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.
‘WHEN I joined the RAF in 1965, I met David “Ginger” Mason, who became a great friend,’ writes Steve Mills, of Nairobi, Kenya.
‘We were supplier general apprentices at Hereford 304 Entry and were posted to RAF Gaydon.
‘After going our separate ways, except for a brief meeting in the Seventies, we have lost touch with each other. I would love to regain contact with Ginger.
‘I survived seven years of the RAF never having done a day’s work, as I played football for the RAF and Combined Services teams.
‘I turned professional in Holland for a few months, until some chap stuck his studs into my ankle, which ended my career.
‘My mother suggested a life in Canada, so I bought myself a ticket to Toronto and my next job was as a bellboy at the Toronto Holiday Inn.
‘I dated a girl whose father ran a helicopter company and I learned to fly. I flew a radio station helicopter around Toronto, reporting on traffic jams, but that ended after I broke up with my girlfriend.
‘In 1984, I ended up in Kenya, where I founded the world’s first humanitarian airline, Echo Flight.
‘Today, I’m setting up Africa’s first commercial credit bureau for businesses.
‘So, at the ripe old age of 68, I am still making waves. It’s hard to be modest when fate has served me so well.’ SADLY, not every Missing And Found story ends in a happy reunion.
A couple of months ago, Janette Foy McGuffie, nee Whiteford, who lives in Carlisle, was hoping to trace her friend, Betty Luke.
As Janette told us: ‘Betty was born in Ayrshire and was an air stewardess in Newcastle upon Tyne in the Eighties.
‘We’d been friends from our early teens, when we lived in Newton Mearns, near Glasgow, and Lochranza, on the Isle of Arran.
‘I moved to England in 1975 to join Princess Mary’s Royal Air Force Nursing Service. Two years later, I went to work in Carlisle as the special care baby unit sister.
‘This photograph of Betty and me was taken outside the Fantails Restaurant in the Cumbrian village of Wetheral.
‘After I got married to my husband, Jim, I trained as a district nurse, combining that with midwifery. I would love to get back in touch with Betty to find out how life has treated her and to catch up on all the years since we last saw each other.’
Alas, Janette’s search came too late. Researcher Jeff Pinson found out that Betty emigrated to Australia, where she died in 2004.
IF there is someone you would like to trace, write to Gill Whitley, 1 Newbrook house, New hall Lane, Preston, Pr1 5Pe, enclosing an SAE, or send an email to monica. porter@dailymail.co.uk — including a contact phone number. All communications will be answered as soon as possible. A small donation will be requested for employing Gill Whitley’s services.