'We still have each other's backs 50 years later'

Marion Banforth, Susan Morris, Carol Asbro and Mary Helliwell visited Torquay again in October, more than 50 years after their first parent-free holiday there as teenagers

In the summer of 1972, four teenage girls left the industrial West Riding of Yorkshire for the English Riviera on their first holiday without parents - and returned home with a distinctive photograph of the occasion.

The free-spirited quartet, arms linked and clad in colourful outfits, are seen sauntering down the promenade in Torquay.

Fifty-two years later, and still as close as ever, the group decided they would recreate the moment at the same location.

Having made the 322-mile journey to Devon from Halifax, and having cobbled together replicas of their outfits, the four managed to arrange a 2024 version of that treasured photo - while reflecting on how their friendship has endured since.

The quartet first posed on Torquay Promenade in 1972

For schoolfriends Marion Banforth, Susan Morris, Mary Helliwell and Carol Asbro, all of them 17 at the time, the week-long holiday was a coming-of-age moment.

"It was a lovely time," Marion, now 69, recalls.

"It was just fabulous to be able to do what we wanted to do without having anyone looking over our shoulders and tell us what time we had to be in.

"We used to go down to the beach every day in Torquay and one day there was just a man on the prom with a camera. He asked us to link arms and then he took the photo. We all got a copy."

Free of parental pressure, the four spent the week drinking cider and enjoying the sights and sounds of the seaside town, which would be popularised as the setting in BBC comedy Fawlty Towers a few short years later.

The group treasure their memory of a week spent a week on a campsite in Devon

They stayed in a caravan on a campsite, where even the facilities were a source of excitement.

"What I remember most is we had a swimming pool," retired council worker Mary recalls.

"It was only a small one but I was absolutely made up - an outdoor pool!

"It was a simpler time."

More than half a century later, and friendships still very much intact, it was Susan's idea to mock up a 2024 version of the photograph, although the initial reaction from the rest of the group was one of incredulity.

"I passed a photocopy of the photo round when we were out for a meal and said 'Right girls, how do you fancy recreating that?" Susan says.

"Well, they dropped their knives and their forks! But they came round and loved it in the end."

The task of posing in the same place wasn't without its difficulties, however.

For one thing, the white hotel in the background of the original photo had been demolished, leading to some confusion over where exactly on the promenade the four had stood.

Then there was the fashion issue and the job of reinventing their 1970s clothes, which were mainly bought from Chelsea Girl - a popular store at the time.

Raiding charity shops and online second-hand clothes retailers, the four managed to obtain some authentic outfits, albeit not all of them quite fitted.

"I'd bought my dress online and it took two of them to zip me up into it," Mary laughs.

"It was a bit tight!

"But once we got out there on the promenade it was nice. There were people watching what we were doing and it was a good laugh!"

Carol joins the group for a reunion via video-link

More than half a century after that treasured first holiday, and with seven children and 15 grandchildren between them now, the group is clearly proud of having maintained such strong friendships.

Staying local has helped, with three of the ladies still living in Halifax, while Carol splits her time between Spain and her native Calderdale.

As with most friendship groups, daily WhatsApps are also par for the course.

And while quality time together dwindled slightly when they started having children, they always ensured they kept in touch with one another.

"Apart we're like chalk and cheese - very different people," Susan says. "But together it works so well."

"We've always had each other's backs," Marion adds, becoming visibly emotional as she reflects on what her friends mean to her.

"We know each other's good and bad times and we just know each other is going to be there for us.

The group regularly peruse photo albums dedicated to holidays and happy times

"In some ways, we've taken it for granted because we've always had the group there for us. But other people aren't so lucky."

Since it was first reported in the Halifax Courier last month, the women say they are "amazed" and "overwhelmed" by the reaction to their story.

"We didn't realise it was such a feelgood story," Susan says.

"I can't believe how people have taken it to their hearts."

The passing of time has not dampened the group's appetite for an exotic holiday. To celebrate their 70th birthdays they're off to Blackpool in the new year.

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