sorry Thurg, missed your "auctioning" reference before!

I just meant that I recalled from those documentaries, "The Leaving of Liverpool" and "Lost Children of the Empire" and the subsequent govt inquiries and publications, that these kids were often wrongly told that their parents were dead or didn't want them - and parents were likewise told their kids had died. However, they had been sent to Canada, Australia, South Africa etc etc, to be used as un-paid farm or domestic labourers and often VERY badly treated (and particularly by the "Christian" institutions, in Australia!) - and this was happening well into the 20th century.

... but I do apologise for the thread creep - as it's meant to be on the songs!

Cheers! R-J