Punks Tina Tarr and her partner Dog. Photograph: Chris Porsz/Bav Media

Friends lost and found: 1970s Peterborough recreated – in pictures

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Photographer Chris Porsz has spent the last seven years tracking down hundreds of people he photographed in his hometown of Peterborough in the 1970s, 80s and 90s. Some were easy, some were hard, some were impossible to find. When he was successful, Chris arranged a reunion at the location of the original photograph and took another picture. He has painstakingly recreated more than 130 photographs in his new book

Railway Kiss

Tony Wilmot saying goodbye to his girlfriend, Sally, at Peterborough railway station in 1980. 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 more than 30 years later in 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 20s

Sisters Maria (left) and Annamarie (right) Plavecz

Sisters Maria and Annamarie Plavecz were photographed in Star Road in Peterborough in 1982. The siblings now work as carers

Sandra Williams, Carmen Chin and Maureen Mayers were friends from County Grammar School in Peterborough, but lost touch over the years and the school was converted into sheltered housing in 1985.

Sandra Williams, Carmen Chin and Maureen Mayers were friends from County grammar school in Peterborough, but lost touch over the years and the school was converted into sheltered housing in 1985

Five Boys Running Reunion Pic June 2016 (left-right )Andy Jackson, Richard Hillson, Devinder Singh, Tony James and Aaron Meadows

Andy Jackson, Richard Hillson, Devinder Singh, Tony James and Aaron Meadows were around 15 years old in the original photograph. They were running to the chip shop and to play arcade games at the A and B record store in their lunch break. About a year later the all-boys school closed down and their year group was moved to a new school

Tina Tarr and her partner Dog

Punks Tina Tarr and her partner Dog were pictured near the cathedral in Peterborough in 1985 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. Dog said: ‘I remember the photo being taken. It was a brilliant time. I still had hair then.’

Cathedral Grass Cutter. Les Featherstone

Cathedral grass cutter Les Featherstone. Les was deputy head gardener at Peterborough Cathedral when the original picture was taken. He started working there in 1987 and he has now been promoted to head gardener. He said: ‘I’ve been there 30 years. The job hasn’t changed much but it is more mechanised and quicker to cut the grass now.’ His wife works in the cathedral shop and they live near Bourne in Lincolnshire

Eating Chips Reunion Pic August 2016 School friends Martin Coulson (left) and Andy Randall were eating chips bought from the arcade

Martin Coulson and Andy Randall were eating chips bought from the arcade, which has now been replaced with Wilkinson’s in Peterborough. Martin is now a warehouse manager and is currently re-training. He is married with two children. Andy is a telematics engineer and is married with three children

Shehnaz Begum, her twin sister, Rukhsana, and their older sister Itrat

Shehnaz Begum, her twin sister, Rukhsana, and their older sister, Itrat, were spotted sitting in the window of their house at 100 Cromwell Road in Peterborough in 1980. ‘We often used to perch in the window and watch what was going on in the road’, said Shehnaz

Genesio (Gino) Borrillo bought an ice cream van

Genesio Borrillo bought an ice cream van when he moved to Peterborough from Italy and travelled around the city in the summer selling ice cream. In 1992 he set up a pasta shop in Peterborough, which he still runs with his daughter. Gino is married and has three children and four grandchildren

Neil wandered around Peterborough town centre and played the flute outside the Co-op bank in Westgate. When the book went to print he had not been seen for several months

Jennifer Hall worked on the fruit and vegetable stall at Peterborough Market

Jennifer Hall worked on the fruit and vegetable stall at Peterborough market on Saturdays for about four years. She said: ‘I think I was about 17 when Chris took my photo. I was aware that someone was taking my picture at the time but I wasn’t sure who or what it was for’

Donna Yarnell was five years old when she was photographed with her three-year-old brother Steven

Donna Yarnell was five years old when she was photographed with her three-year-old brother Steven licking ice creams in their front garden in Peterborough in 1981. 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

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Friends lost and found: 1970s Peterborough recreated – in pictures

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