A group of boys playing cricket, in the garden of the Shaftesbury Society Home and School for Crippled Boys at Hurst Lea

Date:
1 Jun 1943
Location:
Shaftesbury Society Home and School for Crippled Boys, Weald Road, Sevenoaks, Kent
Show all locations
Hurst Lea, Weald Road, Sevenoaks, Kent
Reference:
MED01/01/3874
Type:
Photograph (Print)
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Description

The original caption may contain language which is historic and which may no longer be considered appropriate. It has been retained in the record in the interest of historical accuracy.

The caption on the reverse of the photograph reads: “The Care of the Cripple. Pic shows cripple boys playing cricket – a game that they are very fond of and in which many of them excel.”

Lord Shaftesbury became the president of the Ragged School Union in 1844, soon after it was established, and held the position for 39 years. In the 19th century, these charitable schools provided free education to destitute children. During the Second World War, a Shaftesbury Home in Hastings was evacuated to Hurst Lea in Sevenoaks, which became a residential boy’s school with approximately 50 pupils. The objective of the school was “to enable the boys to become normal citizens”; during the final year of their schooling, the boys received vocational training. Families may have been allowed to visit their children at Hurst Lea every six weeks. In 1944 the Ragged School Union was officially renamed the Shaftesbury Society, and in 2007 the John Grooms and Shaftesbury Society charities merged to form Livability. See also MED01/01/3873 and MED01/01/3875-3882. High-resolution copies of this image are available for free for non-commercial use. Please Enquire to place an order.

Content

This is part of the Series: MED01/01 Series of prints; within the Collection: MED01 Topical Press Agency Medical Collection

Rights

Source: Historic England Archive

People & Organisations

Photographer: Topical Press Agency Limited

Photographer: Harrison, Norman Kingsley

Keywords

Special School, Childrens Care Home, Garden, Leisure And Recreation, Childhood, Sport, Health And Welfare