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Reading and Dusseldorf: The Tale of June and Gretel

How two towns and two little girls became lifelong friends

How did a little girl from Dusseldorf end up in a school photograph in Reading?

In 1947, the Mayor of Reading Phoebe Cusden decided to extend the hand of friendship to a bomb-ruined city in Germany, so recently Britain's arch-enemy.

In the face of fierce opposition from some quarters, she invited six children from Dusseldorf to come to Reading.

It was the start of a town-twinning and friendship that has lasted 70 years.

Written and produced by Chris Browning

June - Lucy James
Gretel - Isabella Offelder

Narrators:

Lucy Attenborough-Tyler
Ann-Cathrin Barth
Lily B枚ttcher
Abigail Butler
Sylvie Cattelani
Annika Engel
Lukas Migsch
Ben Shepherd
Freya Shute
Emily Sweetnam
Millie Young

Readers:

Andy Jones
Faye Harland
Duncan McLarty
Adam Whitty

With thanks to:

June Whitcombe
Gretel Rieber

Ben Adams and The Holt School, Wokingham
Madlen Pieles and Theodor-Fliedner-Gymnasium, Dusseldorf
Reading-Dusseldorf Twinning Association
Berkshire Record Office
Dusseldorf Stadtarchiv
Heinrich Heine University, Dusseldorf

Release date:

Duration:

28 minutes