Talking ‘brown babies’ history for the National Trust
As part of a forthcoming National Trust Podcast episode, our director Dr Chamion Caballero joined Professor Lucy Bland and former residents Ann Evans and Carol Edwards and their children on a visit to Holnicote House in Somerset, the former residential nursery for WW2 brown babies. During their visit, the group were interviewed by historian David Olusoga who is guest presenting this special episode. Read more about how the NT have been working with Chamion, Lucy, Ann and Carol to shine a light on this little-known but important historical building.
History of Holnicote House
Holnicote House, a former National Trust property in Somerset, has a moving connection to Britain’s wartime history. For almost a decade, the home was used as a residential nursery for dozens of Britain’s so-called ‘brown babies’, that is the children born to Black GIs and white British women. With interracial marriage illegal across most of America during this period and hostile social attitudes towards those whose children bore the double stigma of being illegitimate and of mixed race, many of the estimated 2000 ‘brown babies’ born in the UK were placed in care.
Thanks to Professor Lucy Bland’s efforts connecting with over 60 wartime ‘brown babies’ we know that, while many of the children placed in homes had unhappy experiences, those placed at Holnicote House have fond memories of their early childhoods there. Over the past few years, we have worked with Lucy and members of our ‘brown babies’ network to share the history of Holnicote House through our ‘Brown Babies’ of WW2 digital exhibition and archive.
So our Director, Dr Chamion Caballero, and Lucy were delighted to be part of a group invited by the award-winning National Trust Podcast team to visit the home and talk about the 'brown babies' history for a forthcoming podcast episode. They were accompanied Ann Evans and Carol Edwards, and their children Nicholas and Joanne. Ann and Carol both lived at Holnicote House together and can be seen in the well-known 'brown babies' photo that also features on the front of Lucy’s book.
“Despite knowing about it and writing about it for so long, this was my first visit to Holnicote,” says Chamion. “It was incredibly moving to stand on the same lawn with Ann and Carol where some of the photographs they appear in were taken. It’s an absolutely beautiful place. I can see why the children and nurses loved living here – it’s wonderful that the history is being recognised by the National Trust.”
David Olusoga interviews our group
The podcast episode will be presented by the historian David Olusoga, best known for his books and television series, Black and British: A forgotten history and A House Through Time. David interviewed Chamion, Lucy, Ann and Carol during their visit about different aspects of the house’s history. Michelle Douglass, Senior Podcast Producer for the National Trust, says:
“I was amazed I’d not heard about the story of Britain’s ‘brown babies’ before I found Lucy’s book and The Mixed Museum. Lucy and Chamion then helped us get in touch with some of the ‘babies’ of Holnicote House who had such vivid memories of growing up there. It was such a thrill for the podcast to record Carol and Ann’s first-hand stories and it’s thanks to people like them that this incredible ‘hidden history’ is being illuminated.”
The podcast episode will give listeners a glimpse into the house’s history. Now a hotel, Holnicote House, which sits on land owned by the National Trust, was requisitioned from the Trust in 1943 by Somerset City Council. It was used to house predominantly mixed race children, some of whom – like Ann - were placed there as young as one week old. The children lived there until they were 5 years old, when those who had not been adopted were scattered and moved to residential homes in other parts of the country. Many of the children are still looking for their birth families.
The National Trust Podcast is an award-winning series which takes listeners on location to explore stories connecting people and place. The episode will feature as part of its eighth series. We’ll be sharing more from behind the scenes when the podcast goes live - look out for it in the autumn.
Learn more
Learn more about Ann Evans’ story on our YouTube channel
Ann also appeared at our Fablehouse event with writer E.L. Norry at the Foundling Museum
Carol and her daughter Joanne are both part of our current project: Reclaiming History Through Science: DNA testing in the lives of ‘brown babies’ families