Fifty years on former London art students reach out to find friend from Rutherglen

-Credit: (Image: Contributed)
-Credit: (Image: Contributed)


A group of former art students are searching for a Rutherglen member of their “Class of 74” who emigrated to Oz.

Val Fox, who studied at St Martin’s School of Art in Charing Cross Road in London, is hoping our readers can help her trace Christina Fisher who was brought up in Rutherglen.

There were 26 students who attended the London art school together between 1971 and 1974. Half of them have been traced and have reunited with each other 50 years on, but Christina is one of a baker’s dozen yet to be found as they look to reassemble during their 50th anniversary year.

It’s understood that Christina, or Chris as she was known to her fellow art student friends, would be around 72 years old now and moved to Australia.

Val knows that Christina, whom she describes as a “flaming redhead”, got married so will quite probably have a different surname, but may have returned to Scotland.

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“We’ve reunited for our 50th anniversary but we’re trying to find the other thirteen, including Chris,” said Val. “We’ve run out of ideas so this is probably our last chance.

“She’d be 72 now. We know she went to Australia and married but she may have returned to Scotland with her family.

Some of the "Class of 74" students, Christina Fisher from Rutherglen is pictured on the right with Val second from the left -Credit:Contributed
Some of the "Class of 74" students, Christina Fisher from Rutherglen is pictured on the right with Val second from the left -Credit:Contributed

“Chris went to Australia in the mid-70s; she and her husband visited me in London in the mid-80s on her way back to see her folks in Rutherglen. I remember she had the strangest accent, a mix of strine [Australian English] and Glaswegian!

“Then we lost touch while we brought up our families and got on with work. In those days being on the other side of the world made it much more difficult to keep in touch.

“I know that her dad ran a club in the 70s which was popular, because pubs weren’t allowed to open on the Sabbath back then, and Chris worked behind the bar when she came home.

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“I’m afraid I don’t know that much about her life before I met her in 1971.

“I’m hoping that maybe readers will recognise Chris from what we know or her picture, or even better, know where she is now and can put us in touch with each other after all this time.”

Anyone who has any information can contact news@rutherglenreformer.co.uk

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