Foster Mother to Eleven Children

From the collection of

East Anglian Film Archive at the University of East Anglia
The East Anglian Film Archive, the UK's first regional film archive, offers a unique record of the East of England's social and cultural history. As part of the University of East Anglia, we continue to lead moving image heritage research and inspire audience participation through community projects and events. Our collections represent a broad range of amateur and professional creativity, from 1896 to the present day.

Foster Mother to Eleven Children


Miss Christie, aged 64, shares her home with eleven foster children, a donkey, three dogs and twelve cats. Anglia TV reports.

Miss Christie and nine of her eleven foster children return home through the snow. Anglia Television interview Miss Christie about her circumstances and motivations to care for eleven children who all come from black and ethnic minority backgrounds. Miss Christie explains that the mothers of the children are student nurses, and the fathers work in the evenings, so Miss Christie has agreed to give the children a foster home.

The reporter for Anglia Television uses the termed ‘coloured', referring to the ethnicity of the children. Clearly not an acceptable term one might use today, however, it appears it was acceptable at the time the footage was produced. Perhaps this might be considered more as ignorant than malicious.


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