DOZENS of reconnected friends flocked to the first reunion of the hugely popular Remembering Stretford Facebook group earlier this month.

Remembering Stretford has amassed thousands of members over the past year, sharing memories of the town and reaching out to old friends and acquaintances.

The group’s first reunion took place at the Melville on July 2, with more than 40 members turning out.

Page founder Karen Gerrard, who moved out of the area aged 19, said she was inspired by her mum and partner.

“I had the idea from listening to my Mum reminiscing about all the neighbours from the road that we lived on,” said Karen.

“My mum is 91 years old and still lives in the home I grew up in, she's been there since they were built in the 50's and can tell me the names of just about everyone who's resided on our road, right down to the house they lived in. Sadly they've nearly all passed away now or moved on and it is the memories of those people that made me want to set the site up.

“Not only that but my partner left Stretford and went in the army in 1984, he lived in Germany for 27 years and moved back three years ago. He has visited lots of places in Stretford since then and reminisced about how things were when he was a boy growing up on Moss Park Road.”

Karen said that she saw similar nostalgia pages but that ‘lost dog’ posts and the such seemed to quickly dilute the content.

“I wanted a site that really was a reminder of happy childhood days playing in the sunshine and with no sign of a mobile phone,” she said.

Setting the site up in 2015, Karen described it as a ‘slow burner’ but suddenly its popularity ‘exploded’ and the milestone of 1,000 members was accomplished within six months.

It now boasts more than 3,000 members from around the world, including Italy, New York, New Zealand and Spain.

As well as providing a trip down memory lane, with dozens of nostalgic photos posted every day, many Stretfordians, home and away, have got back in touch with each other thanks to the site.

One Facebook user reconnected with her maid of honour from her wedding in 1967, as well as two old school mates who I haven't seen or heard from each for 50 years.

Another wrote: “My friend and myself have made contact, our first since I left Stretford in 1957 to come to Australia. We knew each other from both living in the same street and attending Lostock Primary from 1950 to1956.”

“It think the nicest thing to come out of the page is that so many people have found long lost childhood friends,” said Karen.

“I am hoping that in the future we can create a fabulous page that just grows and grows. Basically, I want Remembering Stretford to become a big family where people feel welcome and accepted and, if any romances come out of it, then that’s even better.”

To join the page, search Remembering Stretford on Facebook.