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Record #4665
Name :
: Tom HAMMOND (1861 - )


Father
:
Mother
:
BMD and other details
Date of Birth
: 1861 (approx.)

Marriage (1)
:
Marriage (2)
:

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

Ship
: - Unknown -

Placement Family
:
Homes / Agencys
Institution (GB)
:

Agency
: Unknown
NotesWithout him Fegan's Homes may never have existed.

It was while out one evening preaching that Mr James William Condell Fegan noticed a group of dirty, scantily dressed and barefooted boys sitting on a kerb near to where he was standing. As the boys got up to leave, Fegan felt compelled to follow them, until they turned down a narrow alley and entered a shabby building. It had the name The Ragged School. He himself entered that building and was greeted by array of faces, all asking him to teach them. So James Fegan had his first contact with the first of a great many poor boys whom he would spend his life helping. He taught the boys and even spent Sunday evenings working with them. But soon his health started to suffer; coping with the hustle and bustle of commercial life and then devoting most evenings working with the boys, his health deteriorated and went to the seaside resort of Bognor Regis to re-couperate.

When in September 1871, Mr. Fegan was at the Bognor seaside resort, his health was completely restored. While he was taking an afternoon stroll on the beach, a gust of wind blew a lady's hat off into the sea. As she sobbed out her loss to the small group that had formed around her, a small boy worked his way to the middle to find out what was wrong. Then before anyone could stop him, he walked out into the sea to retrieve the hat. When he had collected his reward off he went.

Mr Fegan followed this small boy till he was able to talk to him. Poor Tom had no father or mother, there was no one to look after him. He was trying to make ends meet on what he could get from the holiday visitors.

Tom was invited to join Mr Fegan at his lodgings the next morning for breakfast. Tom consented to accompany Mr Fegan to London. Later that day some kind ladies purchased him some clothes.
The following afternoon at the appointed time for their return to London, Tom appeared with a large flat fish basket, with a rolled up old print apron in it . It was put to Tom that he should leave the basket behind. He was told that he would never need these things again.

A tear sparked in his eyes and his voice faltered with emotion. He replied "No sir, I'll stay behind , but I won't leave them! They're all I have got left of my poor mother's. This is the basket she sold her water cresses in at Portsmouth, and that's her apron." The landlady had sold all of the other things they had, to pay off what was due on the rent. It was agreed that Tom could keep his basket with him.

Mr Fegan and Tom walked to the train station to get the London train. As the train sped on its way to London, Tom got quite carried away with it all. At one time he rushed across the compartment to where Mr Fegan was sitting; then dragging him over to the window, pointed out some thing of interest to him. Tom was far too excited to sit still for long and this provoked some angry words. At last Tom crawled under a seat and went to sleep till they arrived at London.

James Fegan looked after Tom until he could organize a place in an institution. Here the boy spent eighteen months before being sent to Canada to start a new life.

This was the start of Tom Hammond's new life and the start of what was called, in Stony Stratford, Fegan's Orphanage. (copyright WATLING WAY MIDDLE SCHOOL CLUTCH CLUB
at the Watling Way Middle School, Stony Stratford, MK, UK., {website}clutch.open.ac.uk/schools/watlingway99/home.html) 
ContributorsCreated : 2009-02-05 09:27:19 / From original database

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  13 Entries        
IDNameDOBPlace of birthArrivals & ShipsDest.AgencyFamily links
14599 HAMMOND, Alfred1874ENG,     Sep 1880 : Sardinian CAN MacPherson Homes  
14913 HAMMOND, Charles1901ENG,     Jun 1912 : Carthaginian CAN Middlemore  
7116 HAMMOND, Cyril1899ENG, BKM May 1908 : Dominion CAN Barnardos  
24346 HAMMOND, G.E.1854 May 1870 : Peruvian CAN   
22194 HAMMOND, George1882ENG,     Apr 1897 : Labrador CAN Barnardos  
27564 HAMMOND, John1873SCT, LKS, Glasgow 1881 : Manitoban CAN Marchmont Homes   
12046 HAMMOND, Joseph1912ENG,     Jan 1927 : Ballarat AUS Barnardos  
19208 HAMMOND, Lottie1895ENG,     Aug 1901 : Parisian CAN Barnardos  
4655 HAMMOND, Rebecca1875ENG, LDN, London Jul 1884 : Peruvian CAN Barnardos  
4665 HAMMOND, Tom1861ENG,     - Unknown - CAN Unknown  
12047 HAMMOND, Walter1910ENG,     Jan 1927 : Ballarat AUS Barnardos  
3979 HAMMOND, William1879ENG, MDX, Peckham, London Jul 1885 : Peruvian CAN Barnardos  
14914 HAMMOND, William1901ENG,     Jun 1912 : Carthaginian CAN Middlemore