The, Working Lads' Institute & Home 279, Whitechapel Road, London, E. 1. FOUNDED 1876.
Ex-Officio President THE RIGHT HON. THE LORD MAYOR. Trustees THE BOURNE TRUST CORPORATION, LTD. Committee Revs. J. WALTON, G. AYRE, C. E. WILES, J. T. BARKBY, J. K. ELLWOOD, T. JACKSON, JAS. E. THORP, MESSRS. S. A. BUTT, ALFRED MAYNARD, T. PROUD, and F. A. B. GILTROW. Solicitors MESSRS. E. C. RAWLINGS, BUTT, & BOWYER, 2, Walbrook, E.C. 4. Auditors A. E. TURBERVILLE & Co., Chartered Accountants, 2, Essex Street, Strand, London, W.C. 2. Bankers BARCLAYS BANK, MILE END BRANCH, 234-236, Whitechapel Road, E. 1. Hon. Treasurer T. PROUD, ESQ., "Parkfield," Grove Park, Lee, London, S.E. Hon. Superintendent and Secretary, REV. THOMAS JACKSON, 279, Whitechapel Road, London, E. 1. Hon. Assistant and Probation Officer REV. JAS. E. THORP, 279, Whitechapel Road, London., E. 1. Court and Prison Gate Missionary MR. H. E. KINCHIN, 53, Carey Street, Leytonstone, E. 11.
ANNUAL REPORT, 1930
Welfare Work for East End Boys. The Annual Meeting in May last was a most interesting one. In addition to the Public Meeting in the afternoon for supporters of the Institute and parents of the lads, we had an
The Opening of Working Lads' Institute by Queen Alexandra (then Princess of Wales) October, 1885. (Illustration from "The Graphic," Nov. 7th, 1885).
Evening Meeting especially for the members and their parents. The Afternoon Meeting was presided over by Alderman H. Lazarus, J.P., Mayor of Stepney. He complemented the Committee of the Institute upon the vigorous and successful year's work, which was highly appreciated by the public in Stepney. He referred to the happy association he had had in Poor Law Administration with the Superintendent, Mr. Jackson, and was delighted to find him still so vigorous and enthusiastic in his work. Old and generous friends, Mr. J. D. Kiley, J.P., Alderman W. C. Johnson, J.P., Mr. J. D. Somper, J.P., and the Rector of Whitechapel, gave appreciative addresses. The Report submitted by the Superintendent stated: "Fifty-three years ago the Working Lads' Institute and Home was inaugurated at a Public Meeting in the Mansion House, presided over by the Lord Mayor. The work was conducted in rented premises at The Mount, Whitechapel Road, until the year 1885, when these freehold premises were opened by Queen Alexandra, King Edward being present on that occasion. During the past 45 years, thousands of East End lads have shared in the privileges, enjoyments and recreations provided, irrespective of creed, nationality or social condition. Lads have been welcomed, and by means of Library, Gymnasium, Drill, Games, and Entertainments, tastes have been fostered and habits encouraged that have helped to create a dislike for street rowdyism and unclean amusements. In catering for the moral, physical and social interests of the lads, your Committee keep in mind that boys will be boys, and cannot be expected to be duplicates of their grand-sires. Some of our Members come from very poor slum homes, and this adds to the pleasure the Committee feel in offering them the amenities of an Institute like this, free of charge. Our motto is
"Caring for East End Lads."
The revered founder, the late Mr. Henry Hill, and his devoted wife conferred a boon upon thousands of the youths of London by the erection of this Institute, and their memory is fragrant and precious. We have to regret the loss, by death, of some of our generous helpers, especially that of' the late Lady Hartley, whose subscription of £200 we greatly miss. The Work of the Home Has been of a varied and successful character. Since the Home was opened, thirty-three years ago, to receive Orphan and Destitute Lads and First Offenders, 3,211 have been admitted. During the year tot cases have been received into the Home, mostly from very uncongenial surroundings. To cleanse, re-clothe and give them a respectable appearance is in itself a heavy and costly task. To feed, house, care for,
The Right Hon. George Lansbury, M.P., congratulates Mr. Jackson.
and find suitable employment adds much more. Even this is not all-After-care is necessary, and this we have striven to do with a very considerable measure of success. One of the number of cases received into the Home for year ending March last, 25 had lost both parents, 23 had lost father, 15 had lost mother, and 16 others could give no account of the whereabouts of their parents', beyond that they were separated. One of our first anxieties after receiving these lads into the Home is to provide some form of employment for them. Besides temporary jobs, we have been fortunate in placing 25 in Restaurants and Dining Rooms, 22 on Farms, 8 at Tailoring, 10 in Shops and Factories, and 29 in the Mercantile Training Ship and Army, 4 refused work found for them and left, and 3 cases were returned. 15 cases of Ex-Borstal lads have been assisted to find employment, whilst 14 cases from our Night Shelter have also been found work. Lads have come to us from all parts of the Metropolis as well as from 40 Provincial, Towns : Aberdeen, Aldeburgh, Bargoed, Belfast, Blackburn, Bradford, Birmingham, Bury, Cardiff, Chatham, Cornwall, Dartford, Durham, Faversham, Folkestone, Glasgow, Gravesend, Gosport, Halifax, Ipswich, Leicester, Liverpool, Luton, Manchester, Monmouth, Northfleet, NorthNottinaham, Perth, Pontypridd, Reading, Rochester, Singapore, Sittingbourne, South Shields and Totnes. We keep in close touch with the Metropolitan and Greater London Courts and attend in every case where requested. 15 visits have been made to Prisons, and 2 to Borstal Institutions. Employer and home visits have been kept up in and around London, and 5 visits made to Devon to secure work and adjust relationships by the Rev. J. E. Thorn and Mr. H. E. Kinchin, who report that the visits to '23 of our lads were of the most cheering character. The Evening Meeting Was presided over by Alfred T. Davies, Esq., J.P., O.B.E., who was supported by W. Clarke Hall, Esq, F. T. Bryen, Esq., J.P., and other friends. The Hall was crowded by the youths and their parents. A Gymnastic Display and Drill Exercises contributed to make the Meeting one of great interest. The Chairman expressed his delight at making the acquaintance, for the first time) of the Institute and Home, and was pleasingly surprised at the remarkable work being accomplished. In addition to his generous donation, he promised to take 100 young people to the Zoological Gardens, as his guests, for the day. This was subsequently carried out to the great delight of the young people. Mr. Bryen referred to the help he had received from the representatives of the Home when dealing with juvenile Offenders. Mr. Clarke Hall said, "I feel it is not only a pleasure to be here to-night, but as far as I am concerned a positive duty, because the debt I owe to the Home
Institute Dormitory.
is one I can never repay. Circumstances have made it necessary that I should be responsible, as President of the Children's Court, for delinquent children in the whole of the East and North London, and it is a very great responsibility indeed. It is because I feel the responsibility is so greatly lessened by this Boys' Home that 1 want to say these few words tonight. Continuing, Mr. Clarke Hall said it frequently happened when they had got a puzzling case, say a boy with a bad home, and they did not want to send him to a reformatory, they would look round the Court, which now sits at Toynbee Hall, and see the kindly and genial face of Mr. Kinchin. He had appealed to Mr. Kinchin on many occasions during his 17 years as Magistrate in East London, and there had never been a single occasion on. which Mr. Kinchin, on behalf of the Home, had not been ready to take the boy and find him work. There was no more important work and duty than that of saving the lives of young boys. There was a great deal of talk of what could he done for the prosperity of the country, but, after all, the prosperity of the country for the future must necessarily depend, not on material considerations, but upon the personality of the future generation. If we could have really good citizens, we should have a really good and great country. The opportunity was often neglected, and it seemed to him they did far too little for the rising generation-many. of whom lived under very bad conditions. It was patriotic to try and help them, but it was even more a great Christian duty. He commended to them the work of the Home, that with their support it might grow stronger and greater and wider." The proceedings of the day were most encouraging, and the experiment of having a public meeting for adults in the afternoon and for members and their parents in the evening proved a great success, and will form a precedent for future Annual Meetings. Another item of great interest, during the past year, was
The October Celebrations.
Large gatherings were held at Brunswick Hall in connection with the Rev. Thomas Jackson's 80th Birthday, the completion of his 54th year of Ministry in the East End, and the completion of his 32 years Superintendency of the Institute. It was also 47 years since the late Queen Alexandra opened the Institute.
Whitechapel Lads' Happy Hour.
The Right Honourable George Lansbury, M.P., brought the congratulations of the public, irrespective of creed or party, of East London, and said that he wished to congratulate the Rev. Thomas Jackson for all the work he had done, and all the years he had lived in East London. He thought his friend would agree with him that when he commenced his work, half a century ago, the notion then was that the poor were bad in a lump and it was useless to try and do anything whatever, and it was a tremendous thing to know that people like Prebendary Carlisle, General Booth, and the Rev. Thomas Jackson refused to accept that doctrine. They stood up and said, "These people you look upon as the off-scourings of society are God's children, and they have a right to something better than the gutter or the Thames Embankment or arches where outcasts then slept." They compelled public opinion to face the problem at a time when conditions were not nearly so good as they are to-day. The Home and its Work, By REV. J. E. THORP
Rev, J.E. Thorpe	"The Working Lads' Institute is the forerunner of all such Institutes in the Metropolis. It came into being to supply what was then an utter lack of recreational and educational facilities for lads on week evenings. It was fostered by the late Henry Hill, Esq., supported by a number of City men, the Lord Mayor has been the Hon. President from the beginning. The organisation and necessary financial needs became so formidable that City men, with their own business demands, found it too great a task to carry on and the time came when the doors were closed. In October, 1896, the Rev. T. Jackson took possession and restarted the work with the goodwill and support of the original founders. From that day the Institute has been open as a Home for friendless and orphan lads. Later, delinquents have been admitted in connection with the Probationary system. The total number of admissions to date is 3,211.
Mr. H. E. Kinchin.	The engagement of Mr. Kinchin as Police Court Missionary, the quality of his work in Police Courts and in Prison Visitation led to the appointment, by the Home Office, of Mr. Jackson as Probation Officer for nonconformist cases in the Metropolis. Later, Mr. Kinchin received a similar appointment. The appointment is now held by the Rev. J. E. Thorp. The one objective has been to save the youth who has gone astray and to give him a fresh start in life. Appearance Transformed and when admitted. given a new start in life.

The changes in Police Court procedure, the establishment of separate juvenile Courts with their own probation officers has modified our work in some particulars, but the requests for our help do not diminish. The prodigal son from the country, as well as the wanderer to London, with the delinquent London youth, find their way daily to our door through Welfare Societies, Charitable Institutions, Probation Officers, the Borstal Institutions and others.
In May last, two London Magistrates, H. Clarke Hall, Esq., and F. T. Bryen, Esq., J.P., paid spontaneous tribute to the value of our work, especially in difficult cases. Lads sometimes drift into our Free Night Shelter for down-and-out men. Every such case is transferred to the Home and carefully investigated. Seven such youths have been rescued this year and placed in employment. The total number of admissions in 1930 is 111. For years before employment exchanges were created, and before other Institutions gave special and organised attempts to save this class of lad from wandering aimlessly and eventually landing into prison, the Working Lads' Institute was quietly and effectively gathering them in and sending them out to take their place in the ranks of citizenship. We put great value in
After-care Work
and pursue it thoroughly. Unannounced visits are made to lads placed in local employment and also to those placed in the country ; 30 have been placed on farms in Devon this year. As an illustration : we received a wire indicating that one boy was to he returned as unsatisfactory. Immediate steps were taken, the situation considered on the spot by Mr. Kinchin, the lad transferred. Without this personal attention he would have been returned as a failure. He has proved himself to be very different from that. To this After-care Work we attribute the high percentage of success we can thankfully record, and which, considering the nature of the material, is remarkable. Outstanding Cases of the Year. A Yorkshire lad was apprenticed with a master whose example, unfortunately, was harmful to an impressionable youth, and his ways brought his business to ruin. A long 10 spell of unemployment completed the lad's demoralisation and eventually he was apprehended on a charge of robbery with violence. His widowed mother sent us a pathetic letter appealing for our assistance. We immediately got in touch with the local Probation Officer and the Police Authorities. The Recorder dispensed mercy rather than justice and placed him in our charge. Through the kindness of a local employer, an opening was made for him as an improver at his own trade. He continues to give satisfaction.
Group of Home Lads leaving for Country Situations.	A happy send off to a New World and Life.
Two Scotch laddies, brothers, brought up in a' Poor Law Institution, were placed out in a Croft, where food was scanty and prospects nil. They eventually took the road and arrived in London, destitute, a friendly policeman directed them to us. We made enquiries, and in Jan. last placed them on adjacent farms in north Devon, where they have given complete satisfaction. The Institute also continues to be a recreative centre for lads of the district. Needless to say, we bear the full financial responsibility of this work. To all who have helped us in the past to carry on this work we are deeply grateful ; we need the repetition of their generous sympathy." Special Appeal. We would earnestly appeal to all friends and supporters of the Working Lads' Institute for financial assistance. It is most urgent that the Institute premises should this year have all external wood and iron-work repainted and needed repairs effected. Several rooms also require renovation, and new bedding is needed for the dormitory. We estimate that an extra sum of £200 will be required to meet the cost. Will you please assist us? On behalf of the Committee,
Secretary and Superintendent