They were caught on camera 30 years ago... so now they've been tracked down, how have they changed?



They were blink- and-you-missed-it moments that most of the subjects simply forgot about afterwards.

From the group of girls in white socks and plimsolls tucking into burgers to a pair of Teddy boys strutting down a street and a group of lads playing in a derelict house, these were everyday scenes from the early Eighties.

But while the people pictured have moved on, photographer Chris Porsz never forgot about them and — three decades later — he set about tracking down the subjects of these evocative photos to see if he could recreate the scenes.

Smashing time: Phillip Boardman Stuart Beach and Ricky Clarke play in a derelict house in the city. The boy in the doorway is Christopher Jackson, who has died, while the boy in sun glasses is Martin Bridges who cannot be traced

Revisiting the scene: It may no longer be derelict, but Phillip Boardman (sitting), Stuart Beach (left window) and Ricky Clarke can still have fun at the old house

With a combination of research, hard work — and a little help from the Mail — he has brought up to date the five images, which were all shot in Peterborough.

One of the most charming shows five schoolgirls sitting on a bench in the city centre munching Wimpy burgers in 1982, with the beautiful Norman Cathedral behind them.

‘We had just come back from netball training as we are all wearing plimsolls and knee-high socks,’ says Carole Howley (nee Giddens), 46, pictured with her sisters and two friends.

‘We practised on Saturday mornings and I think we must have stopped for some lunch on the way back.’

Former Teddy boys Peter Yates and Alan Medler got in touch with Chris Porsz after their picture appeared in the Mail a year ago, accompanied with an appeal for them to come forward.

Rocking in 1980: The quiffs are gone but Teds Peter Yates (left) and Alan Medler are still here

(From left to right) Nasar Ali, Ali Shauoat, Mohammed Riza and Mohammed Shahnawaz playing in Gladstone Street in Peterborough in 1980

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.’ Similarly, the four grinning 12-year-olds pictured playing in Gladstone Street are still in contact with each other. ‘We were really surprised to see the picture again. It brought back lots of memories for us all,’ says shopkeeper Nazir Ali. Paramedic Mr Porsz recently found one of the cheeky-looking boys he snapped playing outside a derelict house in 1982 when he answered a 999 call to a man suffering chest pains. (Left to right) Penny Yallup, Sarah Giddens, Louise Giddens, Carole Giddens, Juliette (surname not known) in Peterborough in 1982 Carole still regularly meets up with her two sisters, Sarah and Louise. Penny was a good friend of Sarah's and they are still in touch, but sadly Juliette died in her 20s, so her sister Alison stepped in

Rebooted: Xenia Gordon recreates the flamboyant skinhead look she modelled in 1983