THEY parted ways 40 years ago but an Irishman who never forgot his first love is hoping to be reunited with the Swindon woman he always regretted leaving behind.

George Eyres, 63, of County Meath, and Sylvia Holland had been neighbours in Walcot for several years before they began going out.

In a bid to get close to the young pharmacy student, the bold 19-year-old wooed her sister Dorothy, who soon became aware of his ploy to seduce Sylvia.

The pair fell in love but after nearly four years, George grudgingly followed his parents when they chose to move back to Ireland in the early 1970s, putting an abrupt end to their fledgling romance.

A year after his return to his homeland, Sylvia visited him for a brief holiday. This was the last time they ever saw each other.

His curtailed relationship soon became a vague yet dark memory as George buried himself in his printing job and started a new life near Dublin.

But when George slipped in the street and hit his head on a car wing mirror, for which he had to undergo surgery to reduce the swelling on his brain, it brought the cherished moments spent with Sylvia flooding back, despite the surgeon’s prognosis that his memory would suffer rather than improve.

“About three years ago I had an accident,” he said.

“The surgeon said I would lose my memory but after six months I started remembering things. I remembered Sylvia’s features.

“I’m not sure why we broke up. I’ve regretted not being with her my whole life. It’s only when the memories came back that I realised how much.

“I was a little bit older than Sylvia; she was 19 and I was 20 or 21 years old. We had been together for three or four years when I went back to Ireland. I didn’t want to go and I was reluctant to leave her. When she came for three weeks, I was struggling financially and I couldn’t go back to Swindon.

“I wanted to do well in life before I went back. And that was the last time I ever saw her.

“I had a couple of relationships but nothing compared to what I had with Sylvia. I never really got over her.”

Although George received brief updates on Sylvia from her mother, who religiously sent him a Christmas card every year, he was not able to gather much about her new life.

When the festive notes stopped abruptly three years ago, George found himself becoming even more curious about his first love.

He even placed an advert in the Adver announcments section in a bid to reconnect.

“She would be 61 now,” he said. “I just want a chance to get in touch with her.

“I would love to talk to her and know what happened to her.

“She probably got married and maybe she had children.

“All I know is that her mother wrote to me that all her dreams came true.”

To get in touch with George with information about Sylvia, call the Adver newsdesk on 01793 501896, or email newsdesk@swindonadvertiser.co.uk.