FRIENDS on both sides of the Atlantic are looking forward to a once-in-a-lifetime reunion this summer thanks to readers of the St Albans and Harpenden Observer.

Last week Denise Sabotta, 73, of Illinois, appealed through our columns for information about her wartime friends, members of the famous Ryder family of St Albans.

She had lost contact with the Ryders after moving to the US but wanted to meet up with them again when she returns to St Albans on a one-off visit this summer.

It was only a matter of minutes after last week's edition hit the city's doormats that the Observer Newspapers office was swamped with phone calls offering information about the Ryders' whereabouts.

And the message from the family, now scattered throughout the South East, was: "We can't wait to see Denise."

Ena Ryder, who now goes by the name of Ena Hawes and lives in Datchworth, near Stevenage, said: "We have all thought about Denise hundreds of times during the years. We are longing to see her again. She was like a sister to us."

Her sister Alice, who now lives in Suffolk, said: "We can't wait for Denise to come over. We will have a great family reunion."

Neighbour Thelma Roberts, who lived near the Ryders when Mrs Sabotta lived with them in Clarence Road in the 1940's, was one of the first people to call with information.

She said of the seven Ryder children who befriended Denise, six are alive and well but, sadly, Joy died three years ago.

Mrs Roberts added: "I remember Denise as a lovely girl and the Ryders were a lovely family."

The connection with Samuel Ryder, of Ryder Cup fame, is a close one. It transpires, as Mrs Sabotta thought, that her wartime friends were the grandchildren of Samuel's brother, James.

Mrs Sabotta lived with the family after completing her studies at Loreto College in 1940. From her home in La Salle, Illinois, she said: "Thank you very much, I am thrilled so many people I knew are alive and doing well. I will be getting in touch as soon as I can.

"I am very sorry to hear about Joy, as we shared a room at school."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.