2024 Festival Highlight: Honouring Glasgow’s Child Migrants

A particularly poignant duo of events at this year’s festival shone a light on some of the untold stories of child migrants from Quarrier’s Homes who were sent to Canada during the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries, some of whom found loving families while others faced separation from siblings and endured abuse. Give Us The Power To Make A Golden Bridge Across The Atlantic and The Power of Archives, Finding the Home Children who went to Canada were collaborative webinars delivered by GBPT, the Scottish Council on Archives and social care charity IRISS which explored this challenging period in transatlantic history and its relevance to today’s debates within the social care sector and was attended by some of the ancestors of those children who were forcibly migrated.

As part of the festival, a collaboration between GBPT, the Scottish Council on Archives and social care charity IRISS explored this history through two webinars. The first, Give Us The Power To Make A Golden Bridge Across The Atlantic reunited members of the original Golden Bridge team, including Neil Ballantyne, to discuss their work on curating the story of Glasgow’s child migrants, first exhibited at the Heatherbank Museum of Social Work in 2001 and later digitised by social care charity, IRISS. Ingrid Shearer of GBPT introduced Mr. Ballantyne, who provided an insightful background on the Home Children story. He skillfully contextualised its motivations, connected it to modern debates within the social care sector, and explored how these historical approaches continue to resonate today.

The second webinar, The Power of Archives, Finding the Home Children who went to Canada, featured experts such as Dr. Irene O’Brien from the Mitchell Archives, genealogist Tahitia McCabe from the University of Strathclyde, and Nicole Watier from Library and Archives Canada. This event offered practical advice for those researching their family history, highlighting the challenges of accessing sensitive archival documents related to child migrants.

These events honoured the memory of Glasgow’s child migrants and offered attendees a meaningful connection to the city’s complex history of migration. We are hoping to continue working with SCA, IRISS and Mr Ballantyne to further raise awareness of the Home Children story over the next year. 

You can access both webinar recordings below:

Webinar 1: ‘Give Us The Power To Make A Golden Bridge Across The Atlantic’ – Honouring Glasgow’s child migrants.

Webinar 2: ‘The Power of Archives Finding the Home Children who went to Canada’.