There are currently some terrible conflicts taking place in various parts of the world. Hatred seems to be widespread as people wage war on others because of their racial origins, religious beliefs or the borders within which they were born. With enmity so much the order of the day, it is a real pleasure today to be able to report a story of forgiveness and friendship.

The Ingrouille family of Otley would seem, on the face of it, to have been unlikely candidates to volunteer to take German PoWs into their home at the end of the Second World War. John Ingrouille had been seriously injured on the Somme during the 1914-18 conflict. Members of his family in Guernsey had only recently had to endure the German occupation of their island. They could have been forgiven if they felt deeply resentful towards anyone German.

Yet Mr Ingrouille and his wife Ruby volunteered to befriend two young PoWs and invited them to visit their home on a regular basis. It was a kindness which didn't meet with universal approval. Mr Ingrouille's daughter, Beatrice Davies, recalls that some people didn't like the idea because the PoWs were "the enemy". "But that didn't worry us as all," she says.

The result has been a lifelong friendship with one of the men, who is currently making the latest of several return visits to Otley with his wife. The story of the Ingrouilles and their guests is one the wider world could well take on board as an example of how common humanity can bridge the divide between people who the politicians placed on opposite sides.

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