MISSING . . . and FOUND!
THE DAILY MAIL offers readers a unique opportunity to re-establish contact with long-lost relatives and friends. Each week, MONICA PORTER features the story of someone trying to find a missing loved one, as well as a tale of people reunited. This column is produced in conjunction with the voluntary tracing service, Searching For A Memory, run by Gill and John Whitley.
‘I’D LOVE to find my friend Barbara Matthews,’ says Diane Lloyd, nee Coombs.
‘We were teenagers in the village of Great Horwood, Buckinghamshire, between 1958 and 1963.
‘We did everything together — we were Girl Guides, rang the church bells, sang in the choir and were confirmed at the same time.
‘ Barbara, who had two brothers Gerald and David, loved Tommy Steele and we’d sing his hit Little White Bull walking to the bus stop.
‘I left the village to go to college in 1963, while she went to another school and then worked in a bank. After that we lost touch.
‘I have been told she stayed in the village for a while, married a man called Ray Green and had a child, but attempts to find her over the years have been fruitless.
‘I live in Exmouth, Devon, and am 71. I have only one picture of Barbara, taken at a village concert in 1961. With three girls we performed as St Trinian’s schoolgirls.
‘Barbara is sitting on the floor on the left, next to her is Christine Whitehall, standing behind her is Phyllis Case, and I am standing on the right wearing glasses.’ WE HAVE reunited a groom and best man who have not seen each other for 46 years.
In December, John Gynn wrote: ‘My wife Maureen and I celebrated our golden wedding anniversary at the end of September. I’ve been trying without success to track down my best man, Bernard Reid, with whom I lost touch in 1972.
‘We met at Daniel C. Griffith & Co, a metals analytical firm in the City of London.
‘I joined as a 15-year- old trainee in 1962. Bernard was the previous trainee who showed me the ropes. He rode a Vespa and we were into the Sixties scene. ‘ When the company relocated to Essex, Maureen and I moved to Coggeshall, near Colchester, to be closer to work, but Bernard decided to join paper manufacturer Bowater- Scott in South London. That’s the last I heard of him.
‘I’m retired and still live in Coggeshall, enjoying bowls, gardening and travel. I would very much like to find my old friend Bernard if possible.’
Bernard, who lives in Sittingbourne, Kent, is delighted to make contact after so many years.
‘I’ve often thought of John and Maureen, especially last September when I knew it was their 50th wedding anniversary. John and I were close friends and I was honoured to be his best man. It will be great to meet up again.’