FHACT July Monthly Meeting
30th June 2026
By Engagement Committee
FHACT July Monthly Meeting: Tuesday 7 July at 7pm. (In person at the FHACT Education Room, Cook Community Hub, Templeton Street, Cook, or online via Zoom]. All welcome.
Topic: Saving Children, Saving Mothers - Thomas Coram and the Foundling Hospital
Special Guest Speaker: Carol Harris
Family History ACT invites members and guests to its upcoming July Monthly Meeting.
This month’s meeting will feature Carol Harris, speaking about Thomas Coram and the Foundling Hospital.
In 18th century England, a woman having a baby outside marriage faced disaster for herself and her child. This talk will look at how Thomas Coram, a man with neither wealth nor influence, campaigned to establish the Foundling Hospital, to help those mothers and their children. We will also look at the subsequent history of the Foundling Hospital, now known as Coram, including its work today in helping descendants of former Foundlings research their own family histories. We will discuss ways of researching foundlings and adoption in the UK that could assist with members' family research.
Attendees joining in person are warmly invited to stay after the meeting for supper and a chat—an opportunity to connect with fellow members and continue the conversation.
Carol Harris is a writer, journalist and social historian. Main themes of her books and talks include the Foundling Hospital, the history of health and social care, lives of women in WW1 and WW2, polar exploration and the history of fashion. She is Social History Editor at Coram, the UK's oldest children's charity, where her work includes researching historic adoptions, and projects such as Voices Through Time: The Story of Care, which made a significant part of the charity's archive available for free online. She lives in London with her husband, the WW2 historian Mike Brown.