Notes A birth registration was found for Cosmo H. De Clercq: Year of Registration: 1915; Quarter of Registration: Oct-Nov-Dec; Mother's Maiden Name: De Clercq; District: Hackney; County: Greater London, London, Middlesex; Volume: 1b; Page: 728.
In 1930, Cosmo de Clerq, 14, arrived at Montreal, Quebec, Canada, along with a group of 35 young persons en route to the Catholic Emigration Association, St. George's Home, 1153 Wellington Street, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Cosmo related: "You were given a choice of where to go?Australia or Canada. There was no choice to stay in Britain."And when he got to Canada . . ."I ate in the barn, I slept in the barn. I lived in the barn. I never saw the inside of the house, and when I ran away, nobody came looking for me."
"I never saw an inspector, and those that did often saw him at the table with the farmer and his family who would deny it if you said you were abused. Now who was the inspector to believe?the kid or the adult? And when the inspector left, the kid would be thrashed for causing trouble."
When an inspector asked Cosmo de Clerq how well the poor people he was with were treating him and whether he had enough to eat, the child replied: "I like it here; they love me." And the inspector retorted: "Love has got nothing to do with it!"
Contributors Created : 2008-09-23 15:34:36 / From original database Last Updated : 2010-01-31 20:17:56 /
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