St Marys Conevnt
A Memory of Walthamstow.
I was put in St Marys along with my two sisters, Betty & Maureen Killin. Our mum & dad separated so our mum put all my brothers away & an older sister; she was put elsewhere, none of us saw our older sister until she was 60 years old. Me & my other two sisters never really knew our brothers. I was 6 months old when I was put in there. Some of the nuns were nice, but most of them were evil, along with some of the staff who worked there. The kids were lovely; I think it was a case of us against them. I will always think kindly of one of the staff there, her name then was Mary Mc Coy. When she married it was Mary Cleary. I loved her, she looked after me since I was 5 years old. She was the best staff there. All the nuns & staff were Irish. What made them want to hurt little kids who had no one to stand up to them? I wet my bed every day & got hit with a wooden hair brush. I was made to stand with a wet sheet over my head so everyone could see I wet my bed. When I was 11 I went to St Georges School; one of the nuns I hated made me stand up in class to read. I could read to myself but not out loud because I couldn't pronounce some words. She knew this. She said she would tell the Reverent Mother to send me home to a mother I didn't know. She did get the mother to take me. I was at home with her three weeks, then she took me to the police station. I was 12 years old. My children's officer took me to new Port House Remand Centre, I spent 2 months there, then I was taken to court. I didn't even know about these places, but they said I would have to go to approved school for three years for care & protection. I never done anything for them to put me there, it was just a case of St Marys Convent didn't want me back. I spent 12 years there, that was the only home I knew. The nuns in the approved school, again Irish, were evil. St Marys don't know what all this has done to me. I am 67 years old in May but all the hurt has never gone away, even now the tears are not far away. Thats my memoirs of Walthamstow. If anyone knows me, please, please get in touch with me. Thank-you, Theresa Preedy (nee Killin).
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Comments & Feedback
I was in this convent in the 50s and 60s and saw children lined up to be cruelly smacked for wetting the bed. I also saw my brother beaten because he would not lie down in the cot.
I physically fought with the staff whenever they laid a hand on my brothers and sisters. They were horrible nuns.
Sisters John Fisher, Sister Peter and also staff as well as Miss Leslie, Miss Murray, Miss Graven were all guilty of this at this awful time.
I now sincerely hope they are all rotting in hell.
My name now is Sandy Humphreys.
Yes I agree some of the nuns and staff were wicked, and I had to stand in the corner of a landing for various reasons throughout my stay there.
Our group’s bedroom was on the top floor facing the front entrance. Right at the beginning of the building. We used to make lots of noises at times to get one or two of the nuns out, hoping to see if they actually had any hair. This never happened as they always had a covering on their heads.
I left the Convent in 1962 along with Carol Sullivan, we then went to a hostel (ran by The same Sisters of Mercy) in West Hampstead. After about 9 months we left and set up home together with Carol Sullivan and Janella Gibbs.
I knew of no other life so I didn’t find being in the Convent such an ordeal as other inmates. Our mother used to come and see us whenever she could as I had one other sister and three brothers and they were in 2 other institute’s across London. So she could only come one every three weeks or so.