Silverlands: Growing Up at the Actors' Orphanage

by Judy Staber

Judy Staber was born into a theatrical family in London during World War II. After certain family upheavals, her mother placed Judy, not quite four, and her sister, seven, at The Actors’ Orphanage in Chertsey, a town in Surrey south of London. She was to remain there for twelve and a half years. When she was eleven, her mother immigrated to Canada, her sister went a year later. Eventually she, too, came to America at sixteen when the orphanage closed and all her childhood friends were scattered around the world. This is the story of her childhood and about the Actors Orphanage, a story touched by the glamour of the theatre and such notables as Noël Coward, Laurence Olivier and Richard Attenborough, but also filled with the sadness that comes when families are torn apart by ill-fortune and careers. It is the story of resilient children who weren’t orphans, but were orphaned for a time by their parents’ profession - The Theatre; and of how members of the profession took care of their own, and still do today through The Actors Charitable Trust. The Actor’s Orphanage was a unique institution and childhood at Silverlands was different from the for some it was too different, but for Judy it was the only childhood she knew and she thrived and grew there.

227 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 10, 2011

Reviews

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really worth reading - fascinating story and beautifully written.