“Can we have our
hall back please?”
NOT SO ‘ORRIBLE HISTORIES*
I
am well known as a person
who will get on her soapbox
about issues, especially issues
that pertain to things that I
am passionate about such as
history. That must be a record, 28
words into my latest article and I have
already mentioned the “h” word, but
it is important, what is also incredibly
vital to take into consideration when
learning about the past is taking it in
proper context of the time it is set.For example, many people are abhorred
by the workhouse movement and to our
21 st century brains, the very thought of
putting people who are poor and destitute
into a large building and making them
work for their keep is against human
rights and our ethos of what humanity
means. I read recently on social media
that someone was disgusted that
the children once a certain age (it’s
7 if anyone is interested), would be
removed from their parents and sent to
a separate boys or girls’ dorm. You do
have to however, look at this with socialexpectations of the time, in industrial
areas of Great Britain in the early part
of the 19th century, children would start
work as an average rule at 8 years old,
perhaps even younger if their parents
could find employment for them. Children
were not kids in the way that we see
and treat them now, it was not until the
early 1880’s that education became both
mandatory and free between the ages of
5 and 10 which is not that long ago when
you truly think about it.Even more shocking is the fact that the
younger generation under the age of 16
could still receive the death penalty until
1908.Which leads me onto the premise of this
piece, the sacrifices that are made that
are historically relevant but potentially
shocking to us today. Can you imagine
giving up your home, your livelihood and
the place that your family had lived for
generations because the military told you
they needed it to play war games in.No? Read on...By Penny Griffiths-Morgan