MISSING . . . . . . AND FOUND
THE DAILY MAIL offers the opportunity to re-establish contact with long-lost relatives and friends. Each week, MONICA PORTER features the story of someone trying to find
CALLING all old classmates. Richard Richards, 73, who lives in Littlehampton, writes: ‘I was a pupil at the original Harrow High School for Boys from 1961 to 1963. It was an independent school, founded in 1907, which sadly closed down in 1986. My photo shows my senior school intake from September 1961, together with our form master, Mr Heinkel. ‘I enjoyed my time there greatly and was fortunate to be with a good cohort of boys. We had an excellent music master, Reg Saville, who looked after the school orchestra and the choir, of which I was a member. I left a missing loved one and a tale of people reunited. Produced in conjunction with the voluntary tracing service Searching For A Memory, run by Gill Whitley.
the school in April 1963 when my parents retired tto Sussex. ‘I’ve never forgotten Harrow High School. And as well as hoping to trace more of my own classmates from there, with a view to arranging a reunion, I’d like to attract more former pupil generally tot our school h l Facebook group. It has 240 members, and these alumni — mainly from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s — would love to see more of their contemporaries on it.’
IT IS gratifying to know that the stories in this column can have such a long shelf life. Nearly a year ago, we ran the tale of cousins Eleanor Bamford and Dorothea (Dee) McCarthy. As single women in the 1960s and 1970s, both then living in London, they saw a lot of each other. We were contacted by Eleanor, who lives in New Jersey, in the U.S., and she recalled: ‘Dee and I were more like sisters than cousins. When I married my husband Terence in 1977, we left London — first for Bristol, and then for the U.S. Dee and I lost touch some time in the 1980s.’ Success! And in a roundabout way. The story was noted by Margaret Lawless, Dee’s former colleague, and she posted a message on social media. It took months, but someone with Dee’s contact details saw the message, and we could reconnect the pair. They are still on opposite sides of the Atlantic, but we believe travel plans are afoot.