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.
CAN two old school friends be reunited?
‘I went right through school with Roger Oliver before we sadly lost contact,’ writes Colin Deaville, 69, from Rochdale, Lancashire.
‘Roger lived in Chadderton, and together we attended Yew Tree infant and junior schools in Oldham, and then Chadderton Grammar School for Boys.
‘Roger emigrated to Canada after we left school and, despite my efforts, I can’t trace him.
‘ We spent our boyhood summer holidays together, riding our bikes along the canal from Hollinwood to Daisy Nook.
‘We would explore the woods along the River Medlock Valley, Sammy’s Basin and Crime Lake, where you could hire boats. Roger had a sister, who I seem to remember was called Jennifer.
‘Our friend John Parker, who lived round the corner from Roger, was in the local Scouts with us. I remember he was keen on motorbikes and bred budgies.
‘I worked for years in the printing industry until 1985, when I went into sales and marketing until I retired.’ ROSEMARY RAY, nee Mills, was in search of four friends with whom she worked in Osnabruck, then West Germany, between August 1966 and April 1967.
‘We were children’s nannies working for Army personnel of the 1st Battalion The Royal Scots Regiment, based in the Dodesheide district of Osnabruck,’ wrote Rosemary.
‘I worked for Colonel Bill Currie. My friends were Anne Gunn, a Canadian, Joy Beasley, Janet Heaps and Sue Tocknell.
‘We were all around 18, so will now be about 70.
‘We would push the prams together on long walks with the children. On our Thursdays off, we would spend the day in Osnabruck, shopping, eating and sightseeing.
‘I returned to England in 1967 and stayed with the Colonel’s family near Eastbourne, East Sussex, until they were posted later that year to Malaysia.
‘I then moved back home to Dover, Kent, where I did office work. Today, I’m my own boss, running a health and safety advisory company for construction workers.
‘I’ve been married 46 years and have a son, daughter and three granddaughters.’
Good news! Our researchers have found Joy, now Joy Houston, who lives in Littlehampton, West Sussex. Joy and Rosemary are planning a long-overdue get-together.