Search for old friends from Compton Bassett (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Search for old friends from Compton Bassett

11:00am Saturday 28th January 2012 in Calne By Tom Mooney

Four Chinese sisters, who were adopted by a Compton Bassett RAF sergeant in the 1950s, are trying to trace their old school friends.

Diana, Susan, Gillian and Margaret, who are not biologically related, were adopted in 1957 by Sgt Douglas Barraclough and his wife Olive, while he was serving in Hong Kong.

Diana, Gillian and Susan were all living in a Hong Kong children’s home, while Margaret was in a Shanghai convent, before the couple gave them their new life.

They moved to the UK, to Blackpool, but Sgt Barra-clough was posted to the RAF base in Compton Bassett a year later, so they made the move to Wiltshire.

Diana, who is now 63 and lives in Burnley, Lancashire, said: “It was a strange experience. We didn’t speak much English at the time and we flew back on a cargo plane.

“It felt like we had dived into the sea and come out the other side because we had no concept of time difference.”

The girls, who were aged between seven and nine at the time, attended Cherhill School, before moving to Fyneamore School, in Calne.

Their father died in 1989 and their mother in 2003. Since his death the sisters have found an autobiography their father had started.

Diana, whose surname is now Hayes, said: “He started the autobiography but stopped when we came to the UK. So we want to carry on the story of what happened to us and how our lives changed.

“We would love to speak to anyone who remembers us from our time in Compton Bassett. I’m sure there must be some people out there who remember – we were the only Chinese girls in the school so we stood out!”

They left the area after about two-and-a-half years and have barely returned since. They now live all around the country.

Both Cherhill School and John Bentley School have been helping them with their research, as have the staff at the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre in Chippenham.

Mrs Hayes said she has a sketchy memory of her time in Wiltshire but recalls her school life.

She said: “We had to walk about two miles to school through the fields every day. I would take my sketch pad with me and draw the old buildings on the way.

“It was quite hard because we didn’t speak much Eng-lish to begin with but everyone was very kind to us at the school in Cherhill.

“If anyone remembers us I would love to hear from them.”

To contact Mrs Hayes, call the Gazette on (01249) 767063 and we will put you in touch.