FORMER Middle East hostage, Terry Waite, was at Elsworth Primary School on Friday to open an extension. It was Mr Waite s second visit to the school. His first was in 1992, soon after his release. In the 1980s, children from the school had written letters
FORMER Middle East hostage, Terry Waite, was at Elsworth Primary School on Friday to open an extension. It was Mr Waite's second visit to the school. His first was in 1992, soon after his release. In the 1980s, children from the school had written letters to him when he was held captive in Lebanon, and the school had kept a candle lit for the whole time of his captivity. The former envoy for the Archbishop of Canterbury, now a best-selling author, was photographed with Charlie, the son of one of the pupils who had written one of the letters.
Mr Waite said he did not see the letters until he was released but he had kept all of them and was moved.
He said: "It is very touching that young children and their teachers wrote to someone miles away who they didn't know, showing their concern."
The former hostage is founder and president of several charities including Emmaus, with a branch in Waterbeach, which provides work and training for homeless people.
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