General Chat

Hi all, I was told yesterday that when my dad was 15 years old he was put away for 3 years for stealing a pr of roller skates . His mum and dad were dead at this time and his sister was bringing my dad and his 8 brothers and sisters up , it was said after 3 years he would be a man and be able to look after himself . I couldnt believe it , they dont get 3 years for murder these days .

that was a harsh sentence. i assume in a reform school or borstal type place. Nowadays he's get probably probation or less. I wonder if it taught him a lesson though. His poor sister bringing up 9 siblings, she had no life, it is like something out of a novel. ann Glos

hi ann yes i thought it was harsh also , it definatly taught him a lesson , but can you imagine what he must have felt like , yes i agree he should have been punished for stealing ,as if he was here today he would say the same but ,to be punished for not having parents , i think that is awful .

That's sad. Though I suppose perhaps if he went to a reform school the people sending him there thought they were giving him opportunities he wouldn't get at home. Maybe his sister couldn't cope with a wilful teenage brother. I've spotted a probable distant relation who was in a reform school/training ship on a census aged about 16. He ended up in the Merchant Navy and died a hero in WW2. Perhaps the thinking was it would lead to a career or some sort of employment. I hope your father didn't suffer but it does seem very harsh compared with how we treat youngsters these days. Sue

Hi Sue , he never talked about his life or his family , thats why i wanted to do the family tree, and i knew there was a gap between him leaving home and marrying my mum and couldnt find out what he did in that time . Then i was told yesterday what had happened , his mum died in child birth in 1932 and his dad died 1937 , about 2 years before this happened to him. I dont condone what he did , but i think the sentence was harsh , i now have to find out were he was sent , which is going to be a task in itself. But he was my dad and i loved him. sue x

Relative of husbands sent to Borstal for stealing a bike for a few hours (he went off on it for a ride) - rest of his family died of tb but he having been sent away and having decent food etc. survived. Trouble is cannot trace him.

Scooby The sentence wasn't harsh for the time, believe me. And possibly it was a clumsy attempt at care for his welfare, and that of his poor sister. It was always thought that a boy needed a father's influence in the home, and that an absent father made for delinquent boys. But what a shame for him - he obviously felt ashamed of it and that is sad. He wasn't alone though - many fatherless boys were sent to Approved schools etc, for crimes as minor as this. OC

thanks for all input , I just wish he was still alive so i could put my arms round him and tell him he shouldnt be ashamed . Going to bed now , thanks to all and good night sue xx

Sue, I am sure he knows that you don't blame him for that, and that he 'feels' the hug anyway. Is his sister still alive, she must have had a hard time.