FCH Revisited ...anyone remember me?

[SputnikBoy]

Hi There

 

I'm a 'newbie' to the forum but trust that I'm doing and saying the right things.

 

I was a ward of the state and placed in Fulwood Cottage Homes circa 1950/51 and remained there for (I think) about 5 or 6 years. I was very young and very 'green' and there are a number of events from that time that are fairly vague to me. In fact, the whole experience seems like a dream these days ...sometimes a nightmare!

 

I seem to recall the Superintendent of FCH at that time was a Mr. Hildreth who was later replaced with a Mr Brooks. I was one of the very young wards who was placed in Cottage #9. Some of the kids I remember were Ernest Hill, Roger Bradbury, David and Tony Wales, George Archer, Graham Hanson, Norman Meltzer, Derek Hibbard, Malcolm and George Rhymer, and Kenneth Bolton. Our permanent foster-mother was a Rosemary (Miss) Bower.

 

I'd love to hear from anyone who might remember me ...does someone have to PM me in order to get my full name? Since that time I've spent years in the U.S. where I married and fathered a son. I presently reside in Australia. I'm still a 'young fellah' with a youthful disposition but have just lately developed a fascination to get in touch with some of my early past experiences.

 

If anyone can enlighten me about any of the people I mentioned or about FCH itself I would much appreciate that.

 

Thanks

 

Rod

Sputnik

[flyer]

Hi spuknik get your 5posts in than anyone can P.M you 1to 1.You're lucky to remember so many names.I was in there 39-1946 a little before your time I only remember one name ,other than the house mothers fm hell,1-2-3&7 where very bad I was in 2 I know a good h- mother was down your end somwhere.One or two people may be starting a web site shortly so keep checking. look at Cottam or cottam 67 thread lots of good info out there.

[SputnikBoy]

Originally posted by flyer

Hi spuknik get your 5posts in than anyone can P.M you 1to 1.You're lucky to remember so many names.I was in there 39-1946 a little before your time I only remember one name ,other than the house mothers fm hell,1-2-3&7 where very bad I was in 2 I know a good h- mother was down your end somwhere.One or two people may be starting a web site shortly so keep checking. look at Cottam or cottam 67 thread lots of good info out there.

 

Thanks flyer. Is there any fast way of getting to the Cottam threads you mentioned or do I get there page by page?

 

Yes, the names of the kids I shared my time in the home with are indelibly printed in my mind. Miss Bower - the house mother we had - appears to have been one of the better house mothers at FCH. Some of the relief mothers - one in particular, were downright cruel. It doesn't surprise me that most of them appear to have been lonely spinsters.

 

I had an older brother, Rex, who was in Cottage #8. Miss Humphries was his house mother. I also had an older sister, Glenda, who was in Cottage #17. Her house mother was a Miss Barnett. Rex eventually left to join the Merchant Navy. Glenda was able to leave when she became of age. I (sob) had to remain until mom eventually found a way to take me home. That would have been circa 1956, I think.

 

Anyway, I'll try to get my 5 posts in so I can get PMs should someone wish to contact me in that way.

[flyer]

hi spuknik just run down the Expats you see the names mune who was in F.C. H at your time who also was in the M.N ,I PM him once in awhile,Cottam & cottam 67 had family in there,If I remember Lavender was in the girls sec'.AS soon as the christmas pudding wears off you'll get a flood of open message's.My first contacts after 65yrs was alittle painfull I'd forgotten how deep some of the wounds were,they're slowly healing

[SputnikBoy]

Originally posted by flyer

hi spuknik just run down the Expats you see the names mune who was in F.C. H at your time who also was in the M.N ,I PM him once in awhile,Cottam & cottam 67 had family in there,If I remember Lavender was in the girls sec'.AS soon as the christmas pudding wears off you'll get a flood of open message's.My first contacts after 65yrs was alittle painfull I'd forgotten how deep some of the wounds were,they're slowly healing

 

Thanks so much, flyer. I can't wait to reminisce with people about those times so long ago now.

[flyer]

Do you ever get the feeling that most Fullwood inmates left town,we see a lot of inquiry from family,but not to many fm old boys &girls,they just don't want to talk about it,A lot of very bad abuse went on .So its you, me and Unwin

[SputnikBoy]

Originally posted by flyer

Do you ever get the feeling that most Fullwood inmates left town,we see a lot of inquiry from family,but not to many fm old boys &girls,they just don't want to talk about it,A lot of very bad abuse went on .So its you, me and Unwin

 

Could be. But this was a time before the word ‘abuse’ became so bandied around. Did we even know that it was abuse? Did the abusers even know that what they were doing would have been considered ‘abuse’? Those were the days before psychology told us that we were scarred for life. Now we know, so we therefore are. Today we live in a world where it seems almost everyone has been ‘abused’ by someone. That’s one thing. But we also live in a world where people want to get back at the abusers. Not good.

 

I’ve never held any animosity toward any of the staff at FCH, even though some – one ‘relief parent’ in particular – seemed to thrive on cruelty. She had the name of a fish beginning with the letter “h” - 7 letters. (I tried to insert a "heh heh" face in there but it didn't work). She had a penchant for slapping the boys in the face. No matter how desperately you tried to shield your face with your hands, she would yank your hands away and find her mark. She was a real b---- and many times I would have liked to tell her this. She’s probably long dead, although she would have been a similar age to my mother who only died in 2004. I guess age is relative …I remember some resident in Cottage #8 turning 21 (not sure why he was there at that age) and I considered him to be ancient.

 

Anyway, Miss H------, you were a real b---- but I forgive you.

 

The home DID have an ‘Oliver Twist’ characteristic about it …often cold and bleak. Strangely, I remember those times in ‘black and white’ …like an old movie That is, except for that huge green strip of grass that separated the boy’s side of the compound from the girl’s side. A guy called Alf or Stan (or one of those typical British ‘working class man’ names of the era) took care of the grass and the landscaping.

 

Another of the staff, a Mr. Hopkins, always reminded me of an angry pit bull. I remember seeing him laughing at one time and I felt sure that it would create a reading on the Richter scale. Then there was a Miss Johnson (I think) who was a very slender ‘matronly’ looking woman. She was the voice of authority and someone to be respected but I don’t recall her ever being ‘mean’ as such.

 

Anyway, I could go on and on.

[skippy]

Hi Rod, I went to school with you and we knocked around together after you got out of the homes & went to live with your mother down school Rd somewhere, she had a room in a big house on a hill, not far from Western Park. You were always interested in the stars & planets. I also live in Oz, Wollongong to be exact, I've been here since 1970, I've been trying to get in contact with you for about 4 months after seeing you on Friends Re.

Regards

Trevor Powell

[SputnikBoy]

Originally posted by skippy

Hi Rod, I went to school with you and we knocked around together after you got out of the homes & went to live with your mother down school Rd somewhere, she had a room in a big house on a hill, not far from Western Park. You were always interested in the stars & planets. I also live in Oz, Wollongong to be exact, I've been here since 1970, I've put my email address on the other thread, Crookes Endowed.

I've been trying to get in contact with you for about 4 months after seeing you on Friends Re.

trevorpowell@aapt.net.au

Regards

Trevor Powell

 

This is a double treat for me, skippy! Yes, we DID hang around together. This is almost too much to take in! We (my mom, little sister, and I) had a room in a big house on Conduit Road.

 

Yes, I was always fascinated with astronomy and space travel and even tried to launch (appropriate word) a 'Space Club' at school. My screen name is Sputnik ...does that suggest something to you?

 

I, too, had wanted to contact you after seeing your name on Friends Reunited but I don't have a credit card from which to pay the subscription fee.

 

Anyway, I'll be contacting you via email very soon!

[SputnikBoy]

Many thanks to Peter who has supplied me with some great pix and info concerning FCH. Great job, Peter!