Lilian was a patient at the sanatorium in the 1940s - below is her account of what life was like inside Crossley Sanatorium...

Daniel Clark:  When were you a patient at the sanatorium and why?

Lilian:  I was there for V.E. day, so it was 1944 and 1945.  I had tuberculosis.

Daniel Clark:  How did you react when you were first told that you had to spend time in a sanatorium?

Lilian:  I thought "Oh, dear me" - as I was in the Wrens at the time.  I thought "I'm going to have to leave the Wrens" - they said I would have to.  I was very sad, I wondered how long I was going to have to be there.  I never thought it was going to be as long as it was. 

Daniel Clark:  Was it quite daunting?

Lilian:  Yes, it was when I first heard.  But when you actually get in a ward with other people  that are all the same we kept each other bright and cheerful.

Daniel Clark:  How old were you when you were admitted to the sanatorium?

Lilian:  I must have been 18, as I had just joined the forces.

Daniel Clark:  That is quite young.

Lilian:  Well all of the patients were young, I don't think there was anyone that was 'old' in there.

Daniel Clark:  What was your first impression of Crossley Hospital when you first set foot onto the grounds?

Lilian:  Huge!  What a big building!  That sort of thing.  But then you don't go outside for some time until you are well enough, it could be weeks, maybe months before you actually got to go outside and walk around this huge building.

Daniel Clark:  Were there many patients there with you?  Was the hospital busy?

Lilian:  Oh it was full.  There were six in our ward alone, and then there were all of the single rooms, and there were some with two people in, but the bigger wards had six people in.

Daniel Clark:  Which ward did you stay in?

Lilian:  As you look at the building from the front, I was in the top right-hand one.  The top floor, on the far-right, with a huge bay window.  Wonderful views.

Daniel Clark:  How long did you eventually end up staying at the sanatorium for?

Lilian:  It must have been a little over 18 months.  But it didn't feel like a long time because, as I say, we were happy.  It does sound silly but everyone got on well together.

Daniel Clark:  Were you allowed to visit home at any time during your stay at the sanatorium, or was that something that was forbidden?

Lilian:  Yes, although I never did it, but if you were getting close to your discharge date, say in the new year, they would let you home for Christmas - although I never did it.  I know that some people did, but only at times like Christmas.  Near the lane leading into Crossley there was a farm, and when people were allowed out, the lady at the farm would cook meals for the patients and their visitors.

Daniel Clark:  What was the hospital like at Christmas time?

Lilian:  It was very happy.  We would have a Christmas party - and we decorated the place, especially the dining room.

Daniel Clark:  How did your family visit you?

Lilian:  My dad used to come on his bicycle.  He would cycle from nearby Cuddington, which is not too far.  Most of the patients were from Manchester, and I think there was a bus that used to drive right into Crossley's grounds from various places.  My father would come up to my ward.  People used to come up to the wards - we all knew each other.

Daniel Clark:  Did you find that the same patients were there for a long time or was there a constant stream of new patients coming into the hospital?

Lilian:  We were all there for quite some time, so we all knew each other.  The patients didn't change very much - maybe one now and then would go home, when they were 'cured' - although there were always a lot of familiar faces there.

Daniel Clark:  I'm guessing that you became good friends with some of the other patients.

Lilian:  Oh yes.  As I say, Sheila was my bridesmaid and Nora was my friend until she died recently.  They lasted, they were very long friendships.  You are living on top of each other, morning, noon and night.

Daniel Clark:  So would you say that Crossley was a happy place?

Lilian:  Oh yes, I was very happy there, it may sound strange, but we were.  We used to do quizzes and play games, this is all coming back to me now, as we were getting better we did plays over the hospital earphones - the doctor did The Gondoleers, we did the Libretto and then he would put the music on.

Daniel Clark:  How were the very poorly patients treated?  Did they have their own private rooms?  Were they isolated from you?

Lilian:  Yes, they had their own rooms with their own balcony.  We could go and talk to them to keep them going, but they generally stayed in bed.

Daniel Clark:  It was mentioned to me that during the 1940s, up to five hearses a day would be seen heading towards Crossley Sanatorium?  Did you know of many people that actually succumbed to tuberculosis?

Lilian:  It really was not very often that people actually died.  Occasionally we would hear about it though.

Daniel Clark:  What was the main form of treatment that you were given?

Lilian:  At first it was the bed rest and fresh air treatment.  After that, if you didn't show any improvement you would be given an artificial pnuemo-thorax, whereby they pump air into your lung and collapse it so that it would heal.  I continued this treatment when I came home, I would have to go to Northwich infirmary for them to keep collapsing my lung so that it could heal itself.  But it did work!

Daniel Clark:  How much fresh air treatment were you given each day?

Lilian:  The windows were never closed!  In winter we would have snow inside the bay window.  And when you were able to get up and go out they had the huts in the forest part where you would go and rest - in all weathers.

Daniel Clark:  Did you ever venture into the surrounding Delamere Forest?

Lilian:  Well we could only go so far within the grounds of the hospital.

Daniel Clark:  What were the medical staff like at the hospital?

Lilian:  Oh they were very nice.  The doctor was Scottish, he was very nice and there was also a little Austrian doctor, and he was very nice too.  The nurses were lovely, most had been there for a very long time, you would get to know them.

Daniel Clark:  How often was the chapel used?  Was it used for anything other than worship?

Lilian:  No, we didn't use it an awful lot.  We had no organist at the time, and one of our girls tried to play the organ.  But it wasn't used an awful lot.  

Daniel Clark:  Did all of the patients eat at the same time in the dining hall?

Lilian:  Yes, except the ones who were confined to beds.  It was like being back at school, being able to chat away!

Daniel Clark:  What did you do to pass the time while you were at Crossley?

Lilian:  We used to read, talk - we had to get out and walk as much as we could.  We would do quizzes, we would listen to the radio - we had earphones.  

Daniel Clark:  Did you hear of any unusual occurrences with regards to the hospital, anything strange?

Lilian:  Well, there was one massive coincidence that occurred - during the late 1960s, my father-in-law was sent to Crossley when it was used as a care home for the elderly - would you believe it - he was in the exact same ward as I was, and in the bed opposite mine!  We would go to visit him, I spoke to a nurse that was there when I was there.  It was busy then too, even as a care home, the wards were full.  He died there a few years later.

Daniel Clark:  Were you sad to leave Crossley?

Lilian:  Well, yes in one way because I was going home to an empty house - it was very lonely, especially since I had spent so much time with lots of people at Crossley.   

Daniel Clark:  Did you ever return to Crossley after you were discharged?

Lilian:  Yes.  I would go to see Sheila and Nora.

Daniel Clark:  What was peoples' reaction to the knowledge that you were once in a sanatorium?

Lilian: I only had one person, I was very surprised by this person.  She backed away from me, she is the only person to do that, everyone else was pleased to see me.

Daniel Clark:  Looking back at Crossley what do you feel?

Lilian: I feel a lot of gratitude towards Crossley.  We were looked after so well.  It wasn't a bad time of my life, it was a happy time.  You accepted you were there and you got on with it.  I was unfortunate, I got TB arthritis in my shoulder and legs, and when I left Crossley I was put in plaster to allow the bones to rest, to prevent too much movement - that was for about 12 months so that my joints could heal.  But it hasn't hampered me.

Daniel Clark:  What is your reaction to seeing my photographs of Crossley in the state it is now?

Lilian: Well I'm very sad to see it as it is now, I'd love to see it find a use.

Daniel Clark:  What would you like the hospital to be turned into?

Lilian: Anything, I think that any use for the place would be fantastic - luxury apartments would be lovely!  Although I can't see it ever being used as a hospital again.  It's locality suited it as a sanatorium, but now it's remoteness is it's downfall.

This interview has been transcribed from a recorded interview - no questions or responses have been altered - what is written is what was recorded.