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. A REVELATORY email arrives from lynne lewis, of Pontypool, South Wales. In the late 1890s, as a schoolboy, her paternal grandfather George Newton, from New South Wales, Australia, stowed away on a ship and arrived in Britain where, in 1910, he wed lynne’s grandmother. In 1928, George’s father died and his widow and brothers sought through the courts to declare George dead, as they hadn’t heard from him in 23 years. But at about the same time, George asked the Daily Mail’s ‘ Missing Friends’ column to help him find his family. George’s request was spotted and published in the Wollongong Mercury and he was reunited with his family. they corresponded until George’s death in london in 1956. Now lynne hopes this modern version of that column can perform another miracle for her family, this time on the maternal side. ‘ Until 2012, I believed myself to be an only child,’ she writes, ‘ but while researching my family history I learned my mother Ida had children before me. I’m the daughter of her third ( of five) marriages. Her first child, yvonne Mantell, died before I was born in 1952, but I’m in touch with her son. ‘ I then discovered I had a half- sister, Kay, born in 1944 and brought up by her father, as well as a half- brother, roger, born in 1946, and also brought up by his father. ‘ roger, Kay, yvonne’s son and I are enjoying our newly discovered kinship, but we recently learned we have another half- sister, Jean, whose father Donald Shaw died in 1941. We long to find her and tell her she has siblings.’ All this has my head spinning, so step forward, Jean, and join the rest of the brood. last month, John Bradley, of Northampton, was looking for pals from 1966- 67, pictured at Margaret Beaufort School, riseley, Bedfordshire. He recalled: ‘ We were in the fourth year — innocent and about to be let out into the big, wide world. I’d love to reunite and share our experiences. ‘ In the front row, left to right, are Jennifer Coupe, Joan Swepston, Patricia Anise, Betty Stringer, Brenda Green and rosalind Neal. In the back are John elisdon, tony Stanton, Michael Ford, our form teacher Mr Winters, me, Patrick Horn and David Bicknell. ‘ our teachers included Mr Hobson ( geography/ Pe), Mrs Snudden ( music), Mr yerrill ( english), Mrs telling ( maths) and Mr Poole ( rural science). ‘ Mr Winters taught woodwork and metalwork. our headmaster was Mr Barnes. ‘ Mr Poole got me started in beekeeping and later I had three fully operational hives. I’m sending this off to you with excitement and anticipation.’ We are delighted to report success. We have not only reunited John with Brenda, Joan, Betty and rosalind, but with his old maths teacher Mrs telling, who says our item was brought to her attention by ‘ the man who delivers my papers’. How marvellous! 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. this column is researched with the aid of TRACESMART ( tracesmart. co. uk). A small donation will be requested for employing Gill Whitley’s services.