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Messages - CaptKirk

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London and Middlesex / Re: Ashford residental home . middlesex
« on: Friday 23 July 10 15:59 BST (UK)  »
Quote from: donduck on Thursday 08 July 10 08:55 BST (UK)
i like some pics of ashford residental home.i was there from 1946 till 1954,then went to beecholme in banstead ,where a lot off children went to banstead from ashford.donald

I was going to visit the Ashford location two weeks ago with my mom and aunt while in London. However, a relative who has been doing genealogy research thought it might be better to visit the London Metropolitan Archives (LMA) since the original Ashford buildings have been torn down and the LMA has photos and historical records from Ashford.

First, I visited the LMA website to get as much information as possible then emailed LMA staff for advice on what to look for and suggestions on where I might start. I must say that the British government has put a lot of work in to preserving historical records and helping ordinary people find and access those records! The staff are extremely helpful although very busy!

Records after 1930 are not easily accessible in order to protect the identity of those who may still be alive. However, anyone who attended Ashford and has sufficient ID, can request the records be searched for them by staff.

Based on the suggestions from the email, I was able to look up the  Ashford Residential School admission and discharge registers for 1907-32 available on microfilm X100/093. I was able to see notes about my mom and two other siblings on that record.
I was also able to view photos from Ashford dating from the late 1800's to 1936. Unfortunately, neither my mom nor my aunt saw any photos of people or buildings that they recognized ... not even the playground photos. Also, there were not very many photos of Ashford in the collection box as compared to other schools. Still, it's well worth looking through as you never know what you might find.

For a cost, you can make copies of records and photographs. You'll need to apply for a history card first. That can be done online or in person.

For more information about the London Metropolitan Archives and other resources, visit: http://www.lma.gov.uk

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London and Middlesex / Re: Ashford residental home . middlesex
« on: Saturday 24 April 10 16:06 BST (UK)  »
Quote from: lukeone on Saturday 17 April 10 05:59 BST (UK)
To Johnsearch
my father William at the home from 1924 1938 says that the only time the residential school closed was when they went on an annual holiday (that is all the residents and staff) otherwise the home/ school was always open.
There where technical students who daily attended schools around middlesex for higher learning.

My mother says the same. She spend most all of her childhood there and says that the only time she spent away from the school was on the annual holiday to the seaside (Dymchurch Holiday Camp or Wallton on the Naze).

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London and Middlesex / Re: Ashford residental home . middlesex
« on: Saturday 24 April 10 15:56 BST (UK)  »
Quote from: frederickay on Sunday 28 February 10 22:10 GMT (UK)
hi , i started this post hoping someone could remember my dad jimmy Wharton and his sisters , dolly , Winnie and ?
i only know he was there from aged 2 in 1930  until the war .. so he would have never known any different but he said it wasn't bad ...... interesting different perspectives .....
how do we find the records for this school and where ..
thanks ..
Jan ..

First, I'd like to extend my apologies to frederickay as I have not been able to respond to your message. Apparently, my RootsChat.Com account does not allow me to respond to direct messages. To answer your question, I mentioned the names of your dad and sisters but she does not remember any of them.

Sorry!

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London and Middlesex / Re: Ashford residental home . middlesex
« on: Thursday 08 April 10 03:47 BST (UK)  »
My mother was sent to Ashford Residential School at age 2 in 1927. She was the 4th of 5 sisters, 4 of which were all at Ashford.  Mom says the posts here have revived memories. I'm amazed that at 85 years old, she remembered names of places she went to and even Mr. Wright who she says all the girls had a crush on. She said that Ashford was not a bad place to her because it was all she could remember but that her younger sister (the only sister still alive) didn't like it at all because she was sent there at age 6. Mom says that she didn't even know she had a younger sister until one day the nurses brought her and said her is your younger sister.

She says that they were there until being sent to Maidenhead in 1939 during the war (WWII).

She says that they left there proper young ladies because they were taught to be polite, how to dress and speak well.

She and her sisters would be hard to miss because they were the only mixed-race children there. There names were Ruby, Rose, Gladys, and Vera.

She remembers some names, but I won't list them here for privacy in case they are still alive.

I found another site (friendsreunited.co.uk) that was intended to help students of Ashford Residential School find each other but I wasn't able to find much there but a few photos of people she certainly didn't recognize.

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