 Martha (r) and Terry - together again after 53 years.
Call Sign columnist and former DaC driver, Sam Harris, writes of an amazing
true story… As a young kid going to an infants school nearby, she became very friendly with another young girl who lived in the same street and this friendship - including both families - was to blossom over the years leading up to the last war. In fact, as Terry's (that’s what we’ll call the other girl) house had a garden while Martha's just had a back yard when war came and air raids began, the two families shared the Anderson Shelter which stood in Terry's garden. As the bombing got worse, Martha was evacuated to Windsor and Terry went to Oxford. But it didn’t take long before both families returned to London - albeit to different areas. Martha went to Ruislip while Terry moved to Wood Green. But the girls kept in touch and as they grew into their teens, used to meet regularly |
OUT OF SADNESS COMES JOY… | |
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visiting the cinema or go dancing in the American forces
club. One evening at a dance they met a guy who seemed to be keen on both girls. He wanted to take Martha home, but when he found she lived out in the sticks, took Terry home instead. Romance later blossomed and they eventually married… The girls stayed close and were still able to visit each other. Terry had her first child in 1951 and I met her for the first time at Ruislip, then later at her home in Wood Green. I married Martha in 1952, but then the girls lost contact. Martha later decided to look for Terry but it was too late. Try as we both might, there was no trace of her. We heard that she had emigrated to Israel and in 1968, Martha read an article in a paper that a group of people had returned from that Israel very disappointed with the treatment they had received. Again we pulled out all the stops and tried and find her, even advertising for her whereabouts and putting requests onto various radio programmes. The Sunday Mail also made a thorough search, but could only trace her back as far as her wedding. We reluctantly gave up the search… Then just a few weeks ago, Martha's sister phoned to say that she had seen an insertion in the ‘In Memoriam’ section of the Jewish Chronicle sent in by a lady called Toby, who was the sister of a deceased person called Kreger. My sister-in-law suspected that this Toby could be a first cousin of Terry. We contacted the paper, explained the situation and they were most helpful. We had to send them a covering letter and also a letter addressed just to Toby and they would do the rest. Three days later, we received a call from Toby… |
Terry, who now lived in Israel again, was indeed over here visiting two of her daughters - one in Leeds and the second in Barnet. So the two sisters rang each other and the plan was that Martha would ring the daughter in Leeds and ask to speak to her mother. Terry came on the phone and Martha asked if she recognised the voice. As a clue Martha said that the last time they spoke was 53 years ago! Silence was followed by shrieks of joy from the other end! "I've been trying to find you for years," said Terry, but she had been looking under Martha’s maiden name! Only a short reunion was possible on this occasion, but the pair of school friends had finally found each other and vowed not to lose contact again. So what had happened to Terry over all those years? She returned to England in ‘68 and then went out to Australia for several years before returning to Israel where she has been ever since.. She now has 7 children, 22 grandchildren and 4 great grand children. Her husband died at the beginning of the year after she had nursed him for the last 6 years. Like Martha, she too had attempted to find us as had her brother, but we had moved on. But there is no way they will lose touch again and of course, we are now in contact with Terry’s daughters. As for her other 5 children – her son lives in the USA, two daughters live in Israel and the other two live in Australia - what a get together there is going to be! Terry will be here again next July and all being well, our get together will be a little longer. Sam Harris |
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