A letter from Australia

The team at Aberlour were delighted to receive a letter from Helen Yates from Australia. She shared with us her family’s experience with Aberlour Orphanage, established in 1875 in Charlestoun, Aberlour. You can read her letter below:

“This donation is in memory of my father, Donald Yates, who died earlier this year. Dad’s mother Jean and her little brother Alex were taken into care at Aberlour early in the twentieth century after both their parents died. They stayed into their teens and then went into service.

“Jean came out to Australia where she had Dad in 1929. He was an only child and he himself spent time in a Children’s Home when his mother was too ill and too poor to care for him.

“Dad went on to marry and have six children and a long happy marriage. When he died there were more grandchildren and great grandchildren than he could count. He was so proud of his big family, being keenly aware of his mother’s very humble beginnings and later struggles as a young widow. Jean and her brother Alex (who also married and had six children) thrived because of the care they received at Aberlour in their early years when they were so vulnerable.”

Helen Yates

Thanks for sharing your family story Helen!