A woman has bravely shared more allegations of historic child abuse at Fornethy House in Angus.
A Courier investigation had already uncovered over 160 allegations of physical, mental and even sexual abuse spanning decades at the residential school near Kilry.
Between the 1960s and the early 1990s hundreds of girls from disadvantaged backgrounds in Glasgow were sent to Fornethy House for short-term respite care.
The girls thought they were being sent there for a “holiday” but instead say they were subjected to physical violence, degradation and were force-fed vomit.
Now another woman, Sharon Cruden, has decided to share her own story with The Courier.
‘Beaten up in the middle of the night’
Ms Cruden was just nine years old when her and her little sister were sent to Fornethy House in 1974.
She described the staff at the school as “regimented” and “strict” and said she was force-fed at mealtimes.
During her stay, she says she was not allowed to make friends with any of the other girls.
Her main memory of the stay was being “beaten up” by staff in her dormitory in the middle of the night.
Ms Cruden said: “I woke up and my five-year-old sister was getting dragged out of bed.
“She had wet the bed and was put outside in the hallway all night.
“I got up from my bed to check she was all right and I got battered and told not to move.”
She also remembers the girls being forced to write letters home to tell their families they were having a great time.
Ms Cruden said: “My letter home got torn up in my face because I was supposed to copy what was written out on the blackboard.
“I kept hoping I would get something out.”
‘I feel terribly guilty’
Once her and her sister returned home to Glasgow, Ms Cruden tried to tell her mum about the abuse she experienced.
She said her mum thought she was “exaggerating”.
Ms Cruden added: “It comes back in my mind a lot, especially with my own kids.
“I’ve not allowed them to go certain places because I worry.
“I feel terribly guilty about how I brought them up because they missed out on a lot.
“I am just an angry person, and it all stems from Fornethy House.”
Calls for justice taken to Holyrood
She joined dozens of other women at the Scottish Parliament on October 27, where they demonstrated and called for justice.
The group wants to meet First Minister Nicola Sturgeon in person to discuss the experiences, and for the Scottish Government to publicly acknowledge the abuse happened.
During their visit Labour MSP Colin Smyth also raised the issue at first minister’s questions and the women shared their stories with him and leader of the Scottish Lib Dems Alex Cole-Hamilton.
Ms Cruden added: “We want an apology, that is basically it, and an acknowledgement that we are not lying.
“There are 200 women, we are not all lying.
“A few of our perpetrators are dead, but why should they get off just because they are dead?”
Abused as children while on holiday in Angus. Now these women want justice