.

110. 12.10.70 Report of Child Care Officer.

There is always a good welcome here; the mother is grateful for the interest we are continuing to keep in Philip.

As the mother was busy in the shop, first I had a good talk with Philip on his own. He had thoroughly enjoyed the holiday at Dinas Powis again, but with two reservations; they had all felt that rather too much of their time had been organised, although he had appreciated all the visits they had made; Philip would have preferred it if there had been more young people of his own age as when the little ones had gone to bed there was not much that just three or four could do.

Philip is still keen on stamp collecting and he showed me his British stamps; he has a wide collection and spends most of his pocket money on these. He earns a little extra delivering leaflets once a fortnight and this money is being saved for a bicycle tyre for Christmas.

He is not very enthusiastic about school, it is tolerable! But he seems to be keeping up with the work. He has a number of friends in the village and also in the town where the school is situated.

His mother joined us and she said how very much Philip had enjoyed his holiday and how wonderful it had been for him. She was most grateful to the NCH for arranging everything: she would like to write to the staff concerned to thank them for all they did. As I did not have the correct address of the Swansea Branch with me, the mother will send her letter c/o the Regional Office.  

111. 21.12.70 Report of Child Care Officer.

I called briefly to take a Christmas gift for Philip on 17th December. He was looking forward to breaking up from school on the following day, a day earlier than expected because of a conference. The mother said that he had made a very nice salad bowl in woodwork, Philip prefers the practical subjects at school and hopes to make a table skittle set next term.

Philip had done all his Christmas shopping and wrapped all the presents. He seems to organise his time very well and is rarely at a loose end. Both Philip and his mother were delighted to have heard from Harpenden and the mother was gradually getting a letter written in her reply as she has been busy helping in the shop and checking the stock etc.  

112. 06.01.71 Letter to Mother from Bristol NCH.

Owing to reorganisation of regional boundaries, in order to line them up with Home Office and Local Authority regional boundaries, it has been necessary for us to transfer supervision of all administrative matters concerning Philip to the South-East region. All matters concerning his welfare and about which you normally wrote to this office should now be addressed to Highbury.

The Child Care Officer has also been transferred to the South-East Region and will continue supervision of Philip. These changes came into effect on 1st Jan 1971.  

113. 01.03.71 Report of Child Care Officer.

I went to visit Philip and his mother on 26th February, she seemed pleased to see me: she and Philip always give me a welcome. The mother said that he was reasonably happy in the village but she found life rather monotonous and village life was very quiet.

Philip does not enjoy school very much but he evidently worked well as he had come 3rd in his class; his report had been very satisfactory but the general remark had indicated the comment that he must learn to stand on his own two feet.

This apparently referred to the fact that he gets very down when some of the boys call him ‘wog’ or ‘chocolate boy’ and he does not retaliate.

We talked about this together and he seemed to cheer up, as he had been particularly upset on that day. On the other hand he has many friends from both school and in the village.

Philip asked about Russell and if I had seen him lately: he and Russell had become good friends when they were on holiday together at Dinas Powis last summer. There is no doubt that Philip very much appreciated this holiday and I hope that it will be possible to arrange something for him this year.  

114. 17.03.71 Family Aid Review.

The health of both Philip and his mother is very good.

The mother and Philip have a good relationship with each other and the family appear to be happy.

The mother looks after her mother and does all the housekeeping.

No financial assistance is required apart from help with a summer holiday for Philip. Material help is not required but emotionally, the mother does appreciate visits and discussions about Philip from time to time.  

115. 31.03.71 Letter from Harpenden NCH to London NCH.

I enclose herewith a letter I have received from the mother of Philip, which is self-explanatory. We haven’t the Birth Certificate on our file, and I can only conclude that it will be at Chief Office. I would be grateful if you could reply to the mother direct.  

 MY ANSWER. The reason for the request for my birth certificate is so that I can show it to some of the boys at school, and finally prove to them that I was born in London and I’m not a foreigner. This might be the only way I can put an end to the constant teasing over the colour of my skin.  

116. 24.03.71 Letter from Mother to Harpenden NCH.

May I please have the Birth Certificate of Philip, if it is still at the office, he was at Highfield 1965-68. I left it at the office on his arrival. 

117. 01.04.71 Letter to Mother from NCH London.

Thank you for your letter of 24th March, please find enclosed the birth certificate of Philip, would you please be kind enough to sign the attached receipt and return it to me at your convenience.  

118. Report of Child Care Officer.

As always I was given a very friendly welcome by both Philip and his mother.

Philip was looking very well; he talked more happily about school and seemed to be doing well. He had been given a patch of the garden at home to cultivate and he was keen to show me the variety of plants he was growing.

The mother also seemed more cheerful and she showed me, with pride, the improvements, which her brother-in-law had made in the garden.

Philip would very much like to go on holiday again. This year he will go to the Swansea Children’s Home. This would be for two weeks 14th to 28th August. The mother expressed her gratitude that we were again giving Philip this opportunity; he would not otherwise get a holiday away from home. I agreed to let them know details about travelling nearer the time.  

119. 19.07.71 Report of Child Care Officer.

I called to see the mother and Philip with details of the travelling arrangements for the Holiday in Swansea.

I had previously discussed the train times as to which trains the London party will be travelling on, this train does not stop at Swindon.

Philip will travel to Swansea on the train that leaves Swindon at 11.15 am. and arrives at Swansea at 1.40pm. He will be met at Swansea station; further details have yet to be arranged. The details for Philip’s return journey have also yet to be finalised; he will probably travel on the train that leaves Swansea at 9.20 a.m. and arrives in Swindon at 11.41 am.

I agreed to let his mother know as soon as this was settled.

Philip had ‘broken up’ from school on the day I called: his mother had seen his report which had been returned to school; it had been a good report, Philip had come 4th in his class and had made good progress. I asked if Philip had any idea what he wanted to do when he left school. At present his chief interest is in postage stamps and he would like to get a job with one of the big firms in London.

His mother is quite agreeable for him to think along these lines; she would be happy to obtain work as a housekeeper. However, this will not be for another two years.

Philip is looking forward to his holiday in Swansea and his mother again expressed her appreciation that we were giving Philip this opportunity.  

Continued

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