TWO former school pals were reunited in Australia after 54 years - thanks to the Shuttle/Times and News.

John Huntbach, from Stourport, had read a letter in the newspaper from his ex-classmate, John Williams, who emigrated to the Antipodes in 1968, and tracked him down to his home in the small town of Denmark in Western Australia while there on holiday.

Mr Williams had written a letter of praise for the fact that he could keep in touch with local news at the touch of a button when he logged onto the paper's website.

Retired potter and businessman, Mr Huntbach, 69, of Hartlebury Park, renewed contact with his friend during a touring holiday with his wife Joyce, which took them from Cairns to Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Alice Springs and Perth.

The pair were at Stourport Secondary Modern School together until 1950, when Mr Williams joined the Navy and Mr Huntbach became an apprentice potter at the Steatite factory.

They had a lot of catching up to do and spent many hours recalling their school days, including the fact that the only bomb to fall on Stourport during the Second World War fell on their school.

This meant their schooldays were spent in temporary classrooms at different locations, including Hartlebury Grammar School.

They also exchanged particularly poignant memories of street parties, bonfires and parades at Lickhill to celebrate the end of the war in Europe and Japan, Saturday cinema at the Haven and swimming at Stoney Bottom.

Mr Williams emigrated with his wife, Elaine, and four children and was involved in various retail businesses before "retiring" to farm and run tourist accommodation in 1987. He has been breeding alpacas since 1992.