Detail
Collection Southern Railway Orphanage
Summary
A selection of films illustrating life at the children's home in Woking from the 1920s to the 1960s.
Collection ID | 41 | Reference code | S 970703 |
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Title | Southern Railway Orphanage | ||
Dates | 1920s to 1960s | ||
Production | Woking Homes. Academy Pictures Corporation | ||
Materials | Film 16mm Audio Documentation | ||
Access status | Contact Screen Archive South East for details |
Description
The Southern Railway Orphanage collection comprises of four films, three of which are extensive records of life in the orphanage during the late 1920s and early 1930s, and the early 1950s. It is not known who made these films but it is highly likely that the first film, The Southern Railway Servants' Orphanage at Woking (1928-1933?), was commissioned by the Orphanage as a professional record of the workings of the institution. As a charitable body dependent upon voluntary contributions, the Southern Railway Orphanage employed various fundraising tools, and this film, with its positive portrayal of the orphanage and the orphans, is likely to have been used to help raise funds.
The production context of the collection's two amateur films, [Southern Railway Orphanage: Sports and Christmas] (1950 - 1951?) and [Southern Railway Orphanage - Life at the Home] (1952?), is uncertain but these films offer a more informal record of the orphanage than seen in the earlier film. This informality reflects not only upon the film-making style but also on the institution itself - the intervening years had seen a relaxation in both attitudes and behaviour. This relaxation is nicely illustrated in the 1952 film which tells the story of the home from the children's perspective. In the final film of the collection, [“Blue Peter”: Handing Over a Puppy] (1964), the orphanage opens its doors to a puppy donated by the BBC television programme 'Blue Peter'.
The history of the Southern Railway Servants' Orphanage is itself an interesting one. Founded in 1885, it offered a home for children whose London and South Western Railway railwaymen fathers had lost their lives. It originally opened in Clapham before moving to Woking in 1909. Here it grew in size, opening itself up to children from across the Southern Railway. In 1947 an old people's home for former Southern Railway employees was also opened on the site. Today the site is called Woking Grange and is part of Woking Homes which caters solely for retired railway and transport personnel and their spouses. The Archive's collection therefore, not only provides a snapshot of the orphanage's long history but gives an indication of the ideologies which drove the institution, which is of particular interest at a time when such institutions are no longer a feature of modern childcare in the United Kingdom.
Films in this collection:
Showing 4 results.

The Southern Railway Servants' Orphanage at Woking
Date | [1926? - 1933] | ID | 1586 |
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This compilation illustrates life for the children and their relatives, staff and local volunteers at the Southern Railway Servants' Orphanage in Woking during the late 1920s and early 1930s. Each sequence is introduced with intertitles.

[Southern Railway Orphanage: Sports and Christmas]
Date | [1950 - 1951?] | ID | 1587 |
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Two reels (only reel one is online) of amateur film documenting life at the Southern Railway Servants' Orphanage in Woking. The film contains scenes of the older children giving gymnastic displays and a formal dance. The younger children receive toys from Father Christmas and eat Christmas dinners. The children perform a stage play, and boys have a pillow fight.
![[Southern Railway Orphanage - Life at the Home] (1952?) A still from [Southern Railway Orphanage - Life at the Home] (1952?) - a boy reading a comic](/wp-content/uploads/films/1588/image_a_thumb.jpg)
[Southern Railway Orphanage - Life at the Home]
Date | [ca. 1952] | ID | 1588 |
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This is a colourful portrait of the children of the Southern Railway Servants' Orphanage at Woking enjoying various leisure pursuits. The amateur film uses extracts from a child's letter as intertitles, providing a narrative for the images.
[“Blue Peter”: Handing Over a Puppy]
Date | 1965 | ID | 1589 |
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BBC presenter Valerie Singleton presents the children of Woking Grange (previously known as the Southern Railway Servants' Orphanage at Woking) with one of Petra's - the Blue Peter dog - puppies.
Showing 4 results.