British Home Child Day will see the launch of new book

Ontario’s first British Home Child Day on September 28th will be marked by a series of events planned by a group of British Home Child Descendents and Friends being held at Upper Canada Village, near Morrisburg Ontario. One of these events is the release of a new book on this subject, written by Sandra Joyce called “The Street Arab - The Story of A British Home Child”.

PHOTO CREDIT - SandraJoyce.com

Morrisburg - Sep. 9, 2011 - Ontario’s first British Home Child Day on September 28th will be marked by a series of events planned by a group of British Home Child Descendents and Friends being held at Upper Canada Village, near Morrisburg Ontario. One of these events is the release of a new book on this subject, written by Sandra Joyce called “The Street Arab - The Story of A British Home Child”. The main character of this historical fiction book is Robbie, a young boy living in Scotland whose family is traumatized by poverty and World War I. He comes under the care of an organization that will eventually send both he and his brother to Canada as British Home Children.

Joyce, a native of Toronto, became interested in this subject after learning that her father came to Canada from Scotland as a “Home Child” in 1925. According to Sandra, she didn’t learn that her father was a home child until after his death in 2002. “The reason I chose to write a novel about this subject was that I felt that this story needed to be told in a way that would appeal to the general public.”

On September 28th at 10am in the morning at the Upper Canada Village store, “The Street Arab” will be officially launched and the author will be present to sign copies of her first book. Excerpts form her book will be read after the book launch and then again at 4pm. She would be happy to speak with journalists prior to the launch and can be contacted through her website - www.sandrajoyce.com.

For further information about this and other events at the British Home Child Day in Upper Canada Village, please contact the committee chair, Carolyn Goddard at carol.goddard@sympatico.ca .