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. SYBBIE LING, of St Mary in Jersey, is looking for a childhood friend she last saw in 1964. Her name was Susan Bennison, who was born in 1951 and lived in Appleby, Westmoreland.
‘We were boarders at Calder Girls’ School in Seascale from 1959 to 1964,’ says Sybbie.
‘We were best friends and coincidentally (or not) we were the two smallest girls in the school!
‘I was then known as Sybil or Syb Heeps and came from Scotland. I had many happy times spending holidays with Susan’s family. We used to go riding at school and I remember two Shetland ponies called Sunny and Lucky.
‘Then, at the end of the summer term in 1964, when I was 12, my parents came to collect me and said I would be going to Harrogate College in Yorkshire.
‘I never had a chance to say goodbye to Susan or explain why I wasn’t there any more. At that age my letter-writing wasn’t great, so we didn’t manage to keep in touch.
‘I married Ian in 1973 and moved to Jersey in 1979. We have four children and eight grandchildren.’ THE story of a childhood donkey ride in Bahrain has reunited old friends.
Jawad Hashim, nicknamed Jaw, a 60-year-old retired air traffic controller, wrote: ‘Growing up in the Seventies in Bahrain was difficult because money was tight. So during the holidays, I looked for jobs to earn cash to finance my schooling. I made friends with a British family living on a residential compound for expats working for the Aluminium Bahrain Company near my home in Manama.
‘I would wash their cars and do other chores. The wife’s name was Sue and the husband, whose name I can’t recall, had a beard and specs. They had two small children, Lois and Matthew. Sue asked if I could get a donkey for rides as part of Matthew’s birthday party. The children had a lovely day. ’
Sue Carswell got in touch and has emailed him some snaps. ‘I was so happy to see them,’ says Jaw. ‘I felt as though I was looking at a missing link in my life.’