Anyone remember me?

Best wishes

CLIVE G WILLIAMS

NEW HOME FOR SWANSEA ORPHANS
PURCHASE OF KILLAY HOUSE AND GROUNDS February 1929

A purchase which has been hailed with delight by the matron of the Swansea Orphan Home and will be even more so by the children when, they realise its implications, is, to place the Swansea Orphan Home for Girls soon at Killay House, formerly the home of the late Mr. and Mrs. Morgan B. Williams and their family, and lately the property of Mr. George Bransby Williams. The house and grounds will be generally acclaimed ideal for the purpose.

LARGE PLAYGROUND.
The deal which involved several thousands of pounds, has been swiftly completed, for Killay House was for some time only let, and the opportunity came when the quest for a premises that would completely fill the requirements had seemed hopeless. They had searched for a long time for a premises away from the heart of the town, that would give room for a playground, and, if necessary, for an extension which the present cramped site prohibited.

Killay House, besides happening to be peculiarly fitted for the purpose, having no less than four large reception rooms, had no less than 14 acres of level grass land for playgrounds and garden space, was away from the traffic and no further from school than was the present premises. In addition, there were two large stone outbuildings, one of which, the lodge, could be utilized for an isolation block; and the other (the stable and garage) could be converted into a covered playground, or laundry, in order to complete the scheme.

Ready In A Few Weeks’ Time
It was hoped that with quite moderate alterations, which Mr O S Portsmouth was designing, the present house would accommodate the 55 children and the staff of five or six, and that in a few weeks they would be in their new home. There will be great gain to the children, whose airing and grass playground had been hitherto dependant on the months’ holiday provided each year by Mr and Mrs Andrews generosity at Horton. Another pleasing feature of the arrangement is that the margin between this purchase and the sale of the present home. And also the cost of the adaptations, will be more than covered by the hansom bequest of Mr Roger Beck. Mr Beck was the best friend the house ever had and his bequest has remained in gilt-edged securities awaiting some such opening. Mr C.W. Slater has been horary solicitor for the home in this matter.

The Swansea Orphan Home for Girls was founded in 1867 and had an unbroken record of service, first in the centre of Swansea and later at Killay House, until 1948, when the committee invited the National Children’s Home to take over the work.

The report on the holiday issued by the NCH.
SUCCESSFUL HOLIDAY AT SWANSEA August 1971
Twenty children whose ages ranged from 10 to 15 years, spent two weeks holiday at Killay House, Swansea from August 14th to 28th. The children were all either in NCH or local authority care under the Family Aid scheme.
Sister Stephanie Hall, who was in charge of the party at Swansea, sent the following report to ‘Family News’.
The physical structure of Killay House in its beautiful grounds was ideal for the holiday plan.
Sister June was in charge of the branch at the time of arrival, and the welcome she and the staff gave the early holiday staff arrivals, and the hard work they put in making up beds and explaining the working order of the House, before turning out of the house into the pouring rain to a wet camp field, went a long way to make a successful start to the holiday. (Those who normally lived at Killay House, were sent away to live in a field for the two weeks that Killay House would be occupied.)

The children came from a variety of backgrounds but their real need appeared to lie in the fact, that they required a holiday where they could relax away from family tensions, and, if possible, be given an opportunity to express some of the feelings brought about by such tensions.
All staff were introduced to the children by name, explaining who they were, what they were doing prior to the holiday, and their ages. (It was agreed that the staff could be called by their first names rather than their normal titles).
We explained that there were no fixed bed times, but the children could please themselves what time they went to bed, as long as it was before the staff. They would be told the night before what time breakfast would be, and if they did not wish to have breakfast they could remain in bed until the day’s activities started.
At first the children were very quiet about the house, but as they began to relax the house always seemed full of noisy chatter, and it must have been good for some of them to escape to their various rooms and places in the house and garden, where they could be on their own.
Towards the end of the holiday, settling down in bed became almost a ritual, when the children would ask that all the staff went to their rooms to tuck them up, kiss them good-night, and chat. These ‘chats’ were the times when the children shared with us their fears and their feelings about the tensions in their family lives. The staff were sensitive to these times, and it was felt that a large part of the benefit of this holiday was achieved at these times.
At first, the staff who had had little experience of this kind of structure were themselves wary, looking for leadership and watching out for incidents or unruly behavior. They were able to discuss these things in the evening gathering of staff, and the way they co-operated at every possible level was outstanding. The children formed holiday relationships with the staff and each other, and there was a great deal of emotion shown at parting from each other on August 28th.