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. FORMER stoker Tony Morris is looking for his old Liverpudlian shipmate, Tommo.
‘I was in the Royal Navy from 1953 to 1966 in the engine room branch,’ writes Tony Morris, 82, from Croydon, Surrey. ‘Tommo and I got into plenty of trouble on the two ships we served on.
‘I met him on HMS Ocean — the Navy’s old aircraft carrier — and we were transferred to the Tenby, an anti-submarine frigate.
‘ Putting the two of us together was a bad move by the Navy! Ashore in Gibraltar, we had too much to drink and caused a riot, ending up in the cells for 14 days.
‘ We also got in trouble during a drinking session in Cyprus, and there were various escapades in Malta.
‘I settled down, met my wife and completed my naval service as chief petty officer.
‘I went on to be a heating and ventilation engineer for the Greater London Council and finished my working life with the Corporation of London. I would love to find out what Tommo got up to.’
Is it wise to put these two rascally old sea dogs back together again... ?
TO CELEBRATE the 20th anniversary of the Missing . . . And Found! column this year, we’d like to tell the stories of what happened after you were reunited. Email details to monica.porter@dailymail.co.uk
ESTELLA HARRIS was one half of the glamorous musical duo Stella And Bambos, but before that she was a nurse. She would love to make contact with her fellow trainee nurses who worked at Kingston Hospital, in South-West London, from 1957 to 1960.
‘We met as teenagers with 22 in waists. We were as close as sisters,’ she wrote.
‘I’ve never forgotten those wonderful years. We worked long shifts and studied hard for our exams, but still had energy to go out dancing.
‘I was the only nurse with my own car — my prized Ford Anglia — so we always had safe transport home.’
Estella left nursing after meeting her husband, Bambos Zacharias, a Cypriot classical guitarist.
She studied music and they formed a duo, enjoying a successful career on radio and stage, recording albums and performing on cruises.
‘Bambos and I have been married for 55 years, live in North London and have two sons. Like my fellow trainees, I am 80 this year,’ she says.
One of the trainee nurses, Dina Hemsley, nee Fernades, from South London, has made contact.
‘Thank you for passing on Dina’s message,’ says Estella. ‘We were close friends. She was always sewing and made me a beautiful yellow cotton dress. She has invited me and two other girls from our year for lunch. I’m looking forward to seeing them after all these years.’