Marion, Sue, Carol and Mary were 17 years old and had the world ahead of them. It was the summer of 1972 and they had just arrived on their own for the first time in Torquay, on the southwest coast of England. A roaming photographer captured them walking arm in arm along the seafront. No one imagined that image would become the most important of their lives. 🥹
Fifty-two years later, in October 2024, the four returned to the same promenade. They were 70 years old, had grandchildren, and decades of shared history. Sue Morris — the one who keeps the albums of all the group’s adventures — had the idea: to recreate the photo to celebrate that they had all reached 70. They looked for clothes similar to those from the 70s in second-hand shops, a local neighbor helped them find the exact spot where they had posed, and they changed from coats into summer clothes in a public restroom with the October cold upon them. Nothing was going to stop them. ❤️
Carol’s husband sent the comparison image to Halifax’s local newspaper. What followed was unstoppable: media outlets around the world picked it up, and social media did the rest. Two almost identical photos, the same gesture, the same place — and 52 years of friendship that explain everything. 🌍