A real ‘Life On Mars’ romantic who lost touch with his first love is desperately trying to find her — after a severe bump to the head brought his feelings for her flooding back.
George Eyres, 63, dated neighbour Sylvia Holland when he was just 21 but the young lovers lost touch when he reluctantly followed his parents to Ireland in the early 1970s.
He put his feelings to the back of his mind for almost FOUR DECADES until he slipped in the street and smacked his head on a car wing mirror.
The knock brought all the cherished moments George spent with Sylvia flooding back – mirroring the hit BBC crime fantasy ‘Life on Mars’.
In the original Life On Mars series, policeman Sam Tyler was transported back to 1973 after suffering a car crash.
After the accident George underwent an operation to reduce bleeding on his brain and was warned he might lose all his memories.
But instead the injury has rekindled his feelings for Sylvia – and he has put an advert in her local paper asking for her to get in touch.
Lovelorn George, who lives in County Meath, said: “About three years ago I had an accident.
“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.
“She would be 61 now and 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.”
George, who has never married, dated Sylvia for four years when they lived next door to each other in Swindon, Wilts.
He moved to Ireland and Sylvia, a pretty pharmacy student, visited him for a three-week holiday a year later but they then lost touch.
George recalled: “I was a little bit older than Sylvia – she was 19 and I was 20 or 21 years old.
“We’d 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.”
George received brief updates on Sylvia from her mother who sent him a Christmas card every year but he never found out much about her new life.
The festive messages suddenly stopped three years ago and George lost contact with her family.
He has placed this personal message in the Swindon Advertiser: ATTENTION SYLVIA HOLLAND George Eyres would like to contact you. If you are interested please call George on (Irish international code) then 01 8353931. County Meath, Ireland
