...Tho wee must Part
Image © Foundling Museum London
The Foundling Hospital, the UK’s first children’s charity, was founded in 1739 by the philanthropist Thomas Coram. He had been shocked to see babies and children abandoned and dying on London’s streets. London had a huge and growing poverty crisis, and even if a single mother could find work she had no safe way to find somebody to look after her child while she worked.
When a mother left her baby at the Foundling Hospital, she would also leave a small token as a means of identification. These were often marked coins, trinkets, pieces of fabric or ribbon. The token would be folded up inside the completed admissions paper, or ‘billet’. This would never be opened unless the mothers circumstances changed and she returned to claim her child. As all children were given new names on entry, the billet and token were the only link with their past life.
The above co-ordinates take you to the Foundling Museum. It tells the story of Thomas Coram, the Foundling Hospital and the children who lived there. To log this Virtual cache you will need to visit two locations outside the museum, and take a photo at the second.
Location 1 - Statue of Thomas Coram
At the back of the statue you will find a large plaque.
ABCD = number at the end of the first line
EFGH = number at the end of last line
[Update 10-July-2022: I've discovered that there's a small sculpture by Tracey Emin of a child's mitten here. You might like to find it before going to location 2 - it's on a railing spike behind the statue.]
Location 2 - Foundling tokens
Go to N51 31.(A+H)(D)(F) W000 07.(B-E-A)(C+H)(G) and find the foundling tokens. If you can't immediately see them look at the hint.
Take a photo of one of the tokens along with something that is personal to you. What small thing represents you best to the ones you love? For example this could be a trackable or mascot that you take with you while geocaching. Things from your interests outside of geocaching are acceptable as well - perhaps a badge or other small item from your favourite film or sports team. Be as creative as you like. If you can't think of anything at all then use your geocaching name written on a piece of paper.
Logging requirement: You must include the photo with your log.
Virtual Rewards 3.0 - 2022-2023
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between March 1, 2022 and March 1, 2023. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 3.0 on the Geocaching Blog.