Overview
The Metropolitan Police Orphanage was established in January, 1870 and opened in October, 1870. In 1871 it was extended to include the City of London Police.
The original home was Fortescue House, Twickenham. Within three years, 115 orphans were eligible for accommodation. Clearly the Home was not large enough and in 1874 Wellesley House, Twickenham, was purchased.
In 1923 the War Memorial Hospital was built in the grounds of the Orphanage on subscriptions from the two Forces in memory of their colleagues who fell in the 1914–1918 War.
2,807 boys and girls passed through the Metropolitan and City Police Orphanage before it closed in 1937, and the Metropolitan and City Police Orphans Fund came into being.
The following pages detail the history of the Metropolitan and City Police Orphanage and Orphans Fund, from 1870 to the present day.
There is also a gallery of photographs showing life at the orphanage in the 19th and early 20th century. Researchers wishing to learn more may be interested in the Fund's archive and museum.
