The Boys of St. Mary's: Keep On Keeping On - Caroline Whitehead collection, #1

They were mostly infants or toddlers, brought out of extreme poverty and classified as "orphans", to St. Mary's Home for Boys in Gravesend, Kent, England. This Catholic Church-run residential school began in 1926 and continued on into the 1950s. For these youngsters, the only upbringing they'd know was the strict and structured discipline laid down by the Sisters of Charity. The boys were given food, clothing and shelter, but never love.

In this remarkable book, members of a worldwide network of "old boys" have recorded their personal memories of childhood during the time they were in care at St. Mary's. The group, which adopted the motto of "Keep On Keeping On", was formed in 1988 by (Delvin) John Flynn of North London. Some remembrances are chapter-length accounts, others are poignant anecdotes emailed between KOKO members.

For many, tracing their parentage became a decades-long challenge, as the Southwark Catholic Rescue Society steadfastly refused to release personal information. Included in "The Boys of St. Mary's" is a chronological account of KOKO members' recent lobbying to ensure records are appropriately archived when transferred to Diagrama, the latest records keeper. Those records – and the stories in this book – are vitally important to the social history of the era, St. Mary's legacy, "The Boys of St. Mary's" and their descendants.