1871SCT, LKS, Glasgow 1881 : Manitoban CAN Marchmont Homes   
14350 STODDART, Henry1892ENG,     Jul 1901 : Numidian CAN Barnardos  
5741 STODDART, Mary ENG,     Aug 1875 : - Unknown - CAN Louisa Birt  
7565 STODDART, Mary J.1857ENG,     Nov 1869 : Hibernian CAN Maria Rye  
8967 STOHGE, Ruth1903ENG,    , Lambeth Jul 1911 : Sicilian CAN Barnardos  
22004 STOKER, John1890ENG,     Oct 1903 : Dominion CAN Barnardos  
16023 STOKES, David1887ENG, WAR, Birmingham Jun 1896 : Corean CAN Middlemore  
4282 STOKES, Ellen Louisa1887ENG, WAR, Coventry Jun 1901 : Tunisian CAN Barnardos  
21325 STOKES, Emma1902ENG,     Jun 1913 : Corinthian CAN Barnardos  
25670 STOKES, George1899ENG,     May 1909 : Corsican CAN Catholic Emigration Society  
5116 STOKES, John1911ENG, LAN, Liverpool Aug 1926 : Montrose CAN Barnardos  
14103 STOKES, John1890ENG,     Jul 1899 : Lake Huron CAN Barnardos  
16024 STOKES, Joseph1885ENG, WAR, Birmingham Jun 1896 : Corean CAN Middlemore  
24243 STOKES, Kathleen1895 Apr 1906 : Friesland CAN Barnardos  
26087 STOKES, Mary A1877 Jun 1881 : Parisian CAN Middlemore  
14404 STOKES, Reginald1880ENG,     Sep 1895 : Sardinian CAN Waifs & Strays  
26063 STOKES, W J1870 Jun 1881 : Parisian CAN Middlemore  
IDNameDOBPlace of birthArrivals & ShipsDest.AgencyFamily links
Surnames starting with:   S »SAUL »SCHN »SCHW »SETH »SHER »SING »SMIT »SPAR »STAN »STEP »STOL »STYC » SZZZ
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  149 Entries