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An unusual love story...
The Plymouth couple who found forbidden love in a TB sanatorium
By CGOSLING | Posted: June 01, 2017
A Plymouth couple who met in a Dartmoor Tuberculosis sanatorium after both contracting the deadly illness, are celebrating 60 years of happy marriage today.
Great-grandparents Glenda, 81 and Alan Davies, 82, reminisce on their once forbidden love in Didworthy Sanatorium where they secretly courted - all whilst in recovery from the highly-infectious disease, Tuberculosis.
The inseparable pair, who still live on Alan's childhood street in Peverell, say it was love at first sight when they locked eyes in the nursing home's waiting room.
But strict rules of the sanatorium, also known as the Devon and Cornwall Chest Hospital, stated that there should be no fraternizing with the opposite gender otherwise patients would be sent home, often in a life-threatening condition.
Their growing love had to stay a secret for almost two years between the walls of the nursing home.
As Alan, a former shipwright, cheekily jokes "007 had nothing on us".
Alan, who previously featured on The Herald's front page after being brought back to life in the middle of town suffering from a cardiac arrest, told the tale of how he met his best friend.
"I was in bed for 15 months and my wife was up there too but we had never met.
He added: "One day I was wheeled down for an x-ray and Glenda was down there waiting for a dentist. We were just sat opposite each other in the waiting room and got talking about how we ended up in there.
"But the head doctor threatened to send people home if they were found to be fraternizing with the opposite sex - he used to say 'that's no good for your health - chasing women'.
"So from then on we had to do everything in secret.
"She must've left a big impression on me because I made the first move, sending her a letter."
The pair's mothers were instrumental in getting them together, said Alan.
"We were allowed visitors on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons, so our mothers would come and take away the letters we wrote to each other. I used to write everyday to Glenda," said Alan.
"Our mum's would send the letters for us, mine from Plymouth and Glenda's from her home in Tintagel.
"This way they would never know we were in correspondence."
The only time it was possible for the pair to meet in person was on a Wednesday for a games session.
The couple would play whist-drive, a trick-taking card game where two pairs would fight it out against each other.
Unsurprisingly Glenda and Alan chose to join forces in a bid to out-wit their components.
"All our friends in there knew we were courting - or at least trying to, so they would deliberately lose so we could spend more time together, the grandfather of four and great-grandfather of one, said.
"I tell you, 007 had nothing on us."
If the pair made it as the winners their prize was to grab tea and cake together, which Alan was over-joyed about.
"We knew we were onto a good thing because if you can survive all of that together, you know you've found the one," he said.
Tuberculosis is an infection caused by bacteria and affects a person's lungs.
The infection can spread via blood from the lungs to all organs in the body. It can spread to the bones, the urinary tract and sexual organs, the intestines and even to the skin.
"Quite a few people died from it but we were definitely great support for each other throughout it all," Alan said.
He contracted the disease from a colleague whilst doing an apprenticeship in shipwrighting. It was found that one member of the group was a 'carrier' and so six of the team were left with TB.
But Glenda and Alan faced discrimination even after they recovered from their illnesses.
Alan said: "Lots of family members and friends told us we shouldn't be thinking about having children because in those days people were so scared about catching the disease.
"They would physically walk across the other side of the road to you if they knew you'd had TB."
But the love-birds married three years after meeting and had two healthy children - Sonia and Gary.
Alan said his illness, which he acquired just months after the passing of his father aged 16, meant he missed out on his teenage years.
"I used to play a lot of sports, football... but it put paid to all that. A normal teenage life went by the way.
"You had to be very careful you didn't catch a cold as your lungs were a lot weaker after you'd had TB. I still needed check ups up to four or five years afterwards."
Alan's health has always been a worry for the pair as in 2013 The Herald reported how Alan collapsed in Plymouth city centre and was brought back to life by two off duty nurses and a local antiques dealer.
The first person on the scene admitted that the only reason he knew what to do was through watching an ad featuring actor Vinnie Jones carrying out cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to the beat of "Staying Alive".
Despite the ordeal Alan took positives from the event and went on to raise money for a defibrillator to be placed in town "to save somebody else".
He also tracked down the people he called his 'guardian angels' who saved his life and they were later awarded National Humane awards for their efforts.
Glenda, who formerly worked in retail store BHS for 18 years, said the two-some clicked from their very first meeting.
"We just clicked straight away - I think it was the sense of humour we both have - you've got to have it haven't you, to get through it.
"Within a few days I received a letter from Alan.
The 81-year-old added: "Our way of courting was very peculiar really.
"You had to be very careful because you didn't want to be sent home - god knows what could have happened.
"So they were all very surprised when I went in to visit Alan after I had been released," she said.
"Alan's health hasn't been the best but he always seems to find the funny side to it all."
The couple, as loved-up as ever, will begin their diamond anniversary opening their card from the Queen and will then return to St Materianna's church in Tintagel where they first tied the knot to celebrate with family.
http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/cou...-of-marriage/story-30364281-detail/story.html
The Plymouth couple who found forbidden love in a TB sanatorium
By CGOSLING | Posted: June 01, 2017
A Plymouth couple who met in a Dartmoor Tuberculosis sanatorium after both contracting the deadly illness, are celebrating 60 years of happy marriage today.
Great-grandparents Glenda, 81 and Alan Davies, 82, reminisce on their once forbidden love in Didworthy Sanatorium where they secretly courted - all whilst in recovery from the highly-infectious disease, Tuberculosis.
The inseparable pair, who still live on Alan's childhood street in Peverell, say it was love at first sight when they locked eyes in the nursing home's waiting room.
But strict rules of the sanatorium, also known as the Devon and Cornwall Chest Hospital, stated that there should be no fraternizing with the opposite gender otherwise patients would be sent home, often in a life-threatening condition.
Their growing love had to stay a secret for almost two years between the walls of the nursing home.
As Alan, a former shipwright, cheekily jokes "007 had nothing on us".
Alan, who previously featured on The Herald's front page after being brought back to life in the middle of town suffering from a cardiac arrest, told the tale of how he met his best friend.
"I was in bed for 15 months and my wife was up there too but we had never met.
He added: "One day I was wheeled down for an x-ray and Glenda was down there waiting for a dentist. We were just sat opposite each other in the waiting room and got talking about how we ended up in there.
"But the head doctor threatened to send people home if they were found to be fraternizing with the opposite sex - he used to say 'that's no good for your health - chasing women'.
"So from then on we had to do everything in secret.
"She must've left a big impression on me because I made the first move, sending her a letter."
The pair's mothers were instrumental in getting them together, said Alan.
"We were allowed visitors on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons, so our mothers would come and take away the letters we wrote to each other. I used to write everyday to Glenda," said Alan.
"Our mum's would send the letters for us, mine from Plymouth and Glenda's from her home in Tintagel.
"This way they would never know we were in correspondence."
The only time it was possible for the pair to meet in person was on a Wednesday for a games session.
The couple would play whist-drive, a trick-taking card game where two pairs would fight it out against each other.
Unsurprisingly Glenda and Alan chose to join forces in a bid to out-wit their components.
"All our friends in there knew we were courting - or at least trying to, so they would deliberately lose so we could spend more time together, the grandfather of four and great-grandfather of one, said.
"I tell you, 007 had nothing on us."
If the pair made it as the winners their prize was to grab tea and cake together, which Alan was over-joyed about.
"We knew we were onto a good thing because if you can survive all of that together, you know you've found the one," he said.
Tuberculosis is an infection caused by bacteria and affects a person's lungs.
The infection can spread via blood from the lungs to all organs in the body. It can spread to the bones, the urinary tract and sexual organs, the intestines and even to the skin.
"Quite a few people died from it but we were definitely great support for each other throughout it all," Alan said.
He contracted the disease from a colleague whilst doing an apprenticeship in shipwrighting. It was found that one member of the group was a 'carrier' and so six of the team were left with TB.
But Glenda and Alan faced discrimination even after they recovered from their illnesses.
Alan said: "Lots of family members and friends told us we shouldn't be thinking about having children because in those days people were so scared about catching the disease.
"They would physically walk across the other side of the road to you if they knew you'd had TB."
But the love-birds married three years after meeting and had two healthy children - Sonia and Gary.
Alan said his illness, which he acquired just months after the passing of his father aged 16, meant he missed out on his teenage years.
"I used to play a lot of sports, football... but it put paid to all that. A normal teenage life went by the way.
"You had to be very careful you didn't catch a cold as your lungs were a lot weaker after you'd had TB. I still needed check ups up to four or five years afterwards."
Alan's health has always been a worry for the pair as in 2013 The Herald reported how Alan collapsed in Plymouth city centre and was brought back to life by two off duty nurses and a local antiques dealer.
The first person on the scene admitted that the only reason he knew what to do was through watching an ad featuring actor Vinnie Jones carrying out cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to the beat of "Staying Alive".
Despite the ordeal Alan took positives from the event and went on to raise money for a defibrillator to be placed in town "to save somebody else".
He also tracked down the people he called his 'guardian angels' who saved his life and they were later awarded National Humane awards for their efforts.
Glenda, who formerly worked in retail store BHS for 18 years, said the two-some clicked from their very first meeting.
"We just clicked straight away - I think it was the sense of humour we both have - you've got to have it haven't you, to get through it.
"Within a few days I received a letter from Alan.
The 81-year-old added: "Our way of courting was very peculiar really.
"You had to be very careful because you didn't want to be sent home - god knows what could have happened.
"So they were all very surprised when I went in to visit Alan after I had been released," she said.
"Alan's health hasn't been the best but he always seems to find the funny side to it all."
The couple, as loved-up as ever, will begin their diamond anniversary opening their card from the Queen and will then return to St Materianna's church in Tintagel where they first tied the knot to celebrate with family.
http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/cou...-of-marriage/story-30364281-detail/story.html
