Looking back at how Tiki was tracked down after three decades
Peterborough street photographer Chris Porsz presents another in his series of ‘now and then’ photographs.
Chris said: “People often ask how I find strangers decades later and here is a good example of how I completed over 300 such reunions for my books.
“In 1980 I snapped a lady looking back down Cromwell Road to see what I was taking pictures of. In 2012, the Evening Telegraph published the picture in my column Paramedic Paparazzo.
Kate Sutton contacted me, saying: “The lady in the photo is Tiki Shaikh who was a teacher at Springfield Infant School (now the Beeches) where I taught too and she lived in Mayors Walk.”
Local sleuth Lynne Dawkins also contacted me: “Tiki Shaikh worked with my mum at Beeches School in Beech Avenue and I went to school with her daughters.”
Evening Telegraph reporter John Baker then struck gold with this message: “Good morning. If you could put me in touch with Chris Porsz re: last week’s photos – I’m the lady he’s looking for!
“I am still in Peterborough and look forward to getting in touch. Kind regards, Tiki Shaikh.”
Thirty-two years later on reunion day all was revealed: “I was walking home from school where I taught English to Pakistani children. I was there for 10 years and later became a governor. I continued teaching in Bahrain, where my husband served in the navy.”
Tiki had four children, eight grandchildren and six great-grandchildren and enjoyed travelling around India and the the world. She died in 2018 aged 82 but was never forgotten.