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Record #21860
Name :
: Edward Barry NORRIS (1914 - )
  aka : Barry Edward Norris


Father
:
Mother
:
BMD and other details
Date of Birth
: 1914 (approx.)

Marriage (1)
:
Marriage (2)
:

Date of Death
:
Abode (1) : Place of BirthEngland
Abode (2) : Place of Death / BurialCanada
Sailing Information
Date of Arrival
: 20 Aug 1926
Country
: Canada

Ship
: Montcalm

Placement Family
:
Homes / Agencys
Institution (GB)
:

Agency
: Crusade of Rescue
NotesEdward was the son of Henry George Norris and his wife Alice Ruth Balls. He was the sibling of Cecil and of sister Miriam Muriel Norris - who came to Canada the same time he did.

Photo Caption:
Uprooted since 1926 Edward Norris a "Home Children" dreams of finding his birth England. When he left at the age of 12 - British authorities led him to believe that he had won a vacation in a Canadian colony.

Exile Searching his roots
"I don't want to die before going to England"
74 years after being deported, Edward Norris holds onto the dream of seeing his birth land. This week the 86 year old learned his dream would become true.
This resident of Saint Luc, a borough of Montreal, is what we call a "Home Child". One of 100,000 British children who between 1869 and 1939 were sent to Canada to work on farms. Officially, they made the trip to escape poverty. In reality many were treated as slaves. A troubling story, long hidden but resurfacing in the last years. So much so that the British government, last spring, made available funds in the amount of 2.5 million to help Home children retrace their origins. These funds will allow the deported like Mr. Norris, to succeed in retracing members of their families in England and taking a 2 week trip back to their homeland. And soon a data base listing all Home Children will be put into action.

Mr. Norris knows that he now qualifies to make the trip. Thanks to the efforts of his grandson Alan and the research done by the Ellen Foundation, a non profit organization in PEI he just found out that he still has a niece living across the ocean, Sheila Gilbert, more then 60 years old. When she heard she had an uncle in Canada she was ecstatic. "She couldn't be more excited than me" stated Mr. Norris - feverish with the though of soon uncovering more of his own identity.

It was 1926 that the young boy of 12 was sent to Quebec. His older sister Muriel Myriam Norris also made the trip. He knows not what happened to her. He's always hoped to find her and ideally to return to England together.

Mr. Norris was led to believe that he had "won" a trip to a vacation colony. But what awaited him was nothing short of festive. Up until the age of 27 he was passed from one foster home to another - farm to farm= disappointment to disappointment.

Like the majority of Home Children, Mr. Norris was the victim of all types of abuse. "I worked hard - I was slapped" he recalls. "Sometimes I thought of my mother, in despair, and started to cry"

Mr. Norris keeps only bits of his past. The first thing he's going to do in England is try to find a portrait of his mother. This he says, with tears in his eye. Her name is Alice Ruth Balla (?). He hopes that his niece knew her. Yesterday he wrote her a letter and sent pictures. He is anxiously awaiting a reply. 
ContributorsCreated : 2013-09-11 16:15:57 / 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  15 Entries        
IDNameDOBPlace of birthArrivals & ShipsDest.AgencyFamily links
9461 NORRIS, Alice1887ENG,     Aug 1901 : Parisian CAN Barnardos  
6705 NORRIS, Edith1915ENG, LDN, London Mar 1927 : Montrose CAN Barnardos  
24256 NORRIS, Edith1895 Apr 1906 : Friesland CAN Barnardos  
21860 NORRIS, Edward Barry1914ENG,     Aug 1926 : Montcalm CAN Crusade of Rescue  
11795 NORRIS, Ernest1899ENG,     Aug 1906 : Dominion CAN Barnardos  
6704 NORRIS, Ethel1913ENG, LDN, London Mar 1927 : Montrose CAN Barnardos  
6703 NORRIS, Frederick1917ENG, LDN, London Mar 1927 : Montrose CAN Barnardos  
6702 NORRIS, Henry1914ENG, LDN, London Mar 1927 : Montrose CAN Barnardos  
16309 NORRIS, John1871ENG,     Jul 1885 : Sarmatian CAN Cardinal Manning (now Nugent Care)  
23957 NORRIS, John1909ENG,     May 1920 : Minnedosa CAN Middlemore  
19061 NORRIS, Joseph1909ENG,     Mar 1927 : Melita CAN Salvation Army  
21861 NORRIS, Muriel Miriam1912ENG,     Aug 1926 : Montcalm CAN Crusade of Rescue  
5195 NORRIS, Sydney Cyril B.1897ENG, SRY, Hampton Hill Jul 1910 : Corsican CAN Unknown Catholic Group  
23531 NORRIS, Victor Albert ENG, ESS, West Ham Sep 1912 : Lake erie CAN Individuals  
23958 NORRIS, William1907ENG,     May 1920 : Minnedosa CAN Middlemore