Women reunited for first time since meeting in Somerset in WW2

Two women who first met more than 80 years ago have been reunited for the first time since World War Two.

Alice Moody, 104, was a then recently qualified teacher when she travelled from London to the Somerset village of Hardington Mandeville to help educate evacuated children.

She was well-remembered in the village and one of her former pupils, Jean Laughlin, 96, made the trip to her care home in Wiltshire to visit Mrs Moody – who she affectionately remembers as Ms Russell.

“In the interim, you forget so much and suddenly it all comes back which is lovely,” said Ms Laughlin.

Ms Laughlin brought some old photos of the village from the 1940s and 1950s to help remind Mrs Moody of “so many happy memories”.

She said that, although they were older and a lot of time had passed, it was marvellous to remember together.

When Mrs Moody arrived at the school, Ms Laughlin said she saw her as a role model.

She said: “I was a teenager and she was a young teacher, and she gave me the impetus to go on and become a nurse. I have a lot to be thankful for.”

She added that her smile was “exactly the same and lights up her eyes”, just as it did all those years ago.

For Mrs Moody, it was a trip down memory lane for two “old friends from the wartime”.

Mrs Moody said her memories of Hardington were of lovely days and she “just can’t believe” she was meeting Ms Laughlin again.

She has recorded her wartime memoirs, which are currently being edited and made into a book, with a preview being sent to friends.

“She remembers so much in the book, and brought back so many memories for me. [Reading] it was wonderful,” Ms Laughlin said.

“It must have been so frightening for parents to put their children on a train, not knowing where they were going, but Mrs Moody was there to look after them,” Ms Laughlin added.