I’m Peter Roche, Author of Unloved, The True Story of a Stolen Childhood. This book tells the unvarnished true story of the life of the boy behind this photograph that was taken by Lord Snowdon, then husband of the late Princess Margaret and brother-in-law to Queen Elizabeth II.
The photograph was on the cover of the Sunday Times magazine; the boy was unknowingly and unwittingly used as a poster child in a widespread publicity campaign by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC); the photograph was posted on billboards and seen in advertisements on national television throughout the United Kingdom; the photograph along with others of the same child have been displayed in the National portrait gallery and other international galleries and copies are sold in art galleries around the world even to this day. The world saw the photograph and the world was shocked. But noone saw the real child who slept in a dumpyard to escape the cruelty of his daily existence which included beatings, hunger, squalor, poverty, and unimaginable abuse and neglect. And as this child rummaged through bins for food noone even saw the connection that the child whose face was everywhere, was one and the same.
Noone recognized, not even myself, that this child was me. I am the boy in the photograph and this book tells my story. The rights to these photographs are not mine. But discovering the photographs was discovering that I really did exist.
I needed to tell this story and let the world know the truth; that I was the child and I was real! I am so grateful that the people of the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and Europe have read and continue to read my story and for the outpouring of support and kind words.I shall reach others and together we shall strive to ensure that no child knows what I have known.
