FIVE former college friends with a combined age of nearly 450 rolled back the years at a stately home near Wrexham to mark a special anniversary.

The women, all in their late 80s, gathered at Iscoyd Park to celebrate the 70th anniversary of their evacuation from wartime London.

The guests were all ex-students at St Godric’s Secretarial College in Hampstead and in 1941 were the first evacuees at Iscoyd before the park was requisitioned for use as a hospital for the US military.

For the special reunion they were given a celebratory lunch by the property’s owners, the Godsal family.

One of the women who attended the reunion lunch was Sheenagh Bradbury, who lives in Malpas.

She said: “I have very occasionally returned to Iscoyd since the war, but this is the first time some of the ladies have revisited. We were met by Philip Godsal and his son and daughter- in-law, Phil and Susie, who currently live at Iscoyd.

“We were shown around the house. We all found it fascinating to see how the house had changed.”

The other ladies travelled from a variety of locations with one, Sonia Vanular, making the trip from the south of France especially for the occasion.

“It was wonderful to be back after so many years and we had an extremely enjoyable day,” said Mrs Vanular.

“Looking back 70 years later we realise how lucky we were to have lived in such a splendid house in beautiful surroundings while bombs were falling in London.

“And to be able to have a reunion at Iscoyd Park in its present state by invitation of Philip Godsal was something special to remember at our great age.”

Marguerite McGuire, from Hampshire, said they had all enjoyed their time at Iscoyd during the war.

“The reunion was a huge treat and we were given a wonderful lunch,” she said.

“The trip was well worth the effort. It was a tremendous idea of Mr Godsal to celebrate the 70 years since we first turned up at Iscoyd Park in 1941,” she added.