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 LefT Mundella Grammar School in Nottingham in 1963,’ writes Pat York, from the Isle of Wight.
‘I would like to contact my old friend from school, Madeline Booth, who I believe moved to france.
‘I then trained at Waverley College for the National Nursery Nurses’ examination Board, where I met Pat Ward, whose father was a successful builder. She loved riding her scooter and would give me a lift.
‘She went to work in London and I visited her in 1966. That was the last time I saw her. I would love to know what happened to her.
‘After I trained as a teacher at Loughborough University, I married in 1968 and taught in Zambia for six years. One child later, we returned to the UK. I retired, having reached the position of head teacher. To celebrate being 72, I’ve had purple highlights put in my hair!’ TWO friends who grew up together in an orphanage have been reunited.
Suzette Quinn, 72, from Blackburn, was born to an Irish nurse and black father in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1946.
She was searching for her four best friends, Jean Pratt, Angela Miller, Mary Murphy and Anne Alexander, from Nazareth House in Hammersmith, London.
‘The photograph of me was used to introduce me to my foster family in Rossendale, Lancs, in 1957,’ wrote Suzette.
‘Jean was lucky to have visits from relatives. Her auntie once bought me a doll for Christmas. I later learned that some of the children from the orphanage were shipped to Australia.
‘I was a single mother of four before going to night school and then Bradford University, becoming a teacher at 46 and teaching sociology at a London comprehensive.
‘I’m retired, but still enjoy supply work. Happily, I managed to meet my birth mother in Australia in 2011 when she was 89.’
Angela Lee, nee Miller, was delighted to see the story.
‘I remember all the other girls and our time together,’ she says. ‘I live in Pembrokeshire with my husband of 50 years and would love to hear from Suzette.’
Suzette and Angela are now in contact.
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. A small donation will be requested for employing Gill Whitley’s services. this column is researched with the aid of www.192.com.