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Penpals reunited 56 years after exchange trip

Harry ParkhillLincoln
News imageClaire Fort Five women stand shoulder to shoulder in a line and raise their hands in celebration in front of a red-brick building with glass windows. They are wearing casual clothes.Claire Fort
Claire Fort, Heike Utta, Birgit Ostertag, Pat Lill and Monica Weber have kept in touch since meeting in 1970

Three womenhave enjoyed a "very emotional" reunion with their German penpals, 56 years after taking part in a foreign exchange programme.

The former pupils at King Edward VI Academy, in Spilsby, Lincolnshire, met fellow students from Maxdorf, Germany, in 1970.

Nearly six decades on, Claire Fort, Pat Lill and Rosemarie Oliver, welcomed Heike Utta, Monica Weber and Birgit Ostertag back to Britain.

Fort said: "I pulled up at the hotel in Skegness where they were staying and we just threw our arms around each other and it was lovely."

She added: "It was very emotional. We all had tears and we were all joined together."

The friends kept in touch over the years, though said writing letters had long given way to text messages.

They arranged the reunion because they are turning 70 this year.

During the visit, the group toured King Edward VI Academy and took a trip to Lincoln.

News imageKing Edward VI Academy A black and white photo of schoolchildren standing shoulder to shoulder in 1970. Three rows of children, mostly girls, are shown. They are smiling as they look towards the camera.King Edward VI Academy
Heike Utta (centre left) and Claire Fort (centre right) during the exchange programme in 1970

Fort said is was "incredibly special" to be together again and share everything that had happened over the years.

Utta added: "It was very emotional and I'm so glad that we had the idea to come to England."

The six women also visited Sandilands, on the Lincolnshire coast.

Utta said it was like "deja-vu" seeing the coast so many years on from her visit as a teenager.

The women reflected on how things had changed between them in the intervening decades.

"We had one call, but my English is not so good and so it's better for me to communicate with WhatsApp," Utta said.

Fort said messaging apps had proved to be "really special" by allowing them to share their lives.

Now, there a plans for a second reunion.

Utta added: "They will come to us to Germany next year."

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