Customer Reviews

Empty Cradles

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a piece of social history which , along with the recording of the experiences of the Aboriginal stolen generation, should be read widely. It is a part of the history of two countries that needs to have the torch shone on it. Margaret Humphreys manages to convey the story with poignance and dignity. That officials REFUSED to acknowledge for so long (and during Humphrey's quest) that any such thing as the forcible 'transportation' of children from the UK to Australia up to the second half of the 20th century, is damning.

Should be on history curricula in both countries. politicians should be required to read it before they can represent their constituents. It should be read alongside 'Bringing Them Home' about the Aboriginal stolen children, forecably removed from their families also well in to the 20th century. As a nation we will reach genuine maturity when we acknowledge and take on board some of the more unpleasant aspects of our shared history.

Margaret Humphreys with her book "Empty Cradles" bravely took on the plight of the Lost Children, those poor souls shipped from the overcrowded orphanages of Britain to all parts of the then British Empire. My own destination was Australia.

Margaret, undaunted by possible repercussions from the collusion of the governments involved, tells our story with heartbreaking compassion. Thanks to her tremendous efforts, some of us now will meet family we never knew we had.

For all who are concerned with humanity, with simple human dignity, this book should not be omitted from your reading list.

A very moving account of the trauma suffered by thousands of children sent from the UK to institutions in Australia, Canada and Rhodesia, often without the knowledge of their parents, and the extent to which the UK and Australian governments and so-called welfare organisations colluded in this practice for decades. The persistence and compassion of UK social worker Margaret Humphries led to many of these children being reunited with close relatives who they had been told had died or abandoned them. The book provides a lot more detail about the callous disregard of these children's interests, the efforts of governments and welfare organisations to conceal what had happened, their attempts to justify it and their reluctance to apologise to or compensate the victims. The book provided the background for a sensitive film with the same title, depicting the plight of these children and Margaret Humphries' campaign to stir the public conscience on their behalf. It is essential reading for anyone caring for childen, their own or other people's.

I can not believe something so awful could happen to so many children. I could not put the book down, cried from cover to cover. My blood ran cold with the horror stories.
I am grateful that Margaret Humphreys found out about this and did all that she did, God Bless her. May her work still go on and be successful.

Margaret Humphreys absorbingly relates how thousands of British children were forcibly migrated overseas into institutions where the nightmares took place during the day. Through a chance encounter, she progressively comes into contact with hundreds of these children, now adults, who are desperate to learn of their backgrounds. As each individual story of pain and suffering unfolds, the enormity of the horror is almost unbearable. Many children suffered mental and physical abuse, and all were told their parents were dead. Simply one of many lies. The Australian Government has made some admissions. Other individuals, Christian authorities and the British Government refuse to make any acknowledgements. Even the BBC unaccountably delayed transmission of the programme which so deservedly needed to be shown. This story, lying concealed for so many years, demonstates clearly how a great evil can be perpetrated silently, its victims those who need our protection the most. But the true heroine is Margaret Humphreys, who battled against ignorance, bigotry and even threats against her life. It is due to her this appalling story has been told. Perhaps with this knowledge and a refusal to allow certain authorities to be unaccountable, we can prevent such disasters happening again. If this were depicted in movie form it would be decried as being too unrealistic and far-fetched. If you only read one book in 1999, make it this one.

Children are the most precious gifts to all parents and so were also these english boys and girls.
Margaret Humphreys's enormously fighting for giving them their history back after all these years has made this book to a historical document of a crime so awful you couldn't imagine was possible in time of peace.
Read this book, take your time and I bet you will give your family many "extra-hugs".
(A couple of sentences in a Swedish magazine made me buy this book last year, and I will never forget the story as long as I live).

This is the kind of book that really makes you wonder:What kind of world is this that we live in that your child can be shipped off to another place and you never see them again? This is a shocking insight into the way the countries involved can lie and cover up something as hugh as this.What gives the 'powers that be' the right to take young children away from their families and take them to another country and basically dump them there? Image a child being taken away and told that their parents were dead or they were no longer wanted.Few of these children ever saw their families again.In fact very few of them even knew they still had families anymore.Masses of these children suffered at the hands of their new 'parents'.Abuse was rife,hard physical labour,backbreaking work for hour after hour,tiny rations of food and beatings seem to have been common for thousands of these children. The author discovers one day by chance of this appaling situation and the more she researches the case,the more she finds that it was NOT only a few children but many.We're talking thousands of youngsters packed off to a strange country and left there. What will really make your blood run cold is the fact that the government knew all along what had happened and still they tried to cover it up!Even when they knew the game was up they still kept on denying. Image if this was your family or you are one of these children we are talking about.Don't you think you have the right to speak up for yourself? The author has opened up a huge can of worms and best of all she has exposed the lies and coverups of what is likely to be one of the biggest darkest secrets ever kept,until now. You may not like this review,it doesn't reach even the worst of this tragedy but it did happen and for all we know,it may still be happening. Read for yourself and see what I mean. Let's hope that this sort of thing never happens again.

This amazing book tells the unbelievable story of the british children deported from children's homes and shipped off to Australia and elsewhere without their families' knoweledge or consent.Their harrowing and incredible stories deeply

touched me - this book angered me and moved me to tears. How could anyone physically and sexually abuse these innocent, helpless children and get away with it for so long ? Everyone should read this book, for it is enlightening, moving and well-written too.

This story was very personal for me. My husband was one of those children. It was not until 2007 that we as a broken family were able to find his sisters.

It was a closing of a chapter for me and my three adult children. My husband was killed in a mine accident in 1997. So never got to know that he had family in Ireland and the U.K. It was a cruel and unforgiveable crime on both the British and Aust government. His files were stamped not to be released until 2025. By that time most would have passed on and never known about their true families. We were able to start out search in earnest in 1997.(Thanks to the freedom of information act) It took 10 years of searching for the truth. Now my children know were there father came from and to know their own roots.

Margaret Humphreys writes a devastating, true account of children who are yanked from their place of birth to be sent to populate the colonies, specifically Australia. Her story, and those of the migrant children, is captivating but is penned by an inexperienced writer who tells rather than shows. She uses too many cliches, her writing is repetitive, and there is little character growth in her eagerness to tell us the stories of these many, many deprived and forgotten children. The subject matter kept me going but I think a bit more editorial input, a bit more real writing assistance would have gone a long way to making this good, interesting read a truly great one.