Looking for old schoolfriend
I AM TRYING to trace the whereabouts of an old schoolfriend of mine from the mid-1950s.
His name is Philip Bendall and he lived on the main road that cuts straight through the village of Aberfan, South Wales. I lived several hundred yards away opposite the McIntosh Hotel.
He has a younger brother named John. Phil had to leave Aberfan in the mid-1950s to move to Bognor Regis because of his dad's ill health. They all moved to his last known address which until 2002 was 8 Larch Close, Bognor Regis, tel 01243 826388.
Phil was courting a girl from further down the valley, a place called Edwardsville. Her name was Marilyn - she was petite with long light-brown hair which I think hung in ringlets.
I left school in 1957, worked for two years then joined the Army in 1959. I spent six years in the Army, in the Middle East and Europe and finished in Watchfield, near Swindon. I got married in 1963 and have four sons.
In 1994, I think, I had a phone call from out of the blue - it was Phil calling me. We spoke briefly and he said he and Marilyn were separating. We said our goodbyes and I said 'I'll be in touch'.
Two years later, after my family and I moved back to South Wales from Abingdon, Oxon in 1996, I tried to ring him but had lost his number and address until I was having a clear-out after our move. I rang his number but could not get any reply. I tried again in 2003 and someone answered but said Phil did not live there any more. You can imagine my disappointment.
I am now 67 years old, six feet one-and-a-half inches tall - back then my hair was a dark reddish copper colour. Phil stood about five feet six inches tall and had dark brown hair, swept back. I think I remember he had a slight stoop to his shoulders.
If anyone can find him, you can. If you do and he does not want to be contacted, fair enough.
Derek Adams
16 Glascoed Road, New Inn, Pontypool, Torfaen NP4 0ND, tel: 01495 763483
email: mikeqadams@aol.com
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Tuesday 29 May 2012
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