World War II brought to an end the work in Dovercourt and London-Soho where the premises of both houses were so badly damaged as to render them uninhabitable. As needs changed, moreover, some of the above communities closed, freeing personnel to serve elsewhere. In other cases lay persons were trained to take over the responsibilities formerly undertaken by the Sisters.

In 1959, the Salesian Sisters finally moved northwards, to Liverpool-Gillmoss where they ran the infant school and taught catechism and organised out-of-school activities for the older children and moved the pre-noviciate training programmes for young women wishing to enter the congregation. From the convent in Gillmoss, the Sisters could see the site of their second community in Liverpool, at Croxteth, where the Archbishop had invited them to open a secondary school for girls. Mary Help of Christians High School was opened in 1965.

Further communities were opened in the north-west each involved in the typical Salesian works for children and young people, voluntary aided infant and primary schools, secondary schools, youth clubs, parish catechetics, volunteering and summer activities for children: Colne in Lancashire, Bromley Cross, Nelson and ‘Brettargh Holt’ near Kendal in Cumbria which is home to a thriving pastoral centre for young people.

At last, to the joy of our Scottish sisters, a community was opened in Ferguslie Park in 19 , the first of several centres, the others being the Milton, Easterhouse, Newmains and Nitshill. Some of these have since been closed but the work in Scotland continues in Easterhouse and Newmains.

While the communities in England and Scotland have kept alive and developed the Salesian charism in their various activities for children and young people, they have also made every effort to answer the call of the Church to evangelize by providing personnel for the overseas missions. Right from the very early years of the Sisters’ presence in Britain, Sisters have been missioned to many English speaking countries.

It was not enough, though, to send Sisters to join missionary provinces abroad; the province undertook its own missionary presence in South Africa in 19...., first at Bellville near Cape Town and then in Paarl followed by Johannesburgh. The mission developed well and has since become an autonomous province.

The past one hundred years have witnessed a great flexibility among the Salesian Sisters in reaching out to young people; such an attitude holds hope and promise for the future.

Many of our sisters experienced their initial formation in our house in Friar Park, Henley-On-Thames. The Henley archives gives a view into what life was like there.
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