Philanthropic Society Farm School

aka

The Redhill Reformatory

Daphne, who lives in Vancouver in Canada, got in touch with me to ask if I knew why her granfather was listed in the 1891 census as being at the Philanthropic Society Reform School and how he ended up in Canada.

What followed was a great deal of research across two continents.

What I discovered was a boy, Happy Grace, from a tragic and violent past in 1800s Marlow who was sentenced to three years in the Philanthropic Society Farm School - an institution of five houses accommodating around three hundred boys.

From there, Happy was forcibly migrated to the NW Territories.

The book I have written on his life in the School and in Canada is the true story I have gleaned from the extensive research.

It is a story of tragedy and harsh punishment, but ultimately the strength to endure.

Visit our online bookshop for details.