Dame Sybil Thorndykes House Borth Y Gest

A Memory of Borth-y-Gest.

My sister and I were sent to live at Bron-y-Garth, Dame Sybil's house which we believe had been made available as a home for children during the war. I was 6 months old, my sister 3 when we arrived, and were, we believe, the last to leave the home in 1945/6. We travelled with a nurse by train to London to meet our mother. My sister went to the little school nearby, and we remember sitting on the wall of the garden waiting for the matron to bring the sweet ration back for all the children. When there was a problem with ringworm in the home, all the children had their hair cut off, and a black goo put on it. My sister who was blonde suffered the treatment and her hair came through brown afterwards, never to be blonde again. I was too young with little hair and didn't suffer the treatment. Our lives were much happier there and we returned there on visits by ourselves. One time the new owners told us that they had found lots of photos of the children who had passed through the home. I had my tonsils out whilst there, and have pictures that my sister drew for our mother whilst we were there. We remember seeing soldiers marching down the narrow streets. My father visited us and took us to tea in a small cafe. My sister can remember picking up the 2d tip that he had left, and on the way back to the home, telling our father. He promptly took her back and made her return it. We have only happy memories of our time there. We would be taken down to the beach, and I have a rock brought from the beach which has moved with me from home to home. Going through old photos I have found some of myself standing outside a window of the house, on a plinth with an ornate vase on a pedestal.

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