Explore Tillsonburg’s British Home Children history

Tillsonburg honours the legacy of British Home Children through exhibition, digital archive and Recognition Day illumination 

Annandale National Historic Site (NHS) and Museum, the Town of Tillsonburg, and Oxford County Archives are honouring the legacy of the British Home Children program. Created for British Home Child Day on September 28, the exhibition tells the stories of children who came to the area to work on farms and in domestic service.

According to Home Children Canada, more than 100,000 children were sent from the United Kingdom to Canada through child migration programs between 1869 and 1948. Many came from families facing poverty or other hardships and were placed in homes and on farms across the country. In Tillsonburg and the surrounding area, they became part of the community and its history. Some found supportive homes, while others endured hardship, exploitation, and abuse. 

Annandale NHS is hosting an exhibition that uses photographs, historical records, and family stories to highlight the experiences and contributions of several British Home Children in Tillsonburg and the surrounding area. Oxford County Archives also offers the exhibition online, Tillsonburg’s British Home Children virtual exhibit, at www.oxfordcounty.ca/archives. The exhibition is not a complete history of every British Home Child who settled in the area. Because of the stigma historically associated with being a British Home Child, many experiences were never shared.

As part of the Town’s recognition of British Home Child Day, the Rotary Clock Tower will be illuminated yellow on September 28. The colour yellow represents the sunflower, the official flower associated with British Home Children. As a symbol of resilience, the sunflower honours the lives, contributions, and lasting legacies of the children who came to Canada and helped shape communities across the country, including many in the Tillsonburg area.

Residents are encouraged to visit the exhibition at Annandale NHS, 30 Tillson Avenue, Tillsonburg, through October 31, 2026, or explore the online exhibition at www.oxfordcounty.ca/archives.

Background

• To learn more about the British Home Children program, attend the From Hardship to Hope: The Story of the British Home Children, a special presentation at the Annandale National Historic Site and Museum on Saturday, September 19, at 2:00 p.m.
  
• Annandale NHS and Oxford County Archives are seeking more stories about British Home Children who lived in the area. Descendants are invited to share stories and information about local Home Children using the British Home Children Stories online form.
  
  
• The Town of Tillsonburg and Annandale NHS are grateful to the families who contributed stories, photographs, and research to the exhibition, including the Lucas/Crossett family and the Newman/Helsdon family. Special thanks are also extended to Home Children Canada for its ongoing work to preserve, research, and share the history of British Home Children.