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 HAvE been reading the Daily Mail for years and thoroughly enjoy your Missing and Found stories,’ writes Jim Grimshaw.
‘I now seek your help in finding an old school friend, Cyril Moriarty.
‘I was brought up in Swansea and, in 1948, started at St Joseph’s Catholic School at the age of four. I used to sit next to Cyril, who was the same age, and we were great friends.
‘We explored the woods and canal near where we lived, enjoyed playing on the steel tip near the old steel works and then going with our nets and jam-jars to fish for sticklebacks.
‘Writing this brings back so many happy memories. I often sit and reminisce about those good years and would love to know whether Cyril is still alive and where he is.
‘I often drive past his old family home in Swansea and wonder what happened to him and his family. I’ve tried to find him through Facebook but with no luck.
‘At the age of 15, Cyril left school and his family moved to England.
‘ I remember he had a brother called Ken (who died in a motorbike accident) and a sister.
‘I left school at 16 and went into an apprenticeship in the building industry.
‘I am now retired, still living in Swansea and would love to reconnect with him.
‘If anyone can give me news of him, I’d be so grateful.’
BACK Rogersonto make in contact emailed: October, with‘ I’d Terry like my best friend from the Sixties, Pete Williams.
‘We were apprentice joiners in Salford, then emigrated to South Africa together in 1968.
‘Both in our early 20s, we had many memorable experiences there: working on a new Civic Centre in Sasolburg, Orange Free State, boat-building in Cape Town and being selfemployed in Windhoek and Ovamboland, South-West Africa (now Namibia).
‘We bought a Land Rover and travelled across the Kalahari Desert and Okavango Swamps in Botswana to work in Rhodesia. Returning to Johannesburg, we sold the Land Rover and hitch-hiked to the UK, arriving in 1970.
‘We kept in contact for many years but lost touch in about 1990. Now in my late 60s and reflecting on life, it would be great to meet up again.’
No Pete yet, but a helpful reader, Peter Ramm of Stockport, emailed: ‘A friend called Jack Hynes knew both Terry and Pete before they went to South Africa. He workedSixties.touch.canI putdo Pleaseso?’ Peter He’d with tellin love them touchme to howin get withthe he in Terry Jack’s and phone before number. long he had Terry later sent this update: ‘I’ve had a long phone chat with Jack. He was a younger apprentice, I only know him by name and he knows Pete better, but we’ve lots in common and plan to meet soon to chat about work and long-lost colleagues. We both live in Manchester. Thanks for this!’ 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. this column is researched with the aid of Peopletracer (www.peopletracer.co.uk). A small donation will be requested for employing Gill Whitley’s services.