I tried to help the children

Sea Org base Saint Hill and Crowborough East Sussex period in question: 2002 till March 2005

I had moved to a job looking after the transport system following my ‘resignation’ from an executive level duty, I set up my work shop and base of operations at Walsh Manor, Crowborough, a little village just on the border of Kent and East Sussex, some fourteen miles from Saint Hill and a mere five minutes from the Ashdown forest, idyllic setting really. I had transferred my riding to an excellent centre right on the forest, due in the main to the extensive hacking trails that wind up and down over the hills and woodlands, there are stretches there that, if the going is fair, you can get up to a superb canter and gallop, really letting the horses go. This allowed me to clear my mind of the mad goings on at the base and my frustration with the cult leader’s – David Miscavitch - ever increasing attempts to control my very soul. I got away with it because I did my job well, I was no pushover, and I was not afraid to get mad at anybody who tried to make my job untenable, contrary to expectations; this bought me an awful lot respect. There was a balance obviously, a touch of Machiavellian manoeuvring; favours granted, being available 24/7 for select executives in the upper echelons, who, being on important high demand duties at very unsociable hours, would call me from my slumbers to rescue them from Saint Hill, this I did with good cheer and it bought me some pretty serious air cover.

I had inherited a fleet of depilated Ford Transit mini buses, half of them were off the road, and cult’s transport was suffering, badly, well I got it sorted out over a period of several months, I began to really enjoy this work, and being off the cult’s main base weakened the invisible control mechanisms – group lectures, events, briefings, military style drills, not unlike ‘square bashing’ indoctrination and all those factors that work to keep a person subservient and cowed to the great – apparent - authority of the organisation and its symbology.

My executive experience had allowed me to pierce the veil of mystique surrounding corporate Scientology, I knew it was a crock, and the management echelons knew that I was willing to walk off out of there without so much as a thank you, they had pushed me too far, but I think the policing and intelligence arm were particularly afraid of what I knew, what I had been involved in with working on major legal case, so they cut me an awful lot of slack. All these factors worked together to give me a very strong position, and I had some fun, I genuinely cared about the people I worked with, so I did put effort into helping them out. I knew what was going on.

I had a troubled childhood thanks to the death of both parents when I was nine. One effect of this is that I remain highly sensitised or attuned to the needs of children, and I have always had a lot of time for kids. In Scientology’s fanatical inner core, called ‘The Sea Org’ kids are actually treated with quite some cruelty, and I could never come to terms with this. I bought time on my job, and I began working with the school, taking kids out on day trips and so on.

Some of these children had been separated from their parents for as much as two years, parents doing 'more important duties' and training in Flag Land Base, one couple saw their child for maybe two days every month.

There was this beautiful June Sunday morning, I was on my official ‘cleaning or hygiene time as it was known – essentially four hours out of an 105 hour working week, when you get to do your laundry - I noticed that all the children looked unusually down and upset, and were dejectedly mopping floors and dusting around inside the Manor, outside the grass was green, the sun shone and world looked beautiful. I asked the kids what was going on, I found that they all were doing a punishment detail, were under 'Ethics' 'lower conditions' this a system that punishes both physically and mentally, includes the withdrawal of any small privileges that they may have, kids as young as eight, and no older that twelve, who should be running around outside having fun were being subjected to a system of mental oppression and physical confinement that I would not wish on Serbian general convicted of war crimes, well maybe, but not anyone else. I did this stuff as an adult and it nearly drove me nuts, it breaks you while installing further pavlovian conditioning.

I got really angry, I mean furious. These were really lovely children, but actually traumatised, often due to long months, and one case two years, of enforced separation from their parents. Not natural at all is it?

Anyway, I marched up to the school where Angela – the school in charge and 'legal gaurdian' to many of thenow 'de-parented' kids -, looking rather apathetic herself, was browbeating a child into some kind of acquiescence to Hubbard’s dictates, I told her in no uncertain terms that I was taking all these kids with me to my riding centre, I actually paid for a guided hack for all ten of them, and thus began a very fulfilling twenty four months as big brother and protector of these kids. Not all the kids could sustain the discipline required to advance in riding, some did not have enough interest, but I worked intensively with four of them, and wept one day after months of work, when they preformed a perfect canter in the arena, really working with and listening to their ponies - just how I taught ‘em - with two of the parents looking on.

I actually gained the necessary qualifications to be an officially recognised teacher with all the necessary clearances required for working with children. I have this certificate with me to this day. I am proud of it.

We were surrounded with wild life, I would often find wounded or ill wild animals on the road or in the forest, badgers, rabbits, even a baby deer, having established a very proactive relationship with a local wildlife rescue centre, I used this as a tool to broaden the children’s worldview, I would have small groups help to deliver ‘first aid’ to the animals I rescued before delivering them to the wildlife centre, in the case of the baby deer, this took a little longer, as a special box had to be found to transport the animal, trying to keep excited children quiet around such a creature was big job, but they did very well. We got dogs, and I would load kids and dogs into one of my buses and take them to Bangor Stand, and let them run wild, I don’t know if I was a good teacher, but the kids had fun, and the parents were actually very appreciative.

The Hubbard Personnel Dept. was not appreciative however. The Senior Personnel officer was aiming to get these kids on almost full time training and indoctrination to turn them in fanatical sycophants of Hubbard and his Scientology cult, a state that would allow them to work at the highest, most secret top level of the organisation, known as Religious Technology Centre. They were supposed to finish the legal minimum of schooling each day and then all go to Saint Hill – cult HQ in UK - and partake in very intensive indoctrination, or if not partaking that day, then on cleaning and other work details. Being the transport main operator, I would often pick up stressed out, almost psychotic, pale faced exhausted children from the base, as we called it, they having done up to five hours in these indoctrination sessions and such like. I had two physical fights with personnel people over this, but eventually worked out a compromise where I would get a batch of kids one day, and they the same batch the next.

One of the saddest experiences I had was when I had ‘my’ kids join a barbeque at the riding centre, where parents and schools who had children doing lessons all joined up at an open day, my batch of kids refused to join the other children, they hung around me, the little ones actually clung to me. They were frightened of these ‘wog’ kids, (wog is a word that Hubbard used extensively to describe anybody not in Scientology, it was made into common parlance, meaning we were superior to these backwards savages outside of our cult, the children were particularly susceptible to this form of
asocialisation) they were actually scared and intimidated, having never actually spent any time outside the confines of the weird world of Scientology. I don’t like to think what the ‘wog’ parents thought.

I look back now on this time with mixed feelings of the sense of joy I got out of providing something special for a really lovely bunch of kids, and sadness that no one else took this up after I was promoted out to an external posting. I hope that my action will have broadened their minds, made them see that there is something out side of Scientology, that maybe there is another way to do things aside from Hubbard’s mad ramblings and Miscavich’s insane rages and dictates, maybe...

Its appalling what they do to children. Perhaps the kids you touched with kindness had the courage to keep looking for something better than what scientology offerred.

Bless you, sir.

Jesus Christ :(

You need to forward this tale to the appropriate child services/welfare department in the UK.

Holy mother of God.

I actually have tears welling up in my eyes as I read this.

I'm so glad the children had you, if only for a while, ty

Makes my blood boil hearing shit like that. Kudos for trying to make their lives a little brighter.

THIS IS WHY!!!

topc starter, If you're reading this, please contact the appropriate authorities if you haven't already. People need to come out with this info. Enough alarming reports and there will be an investigation.

This thread makes my screen all blurry...

(And it hurts me and makes me angry and sad, all at the same time...)

Thank you for what you did and tried to do, for those children.

Originally Posted by Ten Tigers

This thread makes my screen all blurry...

(And it hurts me and makes me angry and sad, all at the same time...)

Thank you for what you did and tried to do, for those children.

^This.

Police or GTFO.

Originally Posted by johnanchovie

...David Miscavitch <SNIP> Miscavich’s...

Just thought I'd point out the asthmatic dwarf's name is Miscavige, since it strikes me as strange someone actually in the cult would get that wrong.

Originally Posted by ClearwaterAnon

Just thought I'd point out the asthmatic dwarf's name is Miscavige, since it strikes me as strange someone actually in the cult would get that wrong.

In the cult he is known only as COB (Chairman of the Board) or 'SIR', you never call him Mr. Miscavaige or Micavige or what ever.

I'm with everyone on this, as all I can describe is ANGER and SADNESS that this could fucking happen and still permit.

Thank you for being their big brother, you really brought a light into their short but traumatic lives.

Originally Posted by anonanchovie

In the cult he is known only as COB (Chairman of the Board) or 'SIR', you never call him Mr. Miscavaige or Micavige or what ever.

That's fucking lame.


Sounds like 'Father' (check out the movie Equilibrium) to me.