Women reunited for first time since WW2

Two women speak to each other - both have white hair and one is wearing a grey pattern shirt and grey trousers and sits on a brown armchair while the other is in a wheelchair and wears a floral skirt and purple cardigan
Image caption,

Alice Moody (left) and Jean Laughlin (right) first met during World War Two in Hardington Mandeville

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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.

Two pictures of Mrs Moody as she was in her 20s. In the left-hand picture, she is wearing an overcoat belted closed and has short hair styled slightly curly. She has one one hand in her pocket. In the right-hand picture, she is wearing an elbow-length knitted top and skirt, with a small bag over her shoulder and her dark hair is tied back. She is smiling at the camera in both pictures, which both show trees behind her.Image source, Handout
Image caption,

Mrs Moody - then Ms Russell - seen here in both photos, was a young teacher and "role model" to teenage student Ms Laughlin during World War Two

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.

An historic photograph of Hardington Mandeville village, Somerset. There are acres of fields and hedgerows with a round five or six buildings and outbuildings in the middle of the picture, which could be a mixture of homes and the school. Image source, Handout
Image caption,

Photos of Hardington Mandeville in the 1940s and 1950s helped remind Mrs Moody of "so many happy memories"

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.

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