On Their Own: Britain's Child Migrants

An exhibition telling the heart-breaking true stories of Britain's child migrants who were sent to Canada, Australia and other Commonwealth countries between 1869 and 1970. An estimated 100,000 British children were sent overseas by migration schemes, which were run by a partnership of charities, religious organisations and governments, and claimed to offer boys and girls the opportunity of a better life in Britain's Empire overseas. Many migrants never saw their homes or their families again.

Featuring detailed first-hand stories, photography and personal items which belonged to child migrants, as well as video and audio which recount this period of history. There will also be a series of specially commissioned folk songs by leading British musicians including John McCusker, Julie Matthews and Boo Hewerdine that capture the reality of child migrants' lives, which visitors can listen to at certain points in the exhibition.

The exhibition will explore the complex moral motivations to these schemes and share the work of the Child Migrants Trust, which has brought some comfort to former child migrants, by finding their families and reuniting them with surviving members.