Friends of Sully Hospital - 50th anniversary

Ann inside the show flat one of the former 8 bedded wards.



On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Sully hospital in 1986 a booklet was published to commemorate the event.

I have got a copy of the booklet and it contains some interesting social and medical facts.

Sully was the last of the hospitals to be built for TB patients and it was specifically a hospital not a sanatorium. The first patients were all in an advanced stage of the disease and the deaths were unfortunately large.
In other cases, before the arrival of drugs, many patients were kept in for two to three years.

It had 300 beds and is situated on the coast between Sully and Penarth about seven miles from Cardiff facing the Somerset and North Devon coast.

The building was devised with the idea of forming traps for "sun heated air" and to provide shelter not only from the south-west gale but from the extreme heat of the afternoon sun.

Incidentally this shape has resulted in a considerable economy since it not only reduces the length of windows but also the overall lengths of the buildings.



The ward blocks are in a double "V" formation facing the sea, three storeys high and each floor accommodated one hundred patients.

In all there were six ward units each containing fifty beds

Each ward unit contained two eight bedded wards, 6 four bedded wards and ten single rooms.

Sully contained many interesting fitments well ahead of its time like built in wardrobes bed head-lights, dish washing machines , refrigerators and a steam heated kettle in each ward kitchen.

Fireplaces were provided in day rooms in addition to the central heating throughout the building.
Yet another example of how Sully, the "model hospital" differed from the traditional TB sanatorium!

Clara Gould- OBE - first matron of Sully 1936-1950

Sully hospital

Clara Gould, first matron of Sully, 1936-1950.

Great niece Jill White, speaking from her home in Ipswich, has very fond memories of her aunt who inspired her to take up nursing.


“Aunt Clara used to dress me up in her uniform after she retired. I was only about six years of age at the time. I think it inspired me to become a nurse,” says Jill who recently retired after a career in nursing.


"Sully became her life and she loved her fifteen years there," says Jill. " She used to travel back to Ipswich in her little yellow car to visit her mother and family. This was in the days before the Severn Bridge.

"She had a flat in the nurses quarters of Sully.
Because Clara never married her family were very important to her and she was the one who kept in touch with everyone."


Jill says she never forgot her humble beginnings. The eldest of 14 children born into a very poor Ipswich family she never considered herself good enough for "Teddy" her mystery boy-friend in Sully, a person who meant so much to her but the family never met.

“I think she thought herself socially inferior. We never did learn who Teddy was but I suspect he was a doctor” says Jill.
“They were very good friends”.


When she retired she had thought of getting her own flat but was advised against it by family members on the grounds that she was not in the lest domesticated. All her life she had people to cook and clean for her having always lived in nurses quarters. So she moved into an apartment in an hotel in Surrey.

Clara retired just after the lifesaving drugs were introduced .
For her leaving presents she was given a silver tea pots tea servces, and a wealth of presents which Jill now has in her keeping.


Clara collected spoons. "Whenever people went on holiday they would bring her back a spoon," says Jill who now has that collection in her safe-keeping.

Clara Gould, first matron of Sully hospital, was a modest gentle woman dedicated to nursing . She died in 1965 having been awarded an OBE for her services.

Patient number 07313, Sully hospital

Ann "I am writing a book on Sully."

I have had a reply from the Glamorgan Record Office, and no they don't have a copy of my medical records.


Because of the sheer numbers of patients going through they only took samples of patients records during the period 1954-1967 of those with file numbers ending in 01 or 51.

I was number 07313.

They did provide some useful information though regarding dates. I was there for 147 days from 1st April 1960 until 26 August 1960. I was then discharged to Pinewood Student Rehabilitation Centre near Wokingham.

Oh, yes and I was in Gwynedd ward. It would be lovely to be able to contact anyone who was in Sully around this time.

If you know of such a person then email me: annshaw@mac.com

Clara Gould- OBE

Clara Gould

Clara Gould, the first matron of Sully hospital ( 1936-1950) was born in Ipswich, Suffolk, the eldest of 14 children into a very poor family.


Despite the poverty Clara was determined to fulfill her ambition to become a nurse and she began work first as a maid in Ipswich hospital before going to London to train from 1922-25.

She died in 1965 and left all her nursing books to her great niece Jill White, who has recently retired from nursing herself.

Clara Gould- first matron of Sully hospital

Clara Gould, first matron of Sully - 1936-1950

Jill White, the great niece of Clara Gould, says her aunt was totally devoted to nursing and never married though she often spoke with great affection about "Teddy" who worked at Sully hospital.

The family never met Teddy but think he was a doctor .

Jill says:"My great aunt thought he was out of her social class and that she was not good enough for him."

Sully records

Unlike Craig-y-nos the medical records for Sully still exist.
However, because of the sheer number of patients involved they had to introduce a sampling procedure.

On the off chance that I was amongst those "sampled" I have sent off my request.

This is what the National Archives say:

"Due to the considerable bulk of the patient files for Sully Hospital, complete retention has not been an option. A decision was made to take a representative sample of these records.
Three different series of patient case files were generated between the years 1937 and 1967 (date when the sample ends). A series of records was started presumably in 1936 when the hospital opened. This first series begins here at number 434; earlier case notes are missing. In 1941 an Emergency Medical Services Centre opened at Sully Hospital to treat war casualties and a new series of files relates to these cases. In 1954 a new numbering system was established to cover all patients admitted to the hospital and this continues to 1967.
Earlier case files have been kept intact. The first series of records runs to 1946 (on microfilm) and from that date to 1954 a sample has been taken. The EMS files have been retained to 1947 and have then been sampled to 1954. There are gaps in these two samples where files have not survived. A representative sample has then been taken of the third series of case files. Each file ending with the digit 01 and 51 has been selected. For a full explanation of sampling procedures used, see depositors file."

Stained glass window - Sully hospital

This stained glass window forms part of the atrium inside the former Sully hospital today and it reflects the very high standard of workmanship evident throughout this listed building.

Clara Gould. OBE first matron Sully

I wonder how many people know that Clara Gould , the first matron to be appointed to Sully hospital in 1936 was a founder member of the Royal College of Nursing and was awarded an OBE for her services to the nursing profession?

Her great niece Jill White , a recently retired nurse , says her great aunt was totally devoted to nursing to the exclusion of all else in her life though there was a man called "Teddy" at Sully who wanted to marry her but she refused because she considered herself socially inferior to him.

Jill says they never knew the identify of this mysterious "Teddy" though they suspect he was one of the doctors.

Sully and cricket

I have just received a request from Nic Lanagan, secretary of Barry Wanderers Cricket Club .

They have played at Sully Hospital (now Hayes Point) for many years and next

year they celebrate their 40th anniversary and they hope to publish a history of the club to commemorate this in July 2010.

Now they are looking for any information about the early days of the club.
Can anyone help?

So far all I know is that their playing fields are on the site of the hospital farm where animals were kept for research purposes.

Return to Sully

Imagine returning to Sully after nearly fifty years


to find that it has been turned into luxury apartments...

and I get taken to view the show flat on the top floor....


imagine walking into this luxury apartment and discovering....




it's my old ward!...phew!

First matron of Sully- Clara Gould

Jill White, the great niece of Clara Gould, first matron of Sully until her retirement in 1950, has just contacted me.

She says her great aunt devoted her life to her work.

"I visited Sully two years ago only to find that it was being converted into accommodation we also climbed through the barbed wire fence to get a good view!" added Jill.

Mystery building - morgue

Ann standing outside morgue

Whoops! sorry...mystery building is former morgue and it is about to be converted into a bistro /cafe.

I have just returned form Wales and had a tour of Sully - courtesy of the developers- and I found the conversion of Sully hospital into Hayes Point apartments very impressive.

Mystery building?

I have had a query from a resident in Hayes Point, as the former Sully hospital is known as, to ask if I had any information on why one building remains in its original state.

Initial research suggests this is a
medical incinerator
and has been the subject of
some controversy

Can anyone throw more light on this matter?

Sully and Highland Moors- Tony Hooper

Sully


Highland Moors

Tony Hooper says:
"I was an inmate (!) at Highland Moors-1947-48- remember it with no affection at all.
At age 7 to be called by a number (No 20 in my case) was not a pleasant childhood memory- the winter of 1947 up there was very harsh.

The food -I realise it was just after the war- was grim even by standards of the time- bread and marge -or bread and jam for tea (never bread+marge+jam!) - The odd times my parents on their monthly visit managed to find a few fresh eggs from a farmer on the way as a treat resulted in my getting scrambled eggs at the next meal - made from powdered egg.'They got broken when we took them to the kitchen' was the standard excuse. In the time I was there I lost nearly a stone in weight.

A few years later I was an inpatient at Sully several times- this would have been 1952-1954. A completely different experience- good food, caring staff and a wonderful situation- it would have made a great resort hotel!


Did it affect me? That's a hard one. I guess all experiences feed in to one's personality but I can't say that it traumatised me- though the level of harshness and impersonal relationships with staff made me very keen to be at home when possible. So never was one for after school activities etc.
I now live in Bath.

Internet
I found the site when I was looking up mid Wales towns for a day trip that I am planning shortly and when I saw Llandrindod Wells was impelled to see if there was any information on Highland Moors."

Sully and Facebook

Have had an email form Carol Hughes who tells me she has come across a guy who was in Sully .

Nothing unusual about that except that he has met up with the surgeon who removed part of his lung -through Facebook!
Now I am hoping that he will contact me.

Sully re-visited

Ann Shaw ( nee Rumsey) in the grounds of Sully during a recent visit to the area.

Says Ann:

"Sully hospital has been converted into upmarket apartments. 

 Today it's  a gated community with no access allowed into the building.

  However, I had a good walk around the grounds ( I just ignored the "keep out" signs) and discovered that Sully is adjoining the shore. From my ward  on the third floor I had always  thought it was perched on top of a cliff.  It came as something of a shock to discover that the hospital was in fact next to the beach!

I was there for six months in 1960 but never went outside so I was glad to have the opportunity at last to walk around the grounds. "

Comment
The second time i went to sully in 1957 i spent many happy hours in the lovely grounds there and i did sneak onto the beach even though this was not allowed there was a gap in the hedge the beach was all pebbles but it was lovely all the same carol hughes nee davies

Carol Hughes ( nee Davies) - Sully 1957

Carol says:
"This is a photo of me in 1957 Sully hospital with the baby I used to walk in the pram. His mum is with him. His name is either Kevin or Kelvin."

Temp staff- Pam Stephen - 1954

I have received this email from Brian Stephen's whose sister Pam was there for six months:

" SULLY HOSPITAL circa 1954

I remember enjoying a spell ‘temping’ in the medical records office of Sully Hospital. I had just returned from a year in France as an au pair, when I found myself on the same bus as Pat Edwards, who asked me what I was doing at that time. So it was that I found myself working with her in Medical Records at Sully Hospital, where she was the senior secretary to the Medical Superintendent, Dr Foreman – affectionately known as Father Foreman. (His PA and office manager was a Miss Skinner, from Dinas Powis. Her niece, Bunty Skinner, and I were in the same class in Penarth County Grammar School for Girls.)

Some six weeks later I developed infective hepatitis (having had a clear Mantoux test three weeks previously) and was off work for six weeks. I later learnt that two of the theatres had been closed because of the virus - suggesting that the needles used for my test had not been thoroughly cleaned! Anyway, I returned to work and liked it there very much because it was a very happy place and Pat was such a very pleasant person. I well remember that she and I used to sing together a lot, which caused much amusement when overheard.

I can’t really tell you much about Sully Hospital, as I was there for not much more than six months. I do remember it as a very happy and caring place with lovely views and friendly staff. ( I also remember that if I missed the bus in the morning, I had to get on my bike and pedal like mad to get there on time!) It hit news when it was the first hospital in the country to do a ‘blue baby’ heart operation: it was really a general thoracic hospital and very much up-to-date at that time. The Medical Superintendent, Dr Foreman, was a lovely man and well-respected for the work he had done in a prisoner-of-war camp during an outbreak of typhoid, and for which I believe he got a gong. I think he was an Australian. His office adjoined medical records and he was on friendly terms with all the staff.

When the Medical Superintendent at Glan Ely Hospital was looking for a personal secretary/PA, he put my name forward – and, there I was! Glan Ely was a general TB hospital – bones and joints as well as thoracic treatment.

The diminishing role of both these first-rate hospitals began some 2-4 years later when mass x-ray examinations picked up TB in its early stages and hospitalisation was no longer needed.
The person who can really give you the gen here, is Pat Edwards. She was really conscientious and knew the place well."

Comment
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Names of wards

I have been trying to remember the names of the wards in Sully and Carol Hughes ( nee Davies) who was there as a child on three ocasions tells me that:


"They were named after Welsh counties. I know I was on morganwg.

The floors were all different dyffed gwent glamorgan powis and the wards on each floor were A TO Z ".

Thanks Carol!

Where are they?

So far my research to find ex-patients at Sully has been unsuccessful.

Oh yes I know plenty of people who say:
"I knew "so and so" who was at Sully" only to add" But he/she died there."

And that is the problem. Until the advent of drugs you only got sent to Sully if you were seriously ill.

Hospital radio- DJ David Roberts

Some more memories from David:

"I remember being allowed to work with two other patients on the hospital radio service (D.J.ing with huge BBC-like equipment) down in the basement.(Next to redundant X-Ray machines destined for the third world, I was told.)
The basement was also the venue for the hospital staff giving the patients a special show before Xmas (I remember their rendition of "Just one more cigarette" vividly).

I also remember befriending a number of sheep held in the field adjoining the hospital who's purpose there was, apparently, for scientific research."

Comment
i can remember that hospital so well i remember small animals rabbits and a goat
i was there about 4 months 1952 and 1957 about 6 months -Carol

Councillor Anthony Ernest - Sully

I am grateful to Councillor Anthony Ernest for supplying the following information:

"Sully Hospital is now a massive new apartments development, utilising all the existing 1936 buildings plus more. It is of course Listed.

The Friends of Sully Hospital nationalarchives published a booklet some years ago to mark its half century, and I am pretty sure that I donated a copy of that booklet to the Glamorgan County Archives office in Cardiff last year. You could e-mail them for confirmation that it is in the "Ernest Papers of Penarth" entry.

The apartments have been developed by a Cheltenham based company by the name of Galliard, and you will find them on the web. You can currently rent one brand new !

My own father ended his days at Sully Hospital in 1991, so I have a certain interest.

Later, of course, there was a masssive campaign by my constituents to stop it becoming a Holding Camp for Refugees under plans by HM Government. (see BBC website), which were eventually rejected.

Kind regards,

Anthony Ernest (County Cllr.]"

David Roberts- ex-patient

David Roberts emailed me to say:

" At the age of 19, I spent 6 excellent months at Sully with a "shadow" on the lung.
Initially, in line with your experience, I felt a dread of what I was about to experience. (My dread and my mother's shame when the house was fumigated on the basis that people might consider me to have been neglected, despite being the most well fed and cared for lad in the village).
After a few days, an "hotel" experience began, once I had come to terms with the prospects of 6 months confinement.
Quickly, "confinement" became a relative term and, along with two other new friends, trecked regularly along the rocks to enjoy a few pints at the Sully Arms.
We always used the bar area, presuming any staff from the hospital would more likely choose the lounge.
Other regular trips in the afternoon (post stretmosin injections), were undertaken to Barry High Street and the Docks. On one occasion we were driven to make a quick exit from a shop in the High Street on encountering the "battle axe" Sister England. (The same Sister that banned me using a short dressing gown on the basis of it being a smoking jacket.)
All in all, it was a wonderful experience and a productive one too. The Friends of Sully funded a Book Keeping correspondance course which later proved invaluable in business and, following a period of boredom, an arrangement was made for me to work in the records department on a part time basis. (Try that today under the Data Protection Act!."

We have all got our memories of Sully. I have just posted this account on the BBC Southeastwales web-site in the hope of stimulating interest in this project..
You can view it at:
Sully hospital


Sully. The word conjures up many meanings - depending on your age. If you are young today it represents a luxury upmarket apartment block overlooking the sea, somewhere you aspire to live in.
"But those of us with older memories, going back 50 years and more, remember it for what it was originally built for in 1936 - a state of the art model hospital for TB patients.

"I was one of those, a teenager in 1960, sent to Sully and I remember the fear and dread it cast in my mind. Having as a child spent four years incarcerated in Craig-y-nos Castle - the children's TB sanatorium at the top of the Swansea valley, former home of opera diva Adelina Patti - we had lived in fear of Sully.
"It was where they sent you to die. It was where you went to have 'the operation'.
"So the news that I was being sent to Sully - instead of teachers training college in Bristol for I was in the Sixth-form at St Michael's convent, Abergavenny - plunged me into a state of total despair.
"For in the weeks waiting for a place in Sully I slept with a bottle of aspirins beside my bed. I looked at them longingly each night. My world had been destroyed. Again. Should I or shouldn't I?
"I'm glad I didn't. Within hours of arriving in Sully my fears dissipated.

Dazzling
"The sheer dazzling brightness and warmth of the place lifted my spirits immediately; so bright was it that I found myself blinking unable to believe it. And the view from the second floor overlooking the sea was breathtakingly beautiful. Immediately I felt better.
"I had left behind a lonely, cold damp farmhouse outside Crickhowell. Now I was in a ward that bustling with life. And it was warm.
"Gone were the old sanatorium ways of treating TB with its emphasis on isolation and coldness with visitors once a month. Instead they were replaced with drugs, warmth and weekly visitors.
"I was to remain there for six months. And it remained a pivotal moment in my life, one that changed the course of my life for the better.


"But how did other people fare? What memories do others have? I have just finished a book on The Children of Craig-y-Nos - co-authored withDr Carole Reeves of The Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine University College London - and it got me thinking about Sully.
"Has anything been written about our stories, our memories of time spent there? Nothing so far as I can find.


"So I am beginning the search for other people who may have spent time there, or had relatives who were there, with stories to tell.
"My story is written. Now I would like to hear other people's experiences with a view to publishing it either on the web, or if we have sufficient interest, as a print on demand book."