Mary, age 9 , Ward 2 balcony, 1951
Mary Davies ( nee Morris) with her grandson, Stephen, at the book launch of "The Children of Craig-y-nos".
Often it was the children and grandchildren of the original "children of Craig-y-nos" that made the initial contact with me like Stephen (above). This is his original email on behalf of his grandmother:
"I was in Craig-y-nos in 1951. The photo shows me holding a teddy bear taken in September it was a present from my family for my 9th birthday in August. I don’t remember much about my stay only that I was out on the balcony and when I was rainy and windy they had to put tarpaulin on top of the bed to stop it getting wet. While in Craig-Y-Nos I made 3 good friends one was called Mary Jones one Jeanette Wakeham but I cannot recall the name of the 3rd one, we had a photograph taken but I can’t find it but will keep looking for it, and post it up on here when I do. I also remember doing lessons much to my disgust!
When I had a bungalow built I named it Craig-y-nos after my experience of the real Craig-Y-Nos.
I have been married for 46 years have 3 children and 4 grandchildren. The thing that sticks out in my mind was my parents were only allowed to see me one weekend a month. They only came one day as it was to far to travel as we lived in Rhayader in Mid Wales."
Mary still lives in Rhayader and, at our first official reunion two years ago, she was the first to arrive having driven alone for over two hours through the mountains.
This video clip captures her emotions on that momentous day:
Mary Davies
"The Children of Craig-y-nos" by Ann Shaw and Carole Reeves, paperback price £9.99., available from Brecon museum, Amazon.co.uk or most good bookshops.
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