I was astounded to come across the picture captioned Mystery dockworkers' picture: names revealed, in your 31 December 2012 issue, showing a group of Falmouth Docks apprentices including me. I am listed as Brian??? and I was a cadet engineer employed by a shipping company doing work experience at Falmouth Docks for a couple of months in 1963.

The original picture is a colour slide taken on my camera by someone else. I must have been asked to provide a print for someone, which would be where your copy came from. I still have the original colour slide and I am holding it some 52 years after it was taken. I was friends with Mike and John Gregory and in the evenings and weekends we helped out at Sunshine boat hire operating from the Town Quay. I decided to search further and was saddened to come across a 2014 issue reporting the passing of both Mike and John. I have lived in Melbourne since 1968 when my wife and I emigrated. Had I known that John had been living in Western Australia I would have attempted to contact him.

Brian Cooperwaite

Through thepacket.co.uk website