I thought house mother would kill me, inquiry told

A FORMER resident of a children’s home yesterday told how she feared her house mother was going to kill her at bathtime.

The woman lived in the late 50s and early 60s at Quarrier’s Village in Renfrewshire, which consisted of dozens of homes for orphans and destitute children known as “cottages” run by “house parents”.

Now in her 60s, she told the BY CONOR RIORDAN Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry that on one occasion at bath time her house mother was very angry, and had put soap in her mouth before pushing her head under the water.

She said: “I clearly remember thinking she was going to kill me.”

The witness also said she was knocked unconscious by the house mother while queuing to leave for school. She said she was pulled out of a line because she had been “upset” about having to go.

The witness said: “She kicked me in my abdomen. I was lifted off the ground and there was a stone sink which I hit my head off. “I came to and I was hysterical.” Another former resident said she used to try to scrub herself with a brush in reponse to racist abuse she suffered from helpers and other children at Quarrier’s Village during the mid-50s and early 60s.

A different former resident spoke about a man who worked in a nearby shop who would prey upon children for his sexual pleasure.

Quarrier’s previously apologised to those who had suffered abuse while in their care.

The inquiry continues.