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Victim of child abuse at infamous children's home returns to Scotland for vigil
By James Moncur
Historic abuse survivor Kate Walmsley fought back tears as she told of the heartbreaking moment she was ripped from Scotland more than 50 years ago. The mother of two was shipped from her home in Glasgow to the “giant doors” of an infamous children’s home in Derry, Northern Ireland, aged eight. Within minutes of arriving, she was stripped, scrubbed with Jeyes Fluid and had her beautiful long hair shorn off, as a matter of protocol. And a seven-year nightmare of abuse at the hands of nuns and priests began. Kate survived and waived her right to anonymity to give heart-wrenching testimony at the Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry in Belfast in 2014. This week, the brave 60-year-old will return to Scotland for the first time in more than half a century to support our survivors and encourage victims to give evidence at the national inquiry due to start in Edinburgh tomorrow. She will join SAFE – Seek and Find Everyone abused in childhood – a group of victims who are holding a three-day vigil marking the latest stage in their battle for truth and closure. Speaking from her home in Belfast, Kate said: “It is vital for all survivors to tell their stories. I have peace within myself now. I was constantly told I was bad and it was my fault my family split up. But I know now that people can like me. “I wanted to tell the truth of what happened to me. I found the best support from other survivors. We’re stronger when we all stand together.” Kate’s mother, Annie Hunter, abandoned the family in Glasgow’s Garscube Road and disappeared, forcing her father, Norman, to return to Northern Ireland. Kate said: “I was heartbroken, I had great memories of Glasgow. I played out with friends every night and went to a school nearby where I’d settled well.” Norman couldn’t find anywhere to live at that time and was forced to check into a men’s hostel and send his children to different institutions – Kate and her sister Maggie went to Nazareth House in Derry, while Mary and brother Dessie were split up and sent elsewhere. One of Kate’s early tasks was to clean the home’s toilets, picking excrement off with her fingernails. She explained: “I could still smell it when I went back to class. I felt like less than nothing. “That feeling stayed with me and as I grew up I became bulimic. I hated myself.” One nun called her “a child of the devil” while a priest who sexually abused her would take her to an office and lock her inside. He consistently sexually abused her from the time she was eight until she was 12. Kate was 15 when she left the care system – by that time she’d lost all contact with her older sister– and she returned to Derry, where she failed to reunite with her father. She married briefly at 16 and was forced to shoplift for food to survive before heading to England where she tracked down her alcoholic mother. She married a second time but returned to Northern Ireland when the relationship broke down. Kate is now hoping to trace long lost relatives and friends while she’s in Scotland. And she hopes her memories of the city will help trigger any reunion. She attended St Columba’s Primary School in 1963 and lived in Garscube Road with her aunt and uncle, Minnie and Billy Wright, who owned a fruit shop there. She also remembers playing with a girl called Ann Mowett, who lived close to the local hospital. Kate said: “I hope this publicity will trigger some memories for folk in Glasgow and help me meet with them again. It would help me piece together a very important part of my life.” Kate will join the survivors’ vigil in Edinburgh at the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry. She’ll be accompanied by Margaret McGuckin, one of Northern Ireland’s leading abuse campaigners. Dave Sharp, one of Scotland’s most prominent campaigners, who was abused as a child in the notorious St Ninian’s home run by the Christian Brothers in Fife, is organising the event. He said: “Just before Christmas, John Swinney said there are roughly 2500 survivors of historical institutional child abuse in Scotland. We’re asking what has been done to find them. “It’s great to have the support of Kate and Margaret. “They’ve been through this. Their experience, advice and counsel is priceless to all survivors.” A vigil will be held tomorrow, marking the start of the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry. More than 70 institutions have been investigated including residential homes run by religious orders and voluntary organisations and some of Scotland’s leading independent schools. The hearings – due to last seven weeks and taking place close to Haymarket Station in Edinburgh – are being chaired by Supreme Court judge, Lady Anne Smith. The inquiry’s remit covers events within living memory up to December 17, 2014, and will decide what happened and why and where the abuse took place. It will also investigate the effects of the abuse on victims and their families and whether the organisations involved failed in their duties.
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