Surviving the Shadows is the true story of a young girl brought up in the strict and harsh life of a Catholic orphanage in the 1920s and 1930s, and of her struggle for emotional survival. Told by the nuns she was an orphan, Caroline "Carrie" Marshall set out to search for her roots. Caroline's monumental struggle against the Catholic authorities in her search for kith and kin lasted over sixty years. Gradually, with the help of genealogists, secrets were prised from the archives and the mysteries began to unravel one bizarre piece at a time. In 1990, Caroline finally received news that her parents, whom she had spent a lifetime searching for, had passed on. A further discovery sent shock waves through her: the birth certificate of an unknown elder brother. Born in 1919, he would be seventy-two years old. Was it possible that, by some miracle, he was still alive? 'Most would prefer to put it at the back of one's mind, rather than acknowledge the stigma of being raised in an orphanage and being denied a birthright,' says the author, Caroline Whitehead. 'But, for social history, these stories must be told.' 'By the time I reached sixteen years of age, I had spent all but two years of my young life in the somewhat questionable care of the nuns at an orphanage in a small village in the County of Kent. From there, I was sent "out into the world" of which I knew little about, and had not been prepared for. My first place of employment was a reformatory school for unruly boys staffed by Christian Brothers, some of whom seemed intent on breaking their vows of chastity....' ABOUT THE AUTHOR Caroline Whitehead (née Marshall) was born in London, England, in 1925. Abandoned in infancy, she was brought up as an orphan in a Catholic institution in a small village in the County of Kent. On reaching the age of sixteen she was sent out into a world she knew little of, as a domestic servant. With World War Two in progress she was soon conscripted into an aircraft factory in the County of Surrey, on 'munition work. She married in 1944. When hostilities ended, she enrolled in a commercial college to train as a secretary. After emigrating to Canada in 1967, a long emotional journey began as she regularly travelled between England and Canada over the years, in a desperate attempt to learn the truth about her parents, and find her missing family. Caroline has one child, three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. She lives in British Columbia, Canada.

Surviving The Shadows

Reference

Whitehead, Caroline

Genealogy

Agio Publishing House

In Rowland: A Heart of Sunshine, the sequel to Surviving the Shadows, author Caroline Whitehead meets her long-lost elder brother, Rowland Marshall, for the first time in 1991 when he is 72 years old. Rowland had heard about Caroline's existence when he was thirteen, but had been denied any details. He'd searched for her in vain for almost sixty years. Caroline tells Rowland of being raised as an orphan by nuns, how she was forced into war work in 1942, and of her struggle to exist on low wages and wartime rations. Her thwarted political ambitions, emigration to Canada, raising a family, and always searching for her roots... Caroline reveals to her brother the existence of three other siblings raised as orphans - William, Kathleen and Elizabeth - about whom he was totally unaware. Rowland's boyhood vision of living with his sister Caroline becomes a reality when the two of them decide to share a home together in Canada. This realized dream continued for the next sixteen years. Characters, events and settings that portray an era and culture that few today could imagine... Identical telepathic senses that allowed two siblings who had been complete strangers to understand each other in their later years, sharing laughter, fun and sorrow... "My brother had a talent for putting words into verse, and he never failed to surprise me with his intelligence on various matters, including his worldly travels. He could mimic different dialogues with such gusto, and have me rolling around in fits of laughter." ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Caroline Whitehead (née Marshall) was born in London, England, and raised in an orphanage in Kent. Knowing the importance of family bonds she pushed forward for forty years to discover her brothers' and sisters' identities, overcoming many obstacles so the story could finally be told. She lives in Sidney, B.C.

Rowland: A Heart of Sunshine

They were mostly infants or toddlers, brought out of extreme poverty and classified as "orphans", to St. Mary's Home for Boys in Gravesend, Kent, England. This Catholic Church-run residential school began in 1926 and continued on into the 1950s. For these youngsters, the only upbringing they'd know was the strict and structured discipline laid down by the Sisters of Charity. The boys were given food, clothing and shelter, but never love. In this remarkable book, members of a worldwide network of "old boys" have recorded their personal memories of childhood during the time they were in care at St. Mary's. The group, which adopted the motto of "Keep On Keeping On", was formed in 1988 by (Delvin) John Flynn of North London. Some remembrances are chapter-length accounts, others are poignant anecdotes emailed between KOKO members. For many, tracing their parentage became a decades-long challenge, as the Southwark Catholic Rescue Society steadfastly refused to release personal information. Included in "The Boys of St. Mary's" is a chronological account of KOKO members' recent lobbying to ensure records are appropriately archived when transferred to Diagrama, the latest records keeper. Those records - and the stories in this book - are vitally important to the social history of the era, St. Mary's legacy, "The Boys of St. Mary's" and their descendants.

The Boys of St. Mary's: Keep On Keeping On

History

Europe

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Books by Whitehead, Caroline

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Whitehead, Caroline. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Surviving The Shadows

Rowland: A Heart of Sunshine

The Boys of St. Mary's: Keep On Keeping On