Thomas Barnardo what was he like?

Benevolent Autocrat

Dr Barnardo was an autocrat ‑ he knew it, and acknowledged it but hoped he was 'a benevolent autocrat.' "There can be only one Captain to a ship" he says. "If there are two, and their orders are diverse, the ship. However well appointed and equipped, must go to the bottom. Only disaster can follow divided counsels and opposing wills.

Strenuous

In the matter of boarding out, Dr Barnardo was also a strenuous and successful pioneer. ‑‑‑God's ordinance is the family" was a frequent saying of his, and he always desired to reproduce family conditions for those he rescued.

"Y.H.L"

In 1892, for instance, he dreamed a dream, which became a great reality in the form of the "Young Helpers League". "The Y.H.L. is the cradle of our future supporters," he once said.

Mr. A. E. Williams wrote in 1938:

"I was privileged to work in close association with the Doctor as his personal secretary, during the last seven years of his life. He was a past master of the art of dictation. He dictated everything; and when dealing with correspondence, or preparing a speech for some meeting, or an article for the magazine; or when announcing decisions, and giving reasons for any cause or problem submitted to him, he had little use for a man unacquainted with shorthand. He desired the record. Whatever it was to be in his own language, in the very words he used ‑ the sentences he uttered: and he had a genius for the right word, the apt phrase, the concluding sentence."

Sense of humour

His keen sense of humour has often been referred to. It was like a rich vein running through his personality, and was continually coming to the surface. It was so varied, too. Sometimes it was positively impish in its character ‑ sheer fun, or wickedness, whichever way you view it. Sometimes it would take the form of banter or raillery; and when occasion required, he could be caustic and satirical"

Tireless

In 1876 one of the Doctor's earliest private secretaries ‑ a man named Page, wrote: "Dr Barnardo was a man of marvellous energy. He never admitted himself tired, though I have often seen him utterly exhausted with his long hours of toil. Frequently have I worked with him all night, and found him ready to start again the next morning by 10 o'clock or even earlier, apparently as fresh as a daisy."

Business‑like

Dr Barnardo was most particular that all money transactions be dealt with in a business‑like way. In a letter to a Deputation Secretary who had allowed a ‑gift to remain unacknowledged for four days he wrote: is absolutely no excuse for it, and you must make tip your mind that never, never, never will that occur again. There must be an immediate acknowledgment. If you cannot deal with the whole letter, send three lines. "You see, neither a business man nor a society lady can understand or conceive of any excuse save illness or death for failing to acknowledge promptly (by the next possible post) the receipt of money."

Sensitive

Dr Barnardo was most anxious that every letter he received from his boys and girls out in the world should receive a reply. He found it impossible to answer them all himself, so he wrote as follows to one of his helpers at the Village, forwarding letters he had received from girls: ‑ "Will you write tender, kind, wise little notes, such as a father would write, and then send them to me for signature".

Guided but not shackled

Dr Barnardo in his judgement believed young workers should be trained: "I think nothing of rules as such. The work to me is everything, and I would throw every rule overboard and send them to the bottom of the sea tomorrow, if I felt there were a more excellent way." There we have the spirit of the but not shackled by rules, and ever ready to explore the possibilities of a more excellent way.

Appreciative

Dr Barnardo did not withhold recognition and appreciation when earned: "My dear friend, my own heart warms toward you, the thought of your unselfish, unwearied, unstinting love for the children I have placed under you care. You have given them nothing short of home and love, and these are gifts which cannot be bought with money."

Personal Farewell

In 1904 Dr Barnardo was away in Germany undergoing treatment for his heart, and he was greatly troubled because a migration party would be going without a personal farewell. He had to content himself with a farewell letter which he sent with minute instructions as to how it was to be read:

You might say to them: 'Now children, do you understand what Dr Barnardo has said? Would you like me to read it to you again?' If you read 'it a second time, that will suffice".

Character

Dr Barnardo wrote to one of his Wards: "Character is better than ancestry, and personal conduct is of more importance than the highest parentage."

Forward Looking

In the closing months of the Doctor's life, his outlook regarding the future was expressed in the following extract written from Bad Nauheim, Germany "If I were called away tomorrow and if the whole work, when that event occurred, were to collapse, which I need hardly say is not at all probable, I believe enough good has been done and such an abundant harvest has already been reaped, as would well repay, in the presence and sight of our Lord, all expenditure of money, time and effort which have been devoted to it."