West Yorkshire market town of Pontefract
 
Advertisements
 
 
 
Pontefract Years in Focus 1972

YEARS IN FOCUS
LOCAL NEWS AND EVENTS OF THE 1970s

PONTEFRACT IN 1972

1st February 1972 
ANOTHER LETTER FROM DUTCHMAN

Another letter has arrived from Peter Van der Spek, the Dutchman who still remembers with delight his six months stay in a camp for Dutch children in Pontefract 27 years ago. Recently, as readers of Express Post will have seen, Peter sent a letter addressed, "Please Postman, I’m a letter for a local newspaper of Yorkshire, Pontefract, England."

In it Peter wrote that he intends visiting Pontefract with his wife and sons this summer and could we help him find some of the boyhood pals he made there.

At least one of them must have seen the letter and been in touch ; this week we’ve heard from Peter, the envelope this time bearing our full name and address, thanking us "that you have put my letter on the column."

Also this week Mrs Doris Atack, formerly Doris Dixon, of Chequerfield Avenue, rang us up to say she remembers Peter well: '"We gave a party for the Dutch children at Willow Park School - I was 12 then. Peter was the tallest of them all. I am very pleased he is coming back, and if I wasn’t expecting visitors from abroad myself, I would have invited him to stay at our home."

She also knows the ‘Mary’ referred to by Peter, and is going to get in touch with her to tell her of Peter’s plans so it seems quite a reunion is building up.

Apologising for his English, "It is 25 years ago that I have write a English letter", Peter tells us: "When you have interesting of the time for a reporting when I am in Pontefract you can have one." To which we say: "We understand perfectly and look forward to the interview."

[ 1972 Index ]


Years in Focus is researched by Maurice Haigh and reproduced with the kind permission of the Pontefract and Castleford Express.

Pontefract news from the 1930's


 

Site constructed and maintained by Michael Norfolk
This website is Copyright © 2005-2008 [www.pontefractus.co.uk] All Rights Reserved
Any correspondence regarding this website should be addressed to Michael Norfolk, 21 Bassett Close, Selby, YO8 9XG, ENGLAND.
| HOME PAGE | SITE INDEX | LETTERS | MEMORIES | PHOTO GALLERY | GENEALOGY | LATEST PHOTOS |
| KNOTTINGLEY AND FERRYBRIDGE ONLINE | YORKSHIRE ANCESTRY | IMAGES OF YORKSHIRE |