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 hope you can help me find my old schoolfriend, Brian oram,’ writes Angela Douel, nee hubbard.
‘Brian and I grew up in Barking, essex, and went to park Modern Secondary School in the Sixties.
‘We were good friends — not girlfriend and boyfriend — and often went on days out to Southend in the summer.
‘I left school in 1966 and we both had jobs in Central London, so Brian and I caught the train together to work and would meet at the station to return home.
‘After I met my future husband in 1967, I saw less of Brian. We last met in october 1968, when he visited me and my family at my flat in Ilford. I was married and had just had my daughter. ‘ Then I moved to Walthamstow and lost track of Brian. After my divorce, I stayed in the area.
‘A few years later, I married my second husband and we bought a house near the Bakers Arms, Leyton. I’ve often thought of Brian and would love to meet up to reminisce about the old days and find out how his life has turned out.
‘I moved to Milton Keynes to run a family business, which we sold in 2004, and then worked for a bank as a fraud investigator, retiring in 2014.
‘I am 68 and Brian would be 69. I have three children and eight grandchildren.’ ChILDhooD friends Diane Lloyd, nee Coombs, and Barbara Matthews have been reunited after 55 years.
‘Barbara and I were good friends while growing up in the village of Great horwood, Buckinghamshire, from 1958 to 1963,’ wrote Diane.
‘We did everything together — we were Girl Guides, rang the church bells, sang in the choir and were confirmed at the same time.
‘She loved Tommy Steele and we would sing his song Little White Bull on the way to the school bus.
‘I left the village to go to college in 1963, while she went to the Royal Latin School and got a job in a bank. Then we lost touch.
‘I have been trying to find her without success. I have reconnected with others from the area, but they don’t know Barbara’s whereabouts.
‘I live in exmouth, Devon, and am 71; Barbara would be the same age.’
Success! As well as others who helped us to reunite the two old friends, Barbara got in touch. Diane says: ‘We are delighted to have found each other again after 55 years. We are now planning to meet up as soon as possible.’