British Home Child Information Sheet
| BHC Registry ID #: 1Name & Birth | |||
| Surname: | SNOW | Given Names: | Frederick George |
| Born: | 17 September 1909 | Gender: | Male |
| Born at: | 2 Larch Road, Balham, London, Surrey, England | ||
 Surname Adopted: | A.K.A. Surnames: | ||
| Given Names Adopted: | A.K.A. Given Names: | ||
| Death | |||
| Died: | 17 September 1994 | Age at death: | 85 |
| Died at: | Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada | ||
| Cause: | |||
| Cemetery: | |||
| Cemetery Location: | |||
| Cemetery Plot: | Find-A-Grave ID: | ||
| Placements | ||||
| Start Date | End Date | Placed With / Indentured To | Placement Location | |
| Surname | Given Name | |||
| 1925 | COATES | Arthur | East Angus, Quebec, Canada | |
| 1926 | Ajax, Ontario, Canada | |||
| Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada | ||||
| Census | |||||
| Year | Country | Prov/State | Address, City | Head of Household | Relationship to Head |
| 1911 | England | Surrey | 5 Parker Road, South Croydon | John George SNOW | Son |
| Spouse 1 | |||
| Surname: | PERRY | Given Names: | Gertrude Mabel |
| Born: | 1913 | Born at: | Minnedosa, Manitoba, Canada |
| Died: | 18 November 2000 | Died at: | Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada |
| Married: | 05 September 1935 | Married at: | Port Arthur, Ontario, Canada |
Biological Parents
| Biological Father | |||
| Surname: | SNOW | Given Names: | John George |
| Born: | 1859 | Born at: | Margate, Kent, England |
| Died: | Died at: | ||
| Biological Mother | |||
| Surname: | GIFFORD | Given Names: | Annie |
| Born: | 1876 | Born at: | Battersea, Surrey, England |
| Died: | Died at: | ||
| Biological Parents' Marriage Details | |||
| Married: | 01 August 1904 | Married at: | Tooting Graveney, Wandsworth, London, England |
| Siblings | |||||
| BHC ID | Surname | Given Names | |||
| SNOW | John Allin | ||||
| SNOW | Amy Alice | ||||
| Half-Siblings | |||||
| BHC ID | Surname | Given Names | |||
| SNOW | William Henry | ||||
Military Service
| War: | |||
| Country Served: | Service Number: | ||
| Regiment: | Rank: | ||
| Attestation Date: | Attested at: | ||
| Next of Kin: | NoK Relationship: | ||
| Next of Kin Address: | |||
Sources and Notes
In LAC BHC Index (travel) as Frederick G SNOW, age 15
Record Title: Alphabetical Lists of Boy Emigrants to Canada, 1920 to 1935 inclusive: Frederick G. SNOW - Date of Birth: 1909-09-17 - Year of Arrival: 1925 - Date of Arrival: 1925-04-13 - Sent by: Church of England Waifs & Strays - Destination: Gibb Home, Sherbrooke, Quebec - Notes: The list contains no other details about this boy --- Source: Library and Archives Canada - Database Item Number: 140576
Ontario Marriage Registration: Frederick George SNOW - Age: 26 - Birth Place: Crayden Eng [sic, Croydon] - Marital Status: bachelor - Marriage Date: 05 Sep 1935 - Marriage Place: Port Arthur, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada - Father: John George SNOW - Mother: Anne GIFFORD - Spouse: Gertrude Mable PERRY, spinster, age 22
NOTE: 1911 UK Census: Recorded as George Frederick SNOW, age 2, born Balham - Mother was written a GIFFORD and then changed to SNOW - Parents indicated 6 completed years of marriage
1913-1922 UK Foster Home: Anna SMITH, Rumburgh, Halesworth, Suffolk --- Source: Direct Descendant
NOTE: Rejected for WW2 service due to mangled arm injured while at indenture, and mangled toes due to wearing ill fitting women's boots while in foster care. --- Source: Direct Descendant
NOTE: UK GRO Birth Registration not located (as Frederick George, George Frederick, or any male given name with mother's maiden surname as GIFFORD in same time frame)
ADMIN. NOTE: Closest match found in UK GRO Birth Registration Index: Frederick GIFFORD - Mother's Maiden Surname: KIFFORD - Registration Year: 1910 - Registration Quarter: Jan-Feb-Mar - Registration District: Islington - Inferred County: London - Volume: 1b - Page: 147 - (remote possiblity; would require major errors to entry in index, and delayed reporting)
. . .
Frederick's son, Perry SNOW, has written a book in memory of his father titled "Neither Waif nor Stray: The Search For A Stolen Identity" which may be downloaded free in .pdf format from the following web page: canadianbritishhomechildren.weebly.com/perry-snow---neither-waif-nor-stray.html. Hard copies may be purchased at book stores.
. . .
BIO (To be relocated to bio section of this Registry; not yet online) -- In 1913 Frederick Snow, at 3 1/2 years of age, was forcibly removed from his home by the Church of England Society for Providing Homes for Waifs and Strays. He never saw his family again. They pinned a nametag on his shirt, and put him on a train alone for the 3-hour trip to impoverished foster parents (a Mrs. M. Smith) in Rumburgh, Halesworth, Suffolk. When he was 12, he was transferred to St. Augustine's Home for Boys in Sevenoaks, Kent. When he was 15, he was given the "choice" of emigrating to Canada or Australia. Staying in England was not an option given to him, as, to his caretakers, he was an unwanted commodity to be exported. In 1925, Fred Snow, 15, arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, along with a group of 24 boys en route to Gibbs' Distributing Home in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. He worked as an indentured farm labourer for 16 hours a day on farms in Ontario and Quebec. Many of his peers were not allowed contact with their Masters' families and had to sleep in the barn. Many were not allowed to attend school nor entitled to medical care. Many were unpaid for their labour. When he was 18 years old and no longer "in care" he wrote his first letter to the Waifs and Strays. He pleaded with them to "help someone who is living in darkness, and does not know who he is." He did not have a birth certificate, did not know who his parents were, why he was taken into care, or if he had any siblings. He continued to write to them for information about his family for the next 50 years. He wrote his last letter in 1984 was he was 75 years old. He died at age 85 on his unconfirmed birthday September 17, 1994. Fred Snow died "living in darkness" and "not knowing who he was." -- Author: Perry SNOW
Record Title: Alphabetical Lists of Boy Emigrants to Canada, 1920 to 1935 inclusive: Frederick G. SNOW - Date of Birth: 1909-09-17 - Year of Arrival: 1925 - Date of Arrival: 1925-04-13 - Sent by: Church of England Waifs & Strays - Destination: Gibb Home, Sherbrooke, Quebec - Notes: The list contains no other details about this boy --- Source: Library and Archives Canada - Database Item Number: 140576
Ontario Marriage Registration: Frederick George SNOW - Age: 26 - Birth Place: Crayden Eng [sic, Croydon] - Marital Status: bachelor - Marriage Date: 05 Sep 1935 - Marriage Place: Port Arthur, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada - Father: John George SNOW - Mother: Anne GIFFORD - Spouse: Gertrude Mable PERRY, spinster, age 22
NOTE: 1911 UK Census: Recorded as George Frederick SNOW, age 2, born Balham - Mother was written a GIFFORD and then changed to SNOW - Parents indicated 6 completed years of marriage
1913-1922 UK Foster Home: Anna SMITH, Rumburgh, Halesworth, Suffolk --- Source: Direct Descendant
NOTE: Rejected for WW2 service due to mangled arm injured while at indenture, and mangled toes due to wearing ill fitting women's boots while in foster care. --- Source: Direct Descendant
NOTE: UK GRO Birth Registration not located (as Frederick George, George Frederick, or any male given name with mother's maiden surname as GIFFORD in same time frame)
ADMIN. NOTE: Closest match found in UK GRO Birth Registration Index: Frederick GIFFORD - Mother's Maiden Surname: KIFFORD - Registration Year: 1910 - Registration Quarter: Jan-Feb-Mar - Registration District: Islington - Inferred County: London - Volume: 1b - Page: 147 - (remote possiblity; would require major errors to entry in index, and delayed reporting)
. . .
Frederick's son, Perry SNOW, has written a book in memory of his father titled "Neither Waif nor Stray: The Search For A Stolen Identity" which may be downloaded free in .pdf format from the following web page: canadianbritishhomechildren.weebly.com/perry-snow---neither-waif-nor-stray.html. Hard copies may be purchased at book stores.
. . .
BIO (To be relocated to bio section of this Registry; not yet online) -- In 1913 Frederick Snow, at 3 1/2 years of age, was forcibly removed from his home by the Church of England Society for Providing Homes for Waifs and Strays. He never saw his family again. They pinned a nametag on his shirt, and put him on a train alone for the 3-hour trip to impoverished foster parents (a Mrs. M. Smith) in Rumburgh, Halesworth, Suffolk. When he was 12, he was transferred to St. Augustine's Home for Boys in Sevenoaks, Kent. When he was 15, he was given the "choice" of emigrating to Canada or Australia. Staying in England was not an option given to him, as, to his caretakers, he was an unwanted commodity to be exported. In 1925, Fred Snow, 15, arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, along with a group of 24 boys en route to Gibbs' Distributing Home in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. He worked as an indentured farm labourer for 16 hours a day on farms in Ontario and Quebec. Many of his peers were not allowed contact with their Masters' families and had to sleep in the barn. Many were not allowed to attend school nor entitled to medical care. Many were unpaid for their labour. When he was 18 years old and no longer "in care" he wrote his first letter to the Waifs and Strays. He pleaded with them to "help someone who is living in darkness, and does not know who he is." He did not have a birth certificate, did not know who his parents were, why he was taken into care, or if he had any siblings. He continued to write to them for information about his family for the next 50 years. He wrote his last letter in 1984 was he was 75 years old. He died at age 85 on his unconfirmed birthday September 17, 1994. Fred Snow died "living in darkness" and "not knowing who he was." -- Author: Perry SNOW
Disclaimer: This BHC Registry is a work in progress; information may be added or amended in the future. This record should be considered a tertiary source and verified against original records. We have compiled a collection of links to free research sources which may assist you.