Forums Forums Wirral History : Chasing the Past Wirral History Children in Poverty

Photo taken in 1900 in the Back Chester Street area. If nothing else it may remind children how lucky they are today.

Bert1,

This is the image chosen for the book cover for the late Ralph T. Brocklebank book "Images of Birkenhead" which unfortunately was not published because of his untimely death....what a pity no one was able to persuade his family members to publish it ....even in its unfinished state ....as it was advertised as having nearly 300 images of Birkenhead that had not been seen before.....as Bikenhead Librarian he had wonderful access to so much of the history of Birkenhead.....sad loss in many ways.

Cheers

Dunno about lucky Bert. Certain people seem intent on bringing that kind of thing back.

As said though, shame it wasn't published.

Sad little souls and they probably also had a whole load of jobs to do. Damp, cold beds and a crust of bread and dripping.......

What a shame the book wasn't published.

To follow Bert1 post, children in Mersey Street, Seacombe, Wallasey in 1908.

They may have had poor living conditions and diet, Granny, but I bet they weren't miserable, judging from my grandmother's tales (born 1888). I also bet that most of them grew up to be good citizens and with good family values; not grossly overweight either...see where I'm going with this?

You could be right Chris. Paul's picture shows no shoes but happy smiling faces.They possibly knew that there wasn't another life to the one they lived, for themselves, although I'm sure some must have ended up 'in service'.
Different times. My Gt. Grandfather went to sea on a masted sailing ship aged
12 yrs. That was 1860's . Posssibly many of those children in Birkenhead would have had seafaring fathers.
Does anyone know what the infant/child mortality rate was in Birkenhead during those years of the early 1900's ?
Rickets was also quite prevelant in those days.

Thanks Paul.
That's a happier picture..maybe?
Love the way many young boys always wore caps. They probably slept in them too for keeping warm. That was something they carried with them through to the next generation. The old chaps, when I was young, always wore their caps!

Bert has still got his..I believe!

Some of those lads look remarkably like ones I went to Riverside School with in the '50s.Poor,but then we didn't know any better.
Nobody was hungry,front doors were open,neighbours were always addressed as uncle,aunt,or Mr and Mrs depending on how friendly the families were.
The only overweight kids were the children of dockers,butchers,bakers or chip shop owner,when I was at school.
I'm still not fat,habits learned young stand you in good stead in later life.

My grandmother was in service as a nanny. My great grandmother took in washing to keep the family out of the workhouse after my great grandfather committed suicide.

Trouble is that a lot of them wouldn't have grown up at all. TB, Polio, Diptheria malnutrition etc.

It is a credit to someone that they are dressed - Chester Street was known at the time to be amply supplied with Gin Palaces and many mothers were known to spend all the money there and not bother with the kids unless it was to belt them - bad times....