A 1940s Christmas at Byron House

For the December issue of the Kitchissippi Times, I've written about a local history story that has unfortunately become lost to time. 

One of the most impressive homes on Island Park Drive played an important role during WWII! Read all about "Byron House" at https://kitchissippi.com/2023/11/30/early-days-a-1940s-christmas-at-byron-house/

Byron House/Kirkpatrick House in 1940

Bonus content! Incredibly, a telephone call from July 1941 made by two of the children at Byron House on Island Park Drive back home ot the UK was recorded and preserved by the BBC. You can hear a snippet of this call from Polly and Geoffrey Carton at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/school-radio/history-ks2-world-war-2-clips-children-evacuated-abroad/zby4bdm

I've also amazingly tracked down video footage of the children at Byron House in an archive in the UK. I'm working with an archivist there to hopefully acquire this film footage (I have no idea how long it is, or what it shows), but I think it would be amazing to see some video of the house and the children enjoying it 80 years ago. Fingers crossed I'm able to get ahold of it soon.

The Byron House children out front of 539 Island Park Drive

The Byron House children work on a miniature model
of Island Park Drive as part of a school project in 1940