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.
CAN a friendship made at RAF Gutersloh, Germany, in the Sixties be rekindled?
‘I’ve tried for years to find my old friends John and Anne Wright,’ says John Appleby of Malmesbury, Wilts. ‘They were stationed at RAF Colerne in Wiltshire before being posted to Gutersloh in 1967-68. ‘John was an RAF Sergeant in his 30s and I worked with him at RAF Gutersloh Station Flight. As a 20-year-old airman, I babysat John and Anne’s children and they made me part of their family — which was very welcome because my single accommodation left a lot to be desired!
‘John and Anne returned to the UK in 1969. Later I received a letter from Anne, wishing me well. Unfortunately, there was no forwarding address.
‘Finding them again has been at the back of my mind for 50 years. John and Anne will be in their 80s, their children in their 50s. It would be great to thank Anne for looking after me all those years ago.
‘I am now 70, married to Sue, with whom I have a daughter and stepson, four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
‘In 1987, I left the RAF after 22 years as a chief technician. My last job was as a self-employed technical author working at Airbus Filton near Bristol.’