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.
‘THIS is my last hope to find some of the Royal Marines with whom I joined 918 NS Squad in 1957 to begin two years of National Service,’ writes Alan Gregory from Stourport-on-Severn, Worcs.
‘I’ve been able to reunite only five former boot-necks out of 37.
‘We reported in June 1957 to the Infantry Training Centre, Lympstone, Devon.
‘After training, we were posted to Malta, aboard ships or to Royal Marine bases in the UK. Newly married, I was lucky to end up at Lympstone.
‘I am in contact with John Weymouth ( who was at Lympstone with me before going to RM Depot Deal in Kent), Hugh Macdonald, Pete Ainley and John Rowe.
‘On leaving the Marines, I studied advanced foundry technology and cast metals metallurgy at what’s now the University of Bolton.
‘In 1965, I joined Ashland Chemicals as a technical sales rep. In 1970, I became managing director, a position I held until retiring in 1996.’
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