by A pair of childhood best friends, who shared the same wedding dress, have reunited after losing touch more than five decades ago.
Mavis Macleod, 83, and Eileen Triffitt, 82, were neighbors in 1946 and saw their friendship blossom over the years.
The duo spent their childhood playing and dancing together in Liverpool, Merseyside, and Macleod even borrowed Triffitt’s wedding dress when they married.
But in their early 20s, the friends lost touch after Triffitt moved to Harrogate, Yorkshire.
More than 50 years passed without the pair having any contact, until Triffitt found an old address book in his raid and decided to try to get in touch with his childhood friend.
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Grandma couldn’t believe it when she called the number and Macleod, a retired Navy cook, answered the phone.
After an emotional call in 2017, the couple reunited and both claimed that it was as if they had never been apart.
Now the friends speak once a week and visit when they can, including for Macleod’s 80th birthday.
“When I found the little address book in the attic and it had a number for her, I thought, ‘Why not try calling her?'” explains Triffitt.
“After she answered, I said, ‘I’m so sorry to bother you, but this used to be my friend Mavis’s number.
“There was a pause and then she said, ‘My name is Mavis’ and I was completely stunned.
“It was so wonderful, words cannot describe how I felt.”
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Both women have described their joy at meeting again.
“I was over the moon when she called, we were known as the neighbors who never stopped dancing,” says Macleod.
“When Eileen moved to Harrogate, we kept in touch for a while by writing letters, but not very often.
“I just couldn’t believe it when he called me, it was a real blast from the past.
“Now we talk at least once a week, we talk about everyone we knew when we were kids.”
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The friends first bonded when they moved in next door to each other at ages six and seven.
“I remember when he moved out and I was like, ‘Oh well, a new friend,’” explains Macleod.
“We both loved to dance, and we joined a dance school when we were a little older.
“I always preferred ballet, and Eileen preferred tap dancing, and one year we spent our summer holidays going to New Brighton to do a dance show.
“At the end of the summer we were paid five shillings, for which we were both very happy.”
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The duo remained close throughout their 20s, with Triffitt even lending Macleod her wedding dress to marry.
“By the time Eileen got married, I had already joined the Wrens and I couldn’t get the time off to go,” explains Macleod.
“I married a few years later to a man I knew in the navy, but he was based in Gibraltar.
“Eileen gave me her wedding dress so I wouldn’t have to spend money on a new one.”
In their time apart, Macleod says he often wondered what Eileen was doing.
“I often thought about what I was doing, especially if there was dancing on TV,” she says.
“That always made me think of Eileen and wonder how she was doing.”
Adds Triffitt: “When we reconnected, it was like nothing had changed, we pretty much picked up where we left off.
“Meeting each other in person was incredible, I was speechless.
“I remember when he came to Harrogate, I felt like we hadn’t had enough time together, it never happens.”
Additional reports Caters.
