| Description | In this address Elizabeth Taylor Cadbury explores the work being undertaken by youth clubs to improve the conditions of life for children living in industrial cities. She begins her account with reference to the work of The Beeches, the children's country holiday home first established in Bournville during the 1890s and redeveloped in 1908. Taylor Cadbury contrasts the healthy environment offered at The Beeches with the insanitary life experienced by children living in urban Birmingham.
Taylor Cadbury's address provides an insight into the clubs for boys and girls established as 'counter attractions to the streets'. She uses the Bermondsey Settlement Club as an example and refers to the important character forming work of the Birmingham Street Children's Union. She states that the majority of youth clubs were connected with religious bodies and offered 'opportunities for wholesome recreation and development.' Taylor Cadbury describes the activities available at the Bermondsey Settlement Club which included gymnastics, a library of books and a weekly Bible Class. She suggests that a 'great feature' of the youth clubs was 'the encouragement of outdoor sports such as football, cricket, running and swimming'. She also comments on the youth clubs established for girls, suggesting that they catered for girls working in skilled jobs within factories, as well as those 'who would otherwise make the streets their playground'.
Taylor Cadbury's address emphasises the need for municipal authorities to provide children with amenities 'for healthy recreation', supported by the religious influence of the Church. She argues that the general establishment of clubs whose management was partially entrusted to the youths themselves would 'be very successful in competing with the music halls.' Taylor Cadbury also refers to the work of the Boy Scouts and provides a detailed account of the work undertaken at Continuation Schools with reference to the institutions established for young workers at the Cadbury chocolate factory in Bournville. A report of courses offered at the local Evening Schools & Technical Classes issued by the Bournville Works Education Committee is enclosed within her address. The report indicates that boys could take classes in a variety of subjects including English, arithmetic, history and geography with additional classes in cookery, laundry and housewifery for girls. Taylor Cadbury concludes her address by appealing for volunteers to support efforts 'to help the children'. |