Mary Davies ( nee Murphy) Craig-y-nos and Sully - 1951-52

Mary was only a toddler when she was admitted to Craig-y-nos in 1951.

She recollects being in the glass conservatory, ( the ward used for very small children) and her tears when her mother left.

“There was a black nurse and nurse Glenys Davies. I remember them. They were very good to me.”

Her father, a naval officer, had died of TB and her mother was told that she was unlikely to survive: “at one stage I was given 24 hours to live.”

After 14 months she was transferred to Sully for an operation. She still looks back upon the sharp contrast between the two hospitals.
“Craig-y-nos was dark, cold and close to the mountains. Sully was light, warm and near the sea.”


She recalls having to be reintroduced to her family when she did eventually get home.
“It was two years out of my life at a very young age”.

Mary is interested in finding out how other children survived the “Craig-y-nos experience because it was so unusual.”

Today Mary, age 56, is an art teacher, married, and living in Leatherhead.

She is the niece of Bridie Ronan, already featured in this weblog.