Blitz best friends reunited at a Kent care home

Two children who escaped the Blitz and became friends have been reunited more than 80 years later in a twist of fate at a Kent care home.

Valerie Dancer and Margaret Jordon met when they were both sent by their parents to boarding school at Sulby Hall in rural Northamptonshire, but lost touch after the war.

Now, both in their nineties, they have re-established their friendship at Hawkhurst House Care Home in Cranbrook.

Margaret said it was "amazing" to be reunited with her "best friend".

As enemy bombs wreaked havoc during World War Two, more than 800,000 children were taken from cities to the countryside as part of Operation Pied Piper.

The pair did not recognise each other when they were first introduced at the home.

It was when everyone started telling stories about school that realisation dawned.

"I heard her saying 'Sulby Hall'... I thought 'who on Earth knows about Sulby Hall?" said Margaret.

"I was at the table and said 'oh when I was at school I had a friend called Valerie who lived near Maidstone'.

"And Valerie said 'well that was me'. It was amazing - my best friend."

Since then, the pair have been reminiscing about their childhood memories of wartime.

"We go back to memories then - things we used to do," said Valerie.

"Food was quite short.

"We would walk to Welford, which was two miles away to buy six penn'orth of broken biscuits from the baker."

The pair have now enjoyed their first Christmas together after eight decades apart.

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