Empty Cradles (Oranges and Sunshine)

Margaret Humphreys

Mar 2011 · Random House

About this ebook

THE BOOK THAT EXPOSED THE HEARTBREAKING SCANDAL OF BRITAIN'S FORGOTTEN AND ABUSED CHILD MIGRANTS - now a film, Oranges and Sunshine, starring Emily Watson.
In 1986 Margaret Humphreys, a Nottingham social worker, investigated a woman's claim that, aged four, she had been put on a boat to Australia by the British government. At first incredulous, Margaret discovered that this was just the tip of an enormous iceberg. Up to 150,000 children, some as young as three years old, had been deported from children's homes in Britain and shipped off to a 'new life' in distant parts of the Empire, right up until as recently as 1970.

Many were told that their parents were dead, and parents were told that their children had been adopted. In fact, for many children it was to be a life of horrendous physical and sexual abuse far away from everything they knew. Margaret and her team reunited thousands of families before it was too late, brought authorities to account, and worldwide attention to an outrageous miscarriage of justice.

Ratings and reviews

This book chronicles past wrongs. It is distressing that organisations and individuals involved have not for the most part acknowledged or apologised for their role in destroying people's lives. Thank you writing this book and bringing this to our attention.

Not sure you can love such a heartrending story, but Margaret humphrys is a true hero. I have nothing but praise for a woman whose own health deteriorated under the stress of fighting two governments and many "Christian societies" to try to reunite families torn apart by their policies. This is horrendous to read about but should be on every single child's desk as part of the curriculum to show them not to take no for an answer, be suspicious of walls and ask questions all the time. Best book ever for

A heartbreaking story of a little known and shameful history of illegal child migration from England. I have a new appreciation for something we all take for granted and that is who we are and where we are from

About the author

Margaret Humphreys is the Director and founder of the Child Migrants Trust, supported by Nottinghamshire County Council. For her services on behalf of the child migrants, she was awarded the Order of Australia - one of only a few Britons ever to have been so honoured, and she was appointed CBE in the 2011 New Year Honours list . She lives in Nottingham with her husband and two children.