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 JOINED the Royal Navy aged 15 in 1962 as a junior assistant cook on HMS Ganges,’ writes Mike Pratt, of Gloucester.
‘After training, I was drafted to HMS Cambridge as an assistant officers’ cook, followed by a transfer to HMS Ark Royal.
‘There were some wonderful ports of call, including spending Christmas 1965 in Fremantle, Australia.
‘I would like to make contact with as many of my wardroom (officers’ mess) cooks as possible, with the possibility of a reunion. There were 21 of us junior rates and we lived in 6W2 Mess.
‘The names I recall are leading cooks Pat Harrington, ‘Chick’ Fowle, Colin Smith, John Bentley and Mike ‘Buck’ Taylor; officers’ cooks Dick Welch (who was best man at my 1967 wedding), Dave Cunningham, Ron Findlay, Graham Jones, Jim ‘Bunny’ Begley, Davy Jones, Nigel ‘Donkey’ Bray, Keith Palmer, Norman Chamberlain and Phillip Jupp.
‘I left the Navy in 1971 and joined the Prison Service until retiring in 2004. Dick Welch used to live in Chigwell, Essex, and I’d love to meet him again, as well as our fellow officers’ cooks — the elite of the fleet! Though I appreciate that, sadly, some may have crossed the bar.’
JOHN APPLEBY, of Malmesbury, Wilts, was hoping to trace a family he knew at RAF Gutersloh in Germany in the late Sixties. ‘I’ve tried for years to find John and Anne Wright and their son and daughter,’ he wrote.
‘John was an RAF sergeant, then in his 30s, and I worked alongside him at RAF Gutersloh Station Flight. As a 20-year-old airman, I babysat the children and became part of the family.
‘Before they left Gutersloh in 1969, they invited me for Christmas. We lost contact after they returned to the UK. John and Anne will be in their 80s now.
‘It would be great to thank them for looking after me all those years ago. I am 70, married to Sue and have two children, four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.’
After John Wright got in touch, John Appleby told us: ‘Thank you so much for establishing contact with the Wrights. It choked me up when I was forwarded John’s details. It was great to talk to him and I hope to meet him and his family soon.’
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. this column is researched with the aid of www.192.com.