Posts by Teresa Hillier

Spotlight on Sara Miller

November 21, 2017 | Comments Off

Sara Miller was born in the late 1960s and attended Longfields from about age three. She was there for five years before moving to Morfydd House School and then Dyfatty School. Sara now goes to the Resource Centre in Llansamlet. Sara’s dad, Derek, was involved with Longfields for many years and between 1978 to 1993 he was the editor of the Association Year Books. It was in the 25th Anniversary Edition of the 1980 Year Book that Derek wrote a feature on Sara telling her story and her drive to communicate. By the age of nine Sara had ‘developed a simple sign
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At The National Waterfront Museum

November 21, 2017 | Comments Off

It was great to talk about the Legacy of Longfields Project yesterday at The National Waterfront Museum in Swansea. Thank you to the Historical Association, Swansea and The Royal Institution of South Wales for the invitation.
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Remembering Denise Lucas

November 21, 2017 | Comments Off

Sadly on 7th August 2017, my good friend and colleague Denise Lucas passed away. It was around 1980 that Denise began to work in Longfields where she was employed in the office. Her eighteen years of experience and devotion to the Association made her the natural choice to succeed as Director in 1999, leading Longfields into the 21st Century. Denise was great to work with and to have as a friend. Over the years we had lots of laughs together, both in and out of the office. There are lots of fond memories!
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A financial set back in 1980

November 21, 2017 | Comments Off

As with similar charities Longfields relied heavily on public support. Fundraising activities and the backing of community groups played a significant part towards the success of the Association. The support from these sources was demonstrated as the Chairman’s Report of 1980 revealed. Over the years, the Association had dealt with different setbacks but there was a bleak financial situation in 1979/80. A ‘severe cash crisis’ meant that monthly expenditure exceeded the income for many months. The transport of the Association which was a high cost, had been subject to heavy wear and maintenance costs. Contract work from local factories had
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Longfields photo trail

November 21, 2017 | Comments Off

Public meeting at the Ragged School The Association was established in April 1952 and the founders wanted to engage with more families who had children with cerebral palsy. They also wanted to gain wider support in establishing a school in Wales for these children. A public meeting took place with parents and other guests including doctors, orthopaedic specialists, nurses, teachers and representatives from Swansea Corporation. The setting for the meeting on June 5th 1952 was The Ragged School in Swansea. At this meeting, the Association showed a film supplied by Carlson House School in Harborne, Birmingham which highlighted how children
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The ‘Tom Jones’ room

November 21, 2017 | Comments Off

In researching the history of Longfields a few people have mentioned the ‘Tom Jones’ room. This was intriguing and needed further investigation! Press cuttings from 1975 have revealed the mystery behind the story. The story begins with the fund raising activities of the ‘Bridge across the Pond’ chapter of the Tom Jones International Fan Club. Nancy Ross who was the president of this club, flew from her home in Bel Air, Maryland to present a cheque of £500 to the association along with a signed portrait of Tom. This was done on behalf of the British and American chapter members.
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Pen Y Bryn School visits West Glamorgan Archives

November 21, 2017 | Comments Off

It was a busy morning for Pen Y Bryn pupils on a recent visit to West Glamorgan Archives. These archives hold the ‘Longfields collection’ so there was a lot to research and discover about the association. Outside the weather was dismal, raining hard with a gusty wind coming in from the sea, but inside the archives a warm welcome was waiting for everyone from Katie and Anne-Marie! Pupils learned how the archives hold important documents, photographs and other items to preserve them and share them as people researched their past. They discovered how documents are protected when in storage and
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‘A Test of Endurance’

November 21, 2017 | Comments Off

It was on October 29th 1987 that Owen Davies passed his driving test. It took a few attempts but determination to achieve won through, despite one ‘Failure Sheet’ looking like a ‘Football Coupon’. Owen was delighted by his achievement. It’s not merely the freedom of mobility, but the satisfaction of knowing that I passed my Test entirely on merit, plus the fact of being 100% responsible for my actions is extremely rewarding. He also paid tribute to his driving instructors Norman Hadlow and Chris Reed. To offer thanks for their dedication, friendship and outstanding professionalism, seems totally inadequate, therefore all I
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Pen Y Bryn School visits Swansea University

November 21, 2017 | Comments Off

This month a group of budding historians from Pen Y Bryn came to Swansea University to visit the Richard Burton Archives and the Egypt Centre. Their visit began with half of the pupils visiting the archives and while the others worked in the library researching the history of Longfields Association. Katrina and Sue from Richard Burton Archives made us all feel very welcome and their enthusiasm was mirrored by the pupils! Richard Burton’s ‘book bag’ was the cause of much debate. How many books could fit in there? Would the bag be too big to take on a plane as hand luggage
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