The Travelling children that the T.E.S. work with come from a number of different communities. These are:

English and Welsh Gypsies

Irish/ Scottish Travellers

Fairground and Circus

New Age Travellers

All the communities apart from New Age Travellers can trace their travelling origins back for generations. Families within the communities have different customs and beliefs.

English & Welsh Gypsies

These two groups can trace their origins to the Romanichals or Romanies that arrived in this country at the beginning of the 16th Century. Over the centuries there has been intermarriage between other Travellers on the road such as peddlers or wandering craftsmen with the settled community.

By studying their language, Romanis, scholars during the last century traced the origins of the Romany people to India. it is understood that they were members of a federation of nomadic tribes, some of whom left India in the 10th Century to travel West. There are Gypsy or Rom communities in most Eastern and Western European countries and indeed in other countries of the World.

The name 'Gypsy' is a derivation of 'Egyptian'. Romany tribes, when they appeared in Britain, came with the story that they had travelled from Egypt and were thus believed to be "Egyptians".

Lifestyle and Culture:

Even today the Gypsy community retains a culture which is markedly different from the majority community. Welsh Gypsies tended to retain their traditions to a greater degree than English Gypsies.

The Gypsy community is made up of many extended family groups. Family names such as Boswell, Lee, Smith, Loveridge, Price, Buckley. Gaskin and Draper are common.

The families are supportive of each other and may move away at short notice to support relatives who need help.

Fairs such as Stow-on-the-Wold in Gloucestershire and Appleby in Westmoreland are important meeting places for families as well as places to trade. Wedding and funerals are also occasions when the extended family comes together.

Gypsies have a tradition of self employment. Children are brought up to be independent and from an early age may go to work with an adult member of their family. Travellers are "economic nomads" and traditionally moved to find work opportunities. In years gone by they served local communities for example, by providing labour on farms at harvest time, i.e. hop-picking in Kent, apple picking in Essex, soft fruit picking in the Fens. Hoeing and picking potatoes are jobs still carried out by Gypsies.

Gypsies provided other services, such as selling pegs and flowers made from elder wood, women sold lace, while some also told fortunes. Horse dealing continued up to the last war though the keeping and trading of horses is still popular among the community today.

Gypsies have adapted to meet the changing economic needs of a modem industrial society. Hence scrap dealing (or metal recycling) is a common occupation now, as are tarmacing drives, carpet selling, dealing in second-hand cars, garden clearance and tree felling to make a few.

Traditionally Gypsies and other Travellers made 'bender' tents for shelter. These were easy to erect and dismantle and could be carried on a light cart. As roads improved and their economic status many Gypsies towards the end of the last century could afford to have living wagons made. Since the last war the modem custom built trailer caravan has taken the place of the wagon. It is pulled by a lorry or van depending on the occupation of the family.

 The area within the trailer caravan is usually well ordered. To varying degrees traditional customs of cleanliness (mockadi) are maintained. A trailer caravan is unlikely to have a toilet it being considered a source of contamination in an area where food is being prepared. Likewise, a sink is substituted by a series of bowls each with a specific purpose. Separate bowls are used for crockery, washing the trailer, washing tea towels and for washing the body.

The area outside the trailer may appear to be unsightly to the outsider but to the Gypsy it is a work area. Scrap metal may be stored around the trailer waiting to be sorted and weighed in, likewise tarmacing materials may also be kept in the vicinity. Dogs used for guarding the trailer caravan may be kept outside. Chums to store

water, which has to be fetched from a nearby garage or pub and dustbins are kept outside.

Given the lack of space within a trailer caravan only essential possessions are kept. Children may have few toys and may not possess pencils and crayons for fear of damaging the upholstery. They are encouraged to play outside rather than inside. Many families have a small touring caravan, sometimes called the 'kitchen trailer' for cooking in, for older brothers or sisters to sleep in and for children to play in during wet weather.

In recent years many Gypsy Travellers have settled on council or private sites. Some families continue to travel during the summer months and return to a site in the winter while others have given up travelling. Many families have moved into houses to avoid the hardships caused by frequent evictions when living on the roadside. This trend has increased since the passing in 1994 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act which criminalises unofficial camping.

Gypsy Travellers have traditionally adopted the religion of the country in which they have settled. However, many have been converted to fundamentalist Christian movements such as the "Gypsies for Christ" church which began in France in the 1970's. Now Gypsies from all over Europe travel to conventions to share their religious experiences and to listen to preachers many of whom are from the community itself.

Irish and Scottish Travellers

These two groups are similar in their origins and identity. They are both commonly known as Tinkers or Tinklers due to their traditional occupation as tinsmiths.

The origins of Irish Travellers are shrouded by the mists of time. It is believed that some Irish Travellers may have been

descended from travelling "whitesmiths" who made objects from precious metals for the chieftains of Ireland. They may have descended from wandering musicians and storytellers. In more recent times families dispossessed of their homes and land, particularly during Cromwell's oppression of Ireland, led to certain people taking to a nomadic lifestyle. The Irish Potato Famine during the last century also led to an increase in the Travelling population. Today Travellers of Romany origin have married into the Irish Traveller community.

Scottish Travellers have similarly ancient origins. Travelling metal workers have been recorded in Scotland as early as the 12th Century. During the upheavals due to war and land clearances in the 18th and 19th Centuries dispossessed people as in Ireland took to a nomadic way of life.

Intermarriage with Romany Gypsies may have occurred at an earlier date than in Ireland, the first records of Gypsies in Scotland being in the 16th Century.

As with English Traveller Gypsies the extended family structure is important to Irish and Scottish Travellers. Many still work and travel together in family groups. Both groups share similar occupations. Traditionally, making and mending domestic metal ware was a common occupation as was horse dealing and seasonal farm work, making goods for sale such as baskets, pegs and flowers and providing musical entertainment. Today, most families have adapted to meet the needs of an industrial society. Scrap metal collecting, tarmacing and buying and selling antique furniture are common pursuits.

Traditionally, Scottish Travellers lived in 'bender' tents or "barricades" similar to those built by English Gypsies. These were light and easy to transport. Many Scottish Travellers ‘wintered' in a house in a town before travelling again in the

Spring when the 'yellow was on the broom’. Benders were used until recently by some families though many swapped them for horse-drawn wagons when they became more widely available and today modern trailer caravans.

Among the Irish community the Irish bow top wagon was the most popular accommodation until these gave way to modern trailer caravans.

The 'Itinerant Settlement Movement' in the Republic of Ireland in the 1970s led to the establishment of stopping places for Travellers on the outskirts of towns and cities, especially Dublin. These led to families living in squalid conditions with minimal services. With little opportunity for work Travellers had to rely on bad minimal services and meagre social benefits. Thus many Irish Travellers came to England to look for work and a higher standard of living. Many have stayed and now travel for most of the year in England though they still retain links with their families in Ireland returning for weddings, funerals and other important social events.