A PAIR of former schoolgirls have been reunited at a Hampshire care home three quarters of a century after they last spent meaningful one-to-one time together.
Old friends Grace Gray and Ruth Williams, both 90, had a ‘lovely shock’ when they found they were in next-door bedrooms at Colten Care’s 64-bedroom Winchester home Abbotts Barton.
Ex-pupils of the old Winchester County High School, now Westgate School, they left there in the early 1950s.
Family and working life meant they lost contact over the years apart from fleeting chats at school reunions organised by Grace. They last saw each other in person in a passing moment more than 20 years ago.
While grandmother Ruth, a retired lab technician at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital, now lives permanently at Abbotts Barton, specialist basket furniture maker Grace came in for respite care after a recent hip replacement.
Grace and Ruth were among the first ‘examination girls’ to take the 11 Plus and attend Winchester County High, a grammar school for girls only.
Since reuniting, they have shared many memories of their school days, recalling it as a ‘happy school and a place of serious learning’.
They have reminisced about the school’s gym, swimming pool, playing fields and choir.
Abbotts Barton home manager Dee Lovewell said: “It’s such a lovely surprise to find somebody from your past, someone who meant a lot to you in your youth, and then suddenly there they are. It has definitely given Ruth a lift.
“Having her friend nearby has helped her to embrace life again. It’s beautiful to see her blossom and smile and be so animated.”