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Record #5551
Name :
: Frederick RICKARD (1924 - )
  aka : Fred JENKINS
  aka : Frederick Farnhill


Father
:
Mother
: Winnifred RICKARD
BMD and other details
Date of Birth
: 24 Jun 1924   Notes : Source: Fairbridge Kids

Marriage (1)
:   Spouse/Notes : Joan
Marriage (2)
:   Spouse/Notes : Eileen

Date of Death
:
Abode (1) : Place of BirthEngland, London, Hackney

Sep qtr 1924, 1b 630, mmn RICKARD, as Frederick F RICKARD (FreeBMD)
Abode (2) : Place of Death / Burial
Sailing Information
Date of Arrival
: Nov 1935
Country
: Australia

Ship
: Balranald

Placement Family
:
Homes / Agencys
Institution (GB)
: Barnardos

Agency
: Fairbridge Homes
NotesIn 1935, Frederick F. Rickard, 11, arrived at Fremantle, Australia, in a group of 25 children from the Child Emigration Society, The Strand, London, England, en route to Fairbridge Farm School, Pinjarra, Australia.

In an article written around 1993, Fred Rickard told his story to "That's Life" magazine:

"Mum died when I was 11 and, soon after, two stern women in suits came to our house. 'We've come to take the boy,' one of them said, pointing at me. 'You can't support three children on your own.'

Dad tried to stop them. 'You can't do this!' he cried, but the women just ignored him. They stuck a name tag on my coat and bundled me onto a train like a piece of luggage.

I was taken to the Barnardo's Children's Home in Stepney, East London.

It was a grim-looking building and my only welcome was an ice-cold bath in a tin tub. 'You're a dirty little boy,' the matron said as she scrubbed me with carbolic soap.

Afterwards, I was taken to an office where a man fired questions at me.

'Name!' he barked.

'F-F-Fred Jenkins,' I stuttered and the man consulted a piece of paper.

'That's not right,' he said.

'It says here your name's Fred Rickard.'

'But my father is William Jenkins,' I protested.

'He's not your father,' said the man. 'Your real mother couldn't keep you and the Jenkins family adopted you as a baby.'

It was the biggest shock of my life, but I never had any time to absorb it. From the minute I arrived at Barnardo's, I had to work like a slave. If i didn't I was ordered to strip naked and stand in the freezing-cold dormitory.

After six weeks, the master called me into his office.

'Would you like to go to Australia?' he enquired.

I had no idea where Australia was but anywhere was better than this place.

'Yes,' I said.

I ended up on a farm in a home for British orphans in Fremantle, WA.

Time passed. I took a job on the railways, married Joan and had two children, Barbara and Stephen. I never discussed my childhood. I thought it was best forgotten.

But after Joan died, I ended up marrying an English widow named Eileen. And when we visited the UK, all the old memories came flooding back. I told Eileen what had happened to me.

'Haven't you ever wanted to contact your birth mother? she asked.

'No,' I said the subject was closed.

Back home in Australia, we were watching TV when a documentary came on. It was called Children of the Lost Empire and was about kids who, like me had been taken away from their parents and sent to Australia. A woman called Margaret Humphreys had set up an agency to put the children back in touch with their real families.

'You should write to her,' Eileen said and eventually she persuaded me.

A year later Mrs Humphreys sent me some photographs. 'These are your stepsisters, Maureen and Peggy,' she told me,' and this is your stepbrother, Bill.'

'But I don't understand...'

'After you were born your mother married a Mr Dover,' said Mrs Humphreys. 'These are their children. I've got their telephone numbers if you want to call them.'

I called Peggy next day. And as soon as I said who I was she burst into tears. 'We've been trying to find you for years,' she wept. 'Mum kept all your baby photos...'

Eileen and I flew to England to meet my new family. All of my siblings were waiting at the airport. Maureen even flew in from Canada for the occasion and, today, we still keep in regular contact.

They've told me heaps about my mother and it's a comfort to me.

Even at my age, it's important to know where you come from." 
ContributorsCreated : 2009-03-13 20:57:56 / From original database

Additional Contributions from : mollipops1

Last Updated :

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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  30 Entries        
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IDNameDOBPlace of birthArrivals & ShipsDest.AgencyFamily links
8354 ABBOTT, Frederick Albert Prosper1885ENG, LND, Homerton Apr 1895 : Parisian CAN Barnardos  
5046 ABBS, Bertie Cecil John1914ENG, LND, St. Pancras Mar 1930 : Duchess of Richmond CAN Barnardos  
18925 ABERY, Harold Thomas1908ENG, LND, Marylebone Mar 1927 : Melita CAN Salvation Army  
3078 ABIGAIL, Helen Mary1877ENG, LND, Pimlico Aug 1894 : Vancouver CAN Colonists Aid Society  
3104 ABRAMS, Frederick1892ENG, LND, Battersea May 1906 : Empress of Britain CAN Fegan Homes for Boys Diblet  
3105 ABRAMS, Reginald Edwin1896ENG, LND, Battersea Apr 1909 : Empress of Britain CAN Fegan Homes for Boys Diblet  
3116 ACHURCH, Florence Daisy1901ENG, LND, Fulham Sep 1913 : Virginian CAN MacPherson Homes  
3123 ACKERMAN, Arthur Edward1877ENG, LND, Wandsworth Jun 1888 : Parisian CAN Louisa Birt  
3124 ACKERMAN, George Abraham1875ENG, LND, Wandsworth Jun 1888 : Parisian CAN Louisa Birt  
3134 ACKLAND, Herbert George1898ENG, LND, Camberwell Oct 1906 : Dominion CAN Barnardos  
5493 ACOL, John1920ENG, LND, Hampstead Nov 1932 : Balranald AUS Fairbridge Homes  
3174 ADAM, Thomas Wilkie1893ENG, LND, Pimlico May 1911 : Pretorian CAN Labourers & Domestics  
9229 ADAMS, Maud1885ENG, LND, Kingsland Sep 1901 : Tunisian CAN Barnardos  
8762 ADAMTHWAITE, Ethel Maud1887ENG, LND, Holborn Jul 1898 : Labrador CAN Barnardos  
9959 ADAMTHWAITE, Mary Kate Jane1886ENG, LND Jul 1898 : Labrador CAN Barnardos  
9831 ADKINS, Ann1899ENG, LND, Camden Aug 1908 : Dominion CAN Barnardos  
9833 ADLINGTON, George Richard1880ENG, LND, Limehouse Nov 1891 : Sardinian CAN Barnardos  
7340 ADLINGTON, Percival Stanley1883ENG, LND, Limehouse Nov 1891 : Sardinian CAN Barnardos  
17049 AFFLECK, Adelaide Mary1897ENG, LND, Camberwell Jun 1910 : Corsican CAN Unknown Catholic Group  
10030 ALBERY, Charles Samuel1882ENG, LND, Battersea Jun 1893 : Vancouver CAN Barnardos  
9857 ALBURY, George Arthur1884ENG, LND, Southwark Jun 1893 : Vancouver CAN Barnardos  
8537 ALDEN, James Robert1872ENG, LND, Poplar Aug 1884 : Sardinian CAN Barnardos  
8538 ALDEN, Thomas George1878ENG, LND, Holborn Jul 1893 : Oregon CAN Fegan Homes for Boys  
16550 ALDRIDGE, Ada Florence1900ENG, LND, Clapham Jul 1911 : Sicilian  Barnardos Niksmum  
10413 ALEXANDER, Dorothy May1903ENG, LND, Shoreditch Jul 1908 : Tunisian CAN Catholic Emigration Association  
10414 ALEXANDER, Matilda Julia1902ENG, LND, Shoreditch Jul 1908 : Tunisian CAN Catholic Emigration Association  
8694 ALEXANDER, Rose1898ENG, LND, Hoxton Jul 1908 : Tunisian CAN Catholic Emigration Association  
4743 ALEXANDER, Rose Mary1873ENG, LND, Kensington May 1887 : Corean CAN Charlotte Alexander  
8467 ALGER, Ada1876ENG, LND, St Olave Jul 1886 : Parisian CAN Barnardos  
9026 ALGER, Ellen 1872ENG, LND, St. Olave Jul 1886 : Parisian CAN Barnardos  
IDNameDOBPlace of birthArrivals & ShipsDest.AgencyFamily links
Page: [1] 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 575 Entries        
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  30 Entries