Yes, you have had several articles on lost friends and those reunited in recently months, but this is so heart warming I have to share.
The piece we ran on Kenny Jones in the December issue struck gold. Thanks to a Sunbury resident, the piece was forwarded to Gloucestershire where Kenny’s old cousin now lives. We received this email from Ralph Jones. The piece had clearly raised many memories:
“My sister who lives in Sunbury sent me a picture of Dave Garrett, but I could not be sure it was the one I knew. She then sent me a cutting from Sunbury Matters). This time I could be sure this was boy I played with when we were little.
There was David, Ken and Donald Simpson. Donald lived at 151 Vicarage Road. I lived at 145 Vicarage Road next to Fenners the Barbers. David lived next to two sisters, Shelia and Helen. His house was on the opposite side of the road to Hiles the ice cream shop, which was next to Kenyngton Manor School. Mr Hiles would take his pony and cart up to Sunbury Cross and park on the Running Horse site which was bombed in 1940.
The ‘ gang ‘ of children use to play on the piano in one of the bars in Hanworth Road side. The middle of the pub was open to the sky, but a policeman came and stopped us. As Donald went to another school, I spent a lot of time with Terry Sentence who lived in Railway Place next to the Hare and Hounds pub.
I also remember Roy Eskins who lived next to Railway Place Lane. He had a motor bike, which he rode around their estate. His sister Ann was a friend of my sister Jean. There was also John Smith the son of the publican of the Hare and Hounds. His father took us to Brighton in his Rover car for the day.
As Ken said it was a lovely place for children, with so many places to explore. On the river we hired a Indian canoe and tried to see how far we could get up the weir, (mostly only two steps!) We called it shooting the rapids. Ken still had a canoe in 1986, in Canada.
My interest is Kenny Jones as he is my cousin. He went into the navy, on leave he came to see me when I lived in Chertsey. I took him home with his mates, but my 1931 Austin seven would not go up Chertsey bridge, so he and his mates pushed it over bridge. Many people. A car that has a clutch that slips. This was the last time I saw him, he bought a house in South-sea. The last contact I had he was in Mission Canada.. My friend found him on a visit to his own family in Vancouver. He moved up the Fraser River, but no forward address. Can you help?”
Well, we did manage to help. We passed his email on to a mutual friend who passed it on to Kenny Jones in Canada, and so an old pair of friends and cousins were reunited. Kenny was overjoyed
“What can I say? You have done it again. Sunbury Matters is bringing so many people together. Thanks to you, I am now in communication with my cousin Ralph Jones . I could never have hoped for this . Whatever you are doing with your
magazine Monica, keep it up, you are making people feel very happy.”
I had a tear in my eye, I don’t mind admitting. So we have reunited a friend with his long lost best man, and two cousins. Who else is out there looking for old chums? Get in touch: info@villagematters.co.uk. You never know what might happen!