People   (Re-unions, trace old friends and relatives.)

Hello Franki, I was at Billinge for the second time in 1954 for a couple of years. From there i went to a small home for about ten boys. I remember going to Hoylake for a weeks holiday. The holiday started with going on a big sharabang (coach), as soon as those big walls were behind us we started singing songs, we'd have our sandwiches already made for us and even they seemed to taste better. When we arrived at Hoylake we'd go to a big church, next door to the church was a hall where, of a night-time we slept on the floor with a blanket over us. The next morning, as every morning on the holiday, we would be lined up in two's and walked over to Hoylake open-air baths. I was about 11 years of age. In the front of the que was sister mary clare encouraging us to smile and be happy. She would have that big navy blue habit (i think that's what they call them) and a big butterfly hat. The hat was about 2 feet wide, on her side was a big string of rosary beads nearly touching the ground, if you were facing her she would have a white starched bib with a large crucifix on a chain, the crucifix was about 5 inches long made of wood. As far as the public was concerned it was a picture of innocence and love but we knew that in the hidden pockets of that habit was a big thick strap. My name is Nicky Cunningham, I don't expect you to remember me as it was a long time ago and i myself have forgot a lot of names as there were a lot of boys coming and going. You might like to know that years after leaving Greenfield i asked about sister mary clare only to be told that she had left to get married and had fostered a child, can you imagine having sister mary clare as your mother. I also remember the parties at Burtonwood held by the Americans at Christmas. i remember a great big hall full of orphans from all over Lancashire and enough toys for all of us. We managed to play with the toys for a couple of days and then they would mysteriously disappear. The only time we would see them again after that would be if we had visitors but when the visitors went so went the toys. But you've got to admit Franki, when times have got bad you just have to think of those days and say what am i upset for we've been through the worst. Ta-ra Pal.