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The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 13, Issue 6 (September 1, 1938)

A Fine Railway Orphanage

A Fine Railway Orphanage.

Fifty-three years ago, seven railway-men, members of the staff of the former London & South Western Railway, founded a home in London to shelter ten fatherless girls. From this modest beginning there grew the Southern Railway Servants' Orphanage, one of the outstanding social efforts on the Home railways. In 1909 the orphanage was removed to delightful surroundings at Woking, in Surrey, while in 1935 accommodation for another 80 children was provided, so that to-day an ideal home is available for 250 fatherless railway children. The orphanage is run largely by the voluntary contributions of the railway staff themselves, and actually out of nearly 70,000 employees no fewer than 60,000 willingly contribute sums ranging from one penny per week through the paybills. Upwards of 1,200 children have passed through the home, and there are at present in residence 101 boys and 84 girls. Admission to the orphanage is promptly arranged. There is no irksome ballot or voting, and no case has ever been refused admission—a very fine thing to be able to say. Railwaymen as a whole are big-hearted fellows, and here we have a striking
Interior, York Station, on L.N.E.R. Main-line between London and Scotland.

Interior, York Station, on L.N.E.R. Main-line between London and Scotland.

example of what may be accomplished when the spirit is willing, and one and all pull together in a worthy cause.