Appendix A 95 



8. FROM THE REPORT FOR 1911 OF THE SWANLEY 

 AND FARNINGHAM HOMES FOR BOYS 



" What becomes of your boys ? " 



" Are they as well fitted for the battle of life when they leave the 

 Homes as other boys of their age ? " 



" Does the training they receive enable them to maintain them- 

 selves in the world ? " 



These are the questions we are often asked, and rightly so, for 

 a Home which has not as one of its fundamental, underlying 

 principles the absolute necessity for giving to every boy who passes 

 through it such training as would fit him to earn his own living, can 

 never make any really powerful appeal to clear-headed, practical 

 men and women. 



We can claim for the Homes for Little Boys that from their 

 foundation this end has been held steadily in view. The choice of 

 a trade, the boy's life in the workshop, and his establishment in 

 some suitable situation, are matters of the first importance with us. 



As soon as a boy is 14, or has passed the VHth standard, he is 

 apprenticed to some trade, and every care is taken that he shall 

 follow one for which not only his peculiar bent but his physique and 

 aptitude especially fit him. His choice is a wide one. 



Many trades are taught in the Homes. Printing, farming, 

 gardening, poultry - keeping, tailoring, shoemaking, engineering, 

 carpentering, plumbing and painting, and baking. In addition to 

 these, many boys go into the navy and army and into the mercantile 

 marine. Some of our band boys continue their studies in that direc- 

 tion, and have taken good positions in the musical world. The 

 bandmasters of some notable regiments . . . were trained in our 

 own band, and there are Swanley boys in no fewer than twenty-five 

 English, Irish, Scottish, and Welsh military bands. 



The " Little Boys' Press " is justly regarded as one of the most 

 important departments of the Home, training many of our boys in 

 various branches of the printing trade, fitting them to take excellent 

 positions when they leave. Every care is taken that their work and 

 methods should be up-to-date, and from time to time new machinery 

 is introduced to keep pace with the requirements of the printing 

 trade. There is nothing second-rate or amateurish about the work 



