East End Cripples Enjoy a Happy Days Outing in Epping Forest

Disabled East End ‘ragged’ children go on a trip to the country - but not everyone seems happy

Ostensibly a happy day’s outing and treat, the disgruntled looks on the young disabled girls’ faces in this newsreel story from 1911 tell a different story. Is it resentment at being photographed, or simply discomfort from the primitive crutches that causes the pained expressions, or both? Or a more deep-seated reason?

The elderly woman shown at the beginning of the film is Lady Elizabeth Kirk, the wife of Sir John Kirk, (1847-1922) a Christian philanthropist known for his charitable work with poor and disadvantaged children and the disabled through the Ragged School Union and Shaftesbury Society. Diminutive in stature, though not in energy, Lady Kirk was the first woman to be elected to the governing body of The Ragged School Union.