Chopping wood was part of the "grading" process in 1955. Marian ( left) with Jean.
Marian on the bridge, Christmas ,1955. Note the snow at her feet.This is the first photo to show snow.
Marian, August 1954. She was on "strict bed" rest but got up for this photo.
(Extract from interview with Marian Thomas):
“It was such a long, long journey up the Swansea valley to Craig-y-nos...
...and the ambulance man was a neighbour and I remember thinking:
“Why has Mr Williams got tears in his eyes?”
“I asked the girl next to me in Ward 2 how long she had been in. She was lying flat on her back, with her bed on blocks, and she could not raise her head to speak to me.
“Six years” she said.
"I was 15 years of age and at grammar school. I cried and cried.”
Later Marian was moved to the “six-bedder” and she says that although she was in for 2 years and suffered a relapse she “never looked back” after she was moved out of Ward 2 and has fond memories of her time in the “six-bedder” at Craig-y-nos Castle.
(Marian with her grand-son.)
Like many ex-patients Marian went on to work in one of the caring professions - she became an auxiliary nurse for over 20 years.
“The experience of Craig-y-nos makes you aware of the needs of others.”
She is married with a son and grandson and lives in Morriston, near Swansea.
"I hope to go to the reunion of patients and staff on April 25th."
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