Please join the Oxford Historical Society at our next Zoom meeting as Elaine Becker discusses the research and stories that went into So They Came: Young Men Farmers.
Excerpt from the book: “Destination Woodstock – The stories of young men who left home and family to make a new way of life in Canada is both thrilling and encouraging. They were not outstanding in any other way than that they had a hope for the future. They came from families facing untold challenges of unemployment, illness and death, as well as the lack of hope for the future”
Learn about the role that the Salvation Army played in bringing the immigrants to Canada, what was involved in researching Burnside Lodge, tracing family members, creating the list of immigrants and many other aspects of the book.
Please join the Oxford Historical Society at our next Zoom meeting as Elaine Becker discusses the research and stories that went into So They Came: Young Men Farmers.
Excerpt from the book: “Destination Woodstock – The stories of young men who left home and family to make a new way of life in Canada is both thrilling and encouraging. They were not outstanding in any other way than that they had a hope for the future. They came from families facing untold challenges of unemployment, illness and death, as well as the lack of hope for the future”
Learn about the role that the Salvation Army played in bringing the immigrants to Canada, what was involved in researching Burnside Lodge, tracing family members, creating the list of immigrants and many other aspects of the book.
Dr. Elaine Becker’s newest local history book on the story of Burnside Lodge is coming together.
Here is an excerpt from the book:
The young men responded to advertisements or word of mouth information with application to the Salvation Army. If they had the proper backing and references, they were sent for training at Hadleigh Farm Colony. The young men were trained and tested and then sent to Canada or Australia for employment with local farmers. In Canada they went to many centres but Smith Falls or Woodstock Ontario were primary centres with officers assigned for follow-up.
The boys were warmly greeted and were transported to the lodge or marched from the train station as the occasion allowed. They were fed and, on many occasions, spent the first night there before proceeding to their appointed local farms.
Before proceeding to the farm, The Salvation Army made financial agreement between all parties for the Army to protect the wages of the young men. The wages minus any funds advanced to the young man were kept in trust by the Army and records were kept to ensure fair wages were received.
Elaine is now at the stage where she is looking for volunteer(s) to help design the cover.
If you are interested in designing the book cover for “So They Came – the young men farmers”, please email Elaine at ebecker2@sympatico.ca.
The Woodstock Sentinel Review published an article on Thursday, December 3, 2020 about Dr. Elaine Becker’s upcoming book on Burnside Lodge and the Salvation Army’s program of bringing boys to Canada to work on area farms.
Many thanks to Dr. Elaine Becker for providing the information in this post.
Stamp issued by Canada Post in October 2010
Your help is needed!
Dr. Elaine Becker is in the process of compiling another local history which is related to an important immigration scheme that ran from 1923 to 1936 – the story of Burnside Lodge over the years and the young men who became valued citizens in this area of Ontario should not be lost.
Small scale operations began in 1903 when The Salvation Army established the “Migration and Settlement Department”.
The principles of the department were:
The needs of the individual were of major concern, including his mental and physical condition
Ascertain the reasonable prospect of the individual succeeding overseas
The absorbing power of the overseas Dominion was taken into account
The after care of the migrant was to be undertaken as a moral obligation by The Army
The work that was carried on at Burnside Lodge in Woodstock, Ontario should not be confused with any of the programs, such as the Dr. Barnardo group which brought orphaned children to Canada. The young men who came to Woodstock came by their own choice and planning.
The Salvation Army Boy Farmers Scheme
The Boy Farmers program was only a small segment of The Salvation Army’s immigration scheme. The Army sponsored and oversaw the migration to Canada of more than 250,000 immigrants from England and other European countries.
Young men between the ages of 14 and 20 applied to the Salvation Army to come to Canada under this plan. If accepted for the training, they attended farm training at Hadleigh Farm in England and then were examined for their suitability to immigrate to Canada. Once accepted they were booked for transportation to Woodstock or to Smith Falls, Ontario. They were employed by local farmers and their situations were supervised by an officer from Burnside Lodge. They stayed at the lodge until everything was settled.
Some of the boys who would arrive in Canada
Burnside Lodge was located on the present site of the YMCA at 808 Dundas St, Woodstock ON
Some of you may remember the building on Dundas Street and have pictures or memories of the facility later used during the war for housing the Women from the training base at the fairgrounds.
We are working to compile some of the stories of the young men who immigrated to Canada to work on local farms. If you can help in any way with this story or if you know any of the families who share those roots or any of the farmers who engaged the young men when they arrived, please contact the Oxford historical Society by email at info@oxhs.ca, thank you.
