MISSING . . . . . . AND FOUND
THE DAILY MAIL offers the 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 and a tale of people reunited. Produced in conjunction with the voluntary tracing service Searching For A Memory, run by Gill Whitley.
‘I’VE never forgotten Timothy and Juliet Lyle, the two young children I looked after when I was a nanny in the 1960s,’ says Penny Spencer, a grandmother of two who lives near Canterbury, Kent. ‘Their family founded the Tate & Lyle sugar refining company and their father, John, worked for the business. ‘I was Timothy and Juliet’s nanny from 1966 to 1968 and lived at the family home in Rotherfield, East Sussex. My maiden name was Martin and the children called me Penelope. ‘The other staff at the Lyle household at the time were Penna the Italian cook, Monica the Swiss au pair, Ann the housekeeper, the cleaner Edith and her husband Sid, the head gardener. ‘I left the Lyles’ employ to see the world as a stewardess with British Caledonian Airways. I married in 1970. My husband was in the Merchant Navy and I travelled with him on long voyages to Australia before having our two children.’
RETIRED civil engineer John Mouatt, of St Neots, Cambs, has never forgotten the cycle trip to Brighton he made in 1959 with three school friends. ‘I was good friends with John Milton, Maurice Brain and Victor Wiggins at Ingram Secondary Modern technical school in Thornton Heath, South London,’ he says. ‘I came across this photo, taken by Victor with a box camera, and am curious about what happened to my friends. We were inexperienced cyclists and a bit silly going on long rides on old-fashioned bikes without appropriate cycling gear. A 90-mile round trip is pretty challenging!’ Still a keen cyclist, John now leads a group on rides around the countryside. Volunteer researcher Chris Herrick provided useful leads and helped eliminate false trails. It’s a bittersweet end to John’s search. ‘I’ve located one of my lost On the road: (from left) John Milton, Maurice Brain and John Mouatt on their cycling trip to Brighton in 1959 friends, John Milton,’ he says. ‘We are corresponding and hope to meet up. ‘Sadly, I’ve learnt that Maurice Brain and Victor Wiggins have passed away.’