In the 1970s, 80s, and 90s, street photographer Chris Porsz spent hours walking around the city of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire (Great Britain), capturing hundreds of amazing characters. Now, almost 40 years later, Porsz has tracked down those same people to recreate their pics, resulting in 135 beautiful reunions.
Often recreating the pics in the same locations, Porsz captured everyone from policemen to punks to lovers to siblings. He has gathered all the pics together and put them in a book titled ‘Reunions’, with texts by writer Jo Riley telling the stories of the people in the pics. Take a look at some of his photos below. You can buy ‘Reunions’ through Porsz’s website.
#1 Dog And Tina (1985 And 2015)
Punks Tina Tarr and her partner Dog were pictured near the Cathedral in Peterborough when Tina was 18. The couple left the city in the 1990s and went travelling. They have twins, but are no longer together. Tina now lives in Dorset and makes willow products and hosts weaving workshops. Dog does hedge laying and gardening and lives in South West Wales. “I remember the photo being taken, it was a brilliant time. I had various styles of punk hair for quite a few years,” said Tina. Dog added: “They were good times, I still had hair then”.
#2 Railway Kiss (1980 And 2009)
Tony Wilmot was snapped saying goodbye to his girlfriend Sally at Peterborough Railway Station in 1980 and a year later they got married. Tony was 22 and working in Essex as a teacher and Sally was 21 and based in Stafford as a local government officer. On this occasion they had met up in Peterborough and had no idea the photo had been taken. It appeared over 30 years later in a local paper the Peterborough Evening Telegraph and was seen by Tony’s father. The pair, who are now both headteachers and live in Lichfield, Staffordshire, have two children Tom and Jenny who are themselves in their twenties.
#3 Five Boys Running (1987 And 2016)
Andy, who has been married for 21 years and has a daughter, said: ‘I remember playing the arcade game Phoenix, which involved birds hatching out of eggs.’ Andy went into the Army after leaving school and drove trucks in the Transport Corps. He left in 1987 and has been working for the Royal Mail in Werrington, near Peterborough, ever since. Richard is now an electrician in Peterborough and is married with two boys. He said: ‘There were only about 70 of us in our school year and we were all really close. They were happy times.’ Tony James works as a stone cutter and has two children; Aaron works at Ikea and is married with three boys. Devinder moved to Yorkshire in 1986 and is married with two boys and works for the Housing Association. They’ve organised a school reunion and plan to keep in touch.
#4 Pin Badges (1970 And 2013)
Punks (r to l) John Church, Gary Beckett, Ade Lawrence and Pippa Hodgson were pictured in Cathedral Square, wearing pin badges. John, who is now a painter and decorator in the city, said: ‘The other lads were school friends and Pippa was a mutual friend. We used to hang out together and listen to punk music. I think I was about 15 and on the verge of becoming a punk.’ John is still friends with Ade and they play in a band together. Gary emigrated to Australia, where he works as a project manager and Pippa now lives in Spain.
#5 Sisters (1980 And 2013)
Left to right, Shehnaz Begum, her twin sister Rukhsana and their older sister Itrat were spotted sitting in the window of their house on Cromwell Road. ‘We often used to perch in the window and watch what was going on in the road,’ said Shehnaz. ‘My twin sister and I were about seven and Itrat was nine. We loved riding our bikes with the other children in the street and were good friends with another set of twins. Mum said we were quite a handful’. The three sisters still live in Peterborough and see each other regularly. Shehnaz, who is divorced, has a daughter and looks after elderly and disabled people, together with her twin, who is re-married and has five children. Itrat works for the post office and is married with six children.
#6 Ice Creams (1981 And 2015)
Donna Yarnell was five years old when she was photographed with her three-year-old brother Steven licking ice creams in their front garden. Her family moved out of the house two years later so it brought back lots of memories when the pair returned to the street in February 2015. ‘I was really surprised because the front gate was exactly the same,’ said Donna, who works in a pub, still lives in Peterborough and has four daughters. Brother Steven also lives in the city and has a son.
#7 Good Friends (1980 And 2015)
The four men are still good friends and were delighted to pose for the reunion picture while the pair’s receding locks made it impossible to recreate the sculpted hairstyles they had sported in 1980, the friends were happy to recreate their photo. ‘I dressed like that for about four years and my family always grumbled that I was taking too long in the bathroom,’ says Mr Medler, 47, who is married with three children. ‘It was surreal retracing our steps.’
#8 Jewellery Assistant (1990 And 2015)
Vicki Gracey (nee Frost) worked as a sales assistant at a jewellery store in Queensgate Shopping Centre for two years. Vicki has since had jobs behind bars, in retail, hairdressing and restaurants and currently deals with tenancy sustainability. She still lives in the city and is married with two children. ‘I’m a people person and I’ve always had jobs which involve working with the public,’ she said.
#9 Friends (1982 And 2011)
Under the Guildhall, Cathedral Square. Penny, three sisters Sarah, Louise, Carole and Juliette. In the reunion photo Alison (last on the right) took the place of her sister Juliette who sadly died.
#10 David Harvey And Tim Goodman (1980 And 2010)
Bridge Street. David Harvey became Chief Superintendent now retired. His son is a policeman in London. Tim Goodman has six children and is a successful businessman.
#11 County School Girls (1979 And 2016)
Sandra Williams, Carmen Chin and Maureen Mayers were friends from County Grammar School but lost touch over the years and the school was converted into sheltered housing in 1985. ‘Carmen was my best friend and lived in my road, so we were always together,’ said Sandra, who is now married with four children and a step-daughter and works as a passenger assistant for disabled children and in a coffee shop. Carmen, who is married with four children and now lives in Lincolnshire, where she has a small holding said: ‘I think we were the first year to go to the grammar school after it changed from being a comprehensive.’ Maureen, who still lives in Peterborough and has four children, had broken her right arm when the photo was taken and hid it behind her back. She said: ‘We’d had freezing cold weather and we were playing tag and I slipped over on the ice’.
#12 Tasbir’s First Job (1982 And 2016)
Tasbir Singh worked on a stall at the market for four years after leaving school. Tasbir’s first job – Reunion, July 2016. He then worked for BT and Royal Mail, where he is today. He still lives in the city and is married with three children and four grandchildren. He said: ‘I worked on the stall from the age of 18 until I was 22. It was hard working in all weather’.
