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Some of the children from St Christopher's Home, Ashbourne Road, Derby, in 1954

As a child in the 1920s, Kate Eagers knew many of the children who lived at what was then called the Railway Servants’ Orphanage in Ashbourne Road, Derby. Here, Kate, of Duffield Road, Derby, recounts what she recalls from those long-off days.

I had a number of friends who were residents at this establishment. The building (later known as St Christopher's Home) was very familiar to our family as we lived in the area and some of the children attended Kedleston Road School, as I did.

About 30 or 40 of them also attended Victoria Street Congregational Church, like me. They were the Non-Conformist children. The majority went to St John’s Church in Bridge Street.

My mother knew quite a few of the ladies in charge at the home. One of her friends was the resident tailoress – which would account for the vague memories I have of attending a concert, given by the children, at the home when I was around four or five years old.

The most popular sweetshop in the area was run by Miss Ray at the top of Surrey Street. Every Saturday, around 2pm, the resident children were allowed to spend one penny on sweets but they had to alternate – boys one week and girls the next – never both sexes on the same day!

When the girls were young, they had their hair cut short like a boy but, when they were around 13, they were allowed to let it grow.

The boys, of course, had their heads almost shaved, as did many boys in the years after the First World War.

Every Sunday morning, the “Non-Cons” walked to church in crocodile and again, in the afternoon, to Sunday School. They were allowed to attend the Sunday School Christmas party and the Whitsuntide treat.

Once a year, one of Derby’s highlights was the Orphanage Concert. This would take place on a Saturday afternoon at either the Grand Theatre or the Derby Hippodrome, with one of the country’s leading musicians as the star attraction.

My mother rarely missed one of these. I remember her going to one when Dame Clara Butt, a renowned singer, was top of the bill. I attended one at the Hippodrome when I was 14 but I forget who was the main attraction.

At that time, at all the main railway stations in the country, there was usually a model of Stephenson’s Rocket in a glass case on a stand.

You put a penny in the slot and the miniature Rocket would go through its working movements for a minute or two.

Underneath the model was a photograph of the Railway Servants’ Orphanage and a statement saying all the coppers would go towards the upkeep of the institution.

As we understood it, most of the children had one parent and their fathers had worked on the railways.

The children came from all over the British Isles. We had friends from Aberdeen, Cardiff, Cheshire and a few from Nottingham.

Every summer, during the long school holiday, the children went home for about six weeks. We certainly missed them and the church did too. We were always happy when they came back again.

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County:  Derbyshire

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