A few nice photo fun images I found:
Christmas in the Children's Home - who can muck up the photo for fun?
Image by theirhistory
1966 Flat 1, National Children's Home, Highfield Oval, Harpenden, Herts.
Left to Right
Pauline Jones, Sally Jones, Philip Howard (9), Tommy Johnson (12), Vere Price, Noel Brown (12), Malcolm Price, Lenton Valero (10) & Laddie the dog.
Height wise 4'10" (blue jumper), other than the youngest boy, I was taller than both Lenton and Noel.
As I'm still at junior school, I get grouped with the younger children for most activities, yet for chores and the like as I'm equal to the others in height, it puts me in the older senior group for the amount of chores, with up to three years difference in ages - its not fair.
The following Christmas I try to be different to all the others just for fun, we had all been given dressing up clothes for a party just before Christmas, mine was a pirate outfit with tall riding boots and jodhpurs, when it came to returning the clothes, I told the staff I wanted to wear it during the Christmas holidays, (just to get the staff to say no - if you got several no answers, they might relent in saying yes to something you did really want), to keep me happy they said yes. I wonder if a group photograph of Christmas 1967 still exists.
A letter from the local psychiatric department in early Jan 1968 mentioned that they would be unable to offer any treatment for me, the Gov. of the Children's Home thought it best to get rid of me at that moment, so I was returned to my mother.
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Over the next few years, those of us that had escaped from their care were rounded up and given a two week holiday in one of their Children's Homes. A few past friends were found again for a two week holiday.
It was more or same life as we had been use to.
www.flickr.com/photos/22326055@N06/3623606756/
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In 2010 Lenton is still up to his old tricks, this time it's with Malcolm's big brother Dave.
www.flickr.com/photos/22326055@N06/4783231468/
See: www.theirhistory.co.uk
