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Nazareth House, Middlesbrough: Living in Care During the War

In 1914, Margaret Brown was a mischievous 6 -year-old who went to St Patrick’s RC Primary School in Thornaby. Her mother died and because her father was away fighting on the front line she was moved into a children’s home called Nazareth House. It also meant she had to move school to St Mary’s in Middlesbrough.

Before the death of her mother she describes a happy childhood. She sang songs which mocked her teachers, β€œO’Farrell with a face like a barrel and a head like a turnip top”.

Today a statue of a saint sits in the foyer of the school, which is dedicated to the head teacher of that name.

At her new school she got into trouble for clambering onto the roof and accepting a dare to call a teacher a pig. As punishment she was threatened with being moved down a few years at school.

Location: Nazareth House, Falmouth Street, Middlesbrough TS1 3LD
Image of the statute at the school

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5 minutes

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