Friendship blossoms after chance meeting between Oswestry School pupil and care home resident
A chance meeting between a school pupil and a care home resident has led to a new friendship after they discovered they hailed from the same German city.
Lena Capla, a Year 10 pupil at Oswestry School, was visiting Ashwood care home in the town as part of the school's Community Action initiative, when she met Ruth.
Ruth, who is Jewish, left Germany at the age of 13 at the start of the Second World War.
On Lena’s first visit, Ruth showed her a picture of her family which was taken just before she and her brother were evacuated to England.
The family's plan was to meet in America 12 months later, but her parents were deported to Minsk, and Ruth believes they were killed there.
Ruth was sent to a different area of England than her brother and was brought up by a foster family.
Ruth was thrilled to discover that not only was Lena German, but she also hails from Hamburg, the city where Ruth spent her childhood. They spent many hours chatting together in German.
During the Christmas holidays, Lena returned to Hamburg and tracked down Ruth’s childhood home to take photographs.
Visiting Ashwood last week Lena showed the photographs to a delighted Ruth, who said Lena was “an angel sent by God”.
