Marella, the forgotten institution: Sooty (Kevin) Welsh

“Maybe it’s a blessing in disguise” says Sooty (Kevin) Welsh of the fact that he has no memories of Marella Boys Home where he was taken at the age of 4. Revisiting the site of the home for the first time in 50 years, with no signage to denote its history, Sooty considers the importance of - or lack of it - remembering an unhappy time, both for himself and for others.

Keywords: Identity; childhood; stolen generations; moving; change, city

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All the video recordings on this website were made at least a decade ago. Some are fifteen years old.

What the speakers say on camera was based on their own knowledge and researches at the time each video was made. Since then a great deal of information has come to hand which may make some of the information first recorded now outdated. Therefore please regard this website as a period piece presenting knowledge held and believed at the time of recording.