St George's House,
Northern Police Orphanage. 1898-1956
Harrogate, Yorkshire, England.
The vision, drive and dedication that Catherine Gurney showed and the work involved for her to achieve her aims has already been referred to on a previous page. Her influence touched and changed the lives of many children and their families, for which we are indebted. Some would look back on their time at the Orphanage with pleasant memories, whereas others, who had endured experiences of severe and excessively harsh treatment, would with some justification, think otherwise.
No matter which category one fits in, it should be recognised that in times of hardship, wars and economic depression, we children were well looked after in many ways. We were well fed, clothed, housed and given educational opportunities unavailable to many, during those times.
The one thing that institutional care can not provide however is the emotional wellbeing of the child, no matter how well meaning the staff or carers may be. The 'family' was just too large for individual needs in that respect. Having said that, the many positive aspects of St George's outweigh any negative aspects and need to be recognised, with due gratitude recorded. Following are some of those that deserve a vote of thanks, apologies in advance for any undue omissions.
For contributions from
Constabulary and Police Forces over many years.
BirkenHead
Stockport
Wallasey
CUMBERLAND &
WESTMORELAND
Carlisle
DERBYSHIRE
Derby
DURHAM COUNTY
Gateshead
South Shields
Sunderland
River Tyne
Barrow in Furness
Blackburn
Blackpool
Bolton
Bootle
Burnley
Liverpool
Manchester
Salford
Oldham
Preston
Rochdale
Southport
St Helen's
Warrington
Wigan
LINCOLNSHIRE
Great Grimsby
Lincoln
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE
Nottingham
NORTHUMBERLAND
Newcastle on Tyne
Tynemouth
SHROPSHIRE
STAFFORDSHIRE
Stoke on Trent
Walsall
YORKSHIRE
Hull
Middlesborough
Barnsley
Bradford
Dewsbury
Doncaster
Halifax
Huddersfield
Leeds
Rotherham
Sheffield
Wakefield
YORK
WALES
Anglesey
Caernarvonshire
Denbighshire
Flintshire
Merionethshire
PoliceTraining Centres
GLASGOW
Manchester & Salford
Police & Fire Brigade
Benevolent Fund
Address
given to the Northern Police Charities, Harrogate
by Elsie Gale, formerly Pickering, nee Bradley. July 1970
I entered St
George's in March, 1942 when I was 10 years old. My father had died four
weeks previously at the age of 41. He had served 22 years in Bolton
Borough Police Force and he left my mother with five offspring and a
Police widow's pension of 10s.1d per week. We had a roof over our heads
but we had to be fed and clothed. Because of the rules laid down at that
time concerning the wives of Police officers, my mother had never been
employed, so suddenly, at 39 she had lost her husband and she was forced
to be the breadwinner. The trouble was - who was to look after us while
she went out to work or during air raids ?
My father's Chief Constable, Mr Howard, solved the problem and he made
arrangements for us to enter St George's. This,I am sure, was the
turning point of my life. I was no longer the apple of my father's eye,
I was just one small child in Miss Knocker's family of nearly 70
children and I had to learn to stand on my own two feet. Believe me , I
learnt very quickly. There was no time for self pity at St George's and
this early training has more than helped me in my adult life.
I hated the discipline while I was at St George's but I often look back
now and realise that those really were the best years of my life.
Instead of being properly cared for at St George's I might have been
roaming around the streets of Bolton while my mother was out working. I
certainly would not have been so well fed and well clothed, especially
during those war years. As St George's children we were always provided
with more and better quality clothing than any private school in
Harrogate - and we were very proud of our uniform, the red for St George
and the blue for the Police. I know from conversations I had as a child
with the girls from the Harrogate Ladies College, a very exclusive and
expensive school, that we St George's children had far better food
served to us than they did. We never went short of anything we needed -
not anything we wanted, but anything we needed. I clearly remember how
jealous the other girls were when they were told of the turkeys and the
money and the presents that were sent to St George's children by the
many generous Police officers. As Police orphans we always had that
little bit extra - we were special. When we told the college girls of
the Police concerts and film shows, the outings and the pantomimes, the
Christmas presents and the parties, the sports days and the prizes, they
used to say: 'Why, you're better off than we are and our fathers are
rich'.
For the most part St George's children didn't have fathers, rich or
poor, but we did have one thing in common at St George's, a family tie
as it were. Every child had a Policeman father. It made absolutely no
difference if he had been a Chief Constable or an ordinary Copper on the
beat - we were all treated exactly the same - and voluntary
contributions from many Police officers made that possible.
The Police have always looked after their own and they always will.
There is a bond somehow, an affinity, something quite intangible, but
it's there and it stays with us all through our lives. This bond
is very apparent at the reunion of St George's old boys and girls. There
is an enormous feeling of belonging. As adults we have all taken
different walks in life but we are still, through our Police
connections, part of one big family and we feel very deeply about this.
Our toast at these reunions is always the same: 'To every Policeman,
everywhere, who made it possible for us to be proud to call ourselves St
George's old boys and girls'. Until now, none of us has been given the
opportunity to express our gratitude personally but today, through the
kindness of Mr Ambler I am able to do this. I know that these words are
very long overdue but may I, on behalf of all St George's boys and
girls, past and present, offer to you, all of you, our very sincere
thanks and our heartfelt gratitude which you all so richly deserve.
Acknowledgement and thanks for assistance and support over the years are due to:
The contributing
Police Forces
Formerly Northern Police Orphans Trust & St George Fund
The St George's Police Trust
St Andrew's,
Harlow Moor Road,
Harrogate. HG2 0AD
Yorkshire.
The Management and Staff
Northern Police Convalescent & Treatment Centre
St Andrew's
Harlow Moor Road,
Harrogate.HG2 0AD
Yorkshire.
Tel: 01423 504448
The Trustees and Staff
Ripon Museum Trust,
The Workhouse Museum,
Sharrow View,
Allhallowgate,
Ripon.
Yorkshire, Tel: 01765.690799
Bradford City Police Force
Harry Ambler, former Bradford Chief Constable
Born 1908 died 1988
Bandsmen
Wilfred Mcdonald (Trumpet)
David Holdsworth
(Drums)
David Abbot
(Keyboard)
G.C. (Clarrie) East
Author: The Constables of Claro
The Director
The Gurney Fund for
Police Orphans
9 Bath Road,
Worthing,
West Sussex.
BNI 13NU
Supporters of St George's House
Godfrey & Dorothy Harland
David Holdsworth
The above were instrumental in providing many of the photographs used
on this website.
Deus vult