Episode 1 Family Finders

Families can be driven apart for all manner of reasons...

My mum went away and didn't come back.

..and when you do lose touch with your loved ones...

I never saw Kathleen again.

-..finding them can take a lifetime...

-I wonder where he is?

-I wonder what he's doing?

-You don't really know where to begin.

..especially when they could be anywhere, at home or abroad.

And that is where the family finders come in.

Hi, it's the Salvation Army family tracing service.

From international organisations...

There has never been a day when we have not heard new enquiries.

..to genealogy detective agencies...

When is it you last had contact?

..and dedicated one-man bands...

I like to do the searches that other people cannot get,

-cos it makes me feel good.

-..they hunt through history,

to bring families back together again.

You are my biological dad.

In this series, we follow the work of the Family Finders...

This case came from our Australian colleagues.

..learning the tricks they use to track missing relatives through time.

I am 68 years of age.

She is 75 years of age and we are just starting off.

And meeting the people whose lives they change along the way.

I said, "Well, this is your younger sister."

It's a miracle.

I was struck speechless and I could not stop crying!

It is a proud moment for Dad.

It was the thought of finding a family.

Across Britain, there are dozens of specialist agencies

who reunite people with their families.

The biggest one is the Salvation Army,

who, for a small fee, trace over 2,000 people a year.

Good afternoon. Salvation Army. Can I help you?

All our caseworkers

are currently working on over...nearly 250 cases,

live, presently.

'There has never been a day when we have never had new enquiries.'

And this organisation has a huge global presence,

with branches in 126 countries. So, very often,

the Salvation Army family finders reunite people

-from different sides of the world.

-When did you last see him there?

One such person in need of their help is 80-year-old Violet Rossini,

who has lived in Australia for nearly 50 years.

When she was around five years old, Violet and her older sister Kathleen

were placed into care in Lincolnshire.

I was told my mother died when I was born. And...

..we were taken into the children's homes and then I was fostered out

and Kathleen was adopted, I believe.

Initially, the two sisters were in the same children's home...

..but they were separated when they were fostered.

However, by a quirk of fate, Violet and Kathleen were, at one point,

placed in foster homes which were in walking distance of each other.

I lived in South Street and she lived round the corner

and we met up through a friend of mine.

She knew me, but I did not know her, to start with.

And that is how it all began.

Once they'd realised how close their foster homes were, the two sisters

used to sneak out and play with each other in secret.

But this joyful time didn't last.

My foster mother found out that I was meeting Kathleen

and she sent me back to the home.

And that was it. I never saw Kathleen again.

Yeah.

The last time she saw Kathleen, Violet was just eight years old

and, although her memories may have faded, she has never forgotten

her older sister.

She was the good looking of the two!

I used to be jealous of her sometimes.

She had lovely curly hair, as I remember.

And...I don't remember that much. We were about the same in build

and that. The only thing that really sticks in my mind was

she used to give me a piggyback up Eastwood Hill, cos it was

a steep hill to school!

Violet moved to London when she was 14

and married when she was 20. After her first husband died,

she remarried and, in 1968, emigrated with him

and her five children to Australia.

I did not say goodbye to Kathleen

and she never got to say goodbye to me

and it was just like, you might say, a parting of the waves.

Violet tried to trace Kathleen several times over the years,

but never had any luck. And then, a few years ago,

her granddaughter Candice made one last-ditch attempt.

I have a sister

and three brothers and I couldn't imagine life

without any one of them,

'so I just knew that I had to do something to help her

'have that connection with Kathleen again.'

I spent quite a few hours researching the internet,

to try and see what information they could get.

We had very little to go on.

Using that, I found Kathleen's birth certificate

that I surprised my grandma with for her 80th birthday.

And the look on her face when I gave that to her just...

It was more than I can even describe.

Armed with Kathleen's birth certificate, Candice contacted her

local branch of the Salvation Army, in the hope this document would now

be enough to finally reunite her grandmother with her sister.

There are 28

family tracing service offices across the world

and this case came from our Australian colleagues.

Violet and Kathleen had been out of contact for over seven decades

and Kathleen's name may well have changed in this period.

So, the family tracing unit started by searching marriage certificates,

-which list maiden names.

-We were able to find

that she had actually married and her name had changed to Cousins.

So, that was the first step in the process and, after that,

all we had to do then was try and find her.

Just three months after Candice sent the Salvation Army

Kathleen's birth certificate,

the family-finding unit got a solid lead on her whereabouts.

In cases like this, where we have found a possible name

or a current name for somebody, the next step would be to check

the electoral roll, to see if we can find an address for them.

That is what we did with Kathleen and we were able to find

one possible address, which we wrote to.

A few weeks later, we had a letter from Kathleen's daughter, Sharon,

who told us that Kathleen was really excited and really overjoyed

at the possibility of being back in contact with her family.

They called Violet in Australia with the good news.

When I got this phone call from the Salvation Army,

I thought something was wrong, because they only said it

in an ordinary voice and then she said, "Oh, no, it's all right!"

But she was in a nursing home. Then, we said one or two things

that I didn't answer for a while. She said, "Are you all right?"

Well, I was very emotional. I made a fool of myself and cried!

And then I said something about shouting it from the rooftops.

Oh, we just had a conversation from then on.

She was asking me to describe how I feel and...

I just couldn't tell. It was like...

..having Christmas all together. Christmas, birthdays -

the whole lot together. But, yeah, it was great.

Violet could not wait

to actually talk with her sister, but she could not get

her hopes up yet, because at this stage,

the decision to reconnect rested with Kathleen.

When I heard from the Army, they told me that she would get

permission for me to write to her, so I wrote and explained a bit

about the family and that and said that it was up to her to make

the final decision.

Then, she received the long-distance call she had been dreaming of

all these years.

Very late one night, I had a phone call,

because of the time difference.

I think it was about 11 o'clock our way.

And, erm...we had a talk, but don't ask me what we said

what we did, because I just can't remember.

I just know it was great.

After 72 years, Violet had no shortage of things to catch up

on with her sister Kathleen.

Some good things do happen.

Yeah. And it is something that is... Well, no matter how much longer

I have got, I shall remember for all the days of my life.

Two months after hearing the news that her sister Kathleen

had finally been traced, Violet and her granddaughter Candice arrive

at London Heathrow, after a 23-hour flight from Australia.

Now we have to see what sights there is!

Tomorrow, Violet will see her beloved sister again for the first time

since they were forcibly separated when she was just eight years old.

Meanwhile, in Lincolnshire, Violet's sister Kathleen and her daughter

Sharon can barely wait.

Wonderful. Absolutely wonderful.

I can't get hold of her soon enough!

She may remember more than I do and...

..I am just hoping that we can fit the pieces together

about both our journeys through life

and see what comes at the end of it.

To have this opportunity to share a journey so big,

like this, is just amazing.

It's a miracle, really.

-And I am glad that I could be a part of that.

-So am I.

There are thousands of archive libraries around Britain,

which are full of your family secrets,

if you wish to delve into them.

And most of the information is public.

In Liverpool, the local archives proved invaluable

to Ron Clark, when he wanted to find out about his family history.

As a young boy in the 1950s, Ron grew up in one of the poorest parts

of the city.

Life at the time, in the, sort of, tenement block, living in Liverpool

would have been real tough,

because times were hard, anyway, money was scarce.

Ron was a child born out of wedlock to a single mother,

but at the time, he had no idea how difficult life was for her.

We were terribly poor, but we were also very rich,

because she brought me culture. She taught me to read and gave me

an appreciation of authors and poetry and stuff.

So, it didn't feel like poverty.

He may have fond memories of his early life,

but everything changed for Ron when he was just eight years old.

One day, out of the blue,

I went with my mum from school to some nearby relatives

and, while we were at the relatives, my mum stated that she had left

her purse back at home and she was drifting off to get it

and, sadly, she went away and did not come back.

There was a short period of time, where I thought maybe my mum

was going to return to the relatives.

Soon, it became obvious that she was not coming back.

For me, it was devastating.

I thought the world of my mum.

It was only me and her. We were a little team.

Suddenly, she'd gone. I mean, I was absolutely devastated.

Ron was only with his relatives for a short time

before being uprooted once again.

I was taken away by some guys from social services

and taken to a completely new life. We went to a place

outside the city, where I was brought up with my, now,

new brother, Steve.

Whilst I can't hide the fact that it was very sad to lose

one aspect of your life, I then, sort of, entered another one

and was being brought up with my brother.

When Ronnie turned up, this young boy, round about

the same age as myself at the time,

my parents said that Ronnie was joining us,

that he had issues with his family and he would be staying with us

for a short period of time.

Ron lived happily with his foster parents and his foster brother Steve

for many years.

I had given up

on anything relating to my previous family.

So, I, at that point, simply accepted that I was a guy

with a foster brother going through life. That was it.

It was only when he got married that Ron started to miss his birth family.

My wife had a huge family and I had Steve, my foster brother,

so we had to cater for that by having a very, very small

daytime wedding, because of course, I had, sort of, one relative

at the time that I could bring along.

With his focus now on married life and children, it was, in fact,

another two decades before

Ron started his hunt for his family.

He started his search at grassroots level,

at his local library.

The library were a great help, actually, because what they did,

they gave me an address and a phone number of a particular

social services department.

I wrote to them and they were able to send me information

about my mother

and there was some very sad news.

After nearly 50 years of uncertainty,

this letter from social services would finally allow Ron

to know how his beloved mother had really died.

On the 12th of March, 1969, she was found dead

and suicide is indicated on the file,

but no official confirmation is given.

As well as revealing the tragic circumstances of his mother's death,

this letter held some other big surprises for Ron.

It told me that I had siblings.

A girl, born in 1939, a boy, two years later, and twins,

who are half Chinese, whose ages were not given.

And it says that there are no details about these children

on the file.

This came as a shock and an amazing surprise.

It was like this fantastic bonus that, because I had done the work,

to find out about my mum,

all this information came my way about my siblings.

But of course, it was only the start, because,

who were they and where were they?

There was obviously some work to be done.

Through a painstaking search of the library records,

Ron was able to track down the marriage certificate of a Jean Rae,

with the maiden name Clark, who he hoped was his older sister.

The registry office helped Ron find a possible address for Jean

and so, he wasted no time and drove round there.

I was filled with all sorts of mixed emotions,

because I had real butterflies. I knew that what happened next

could be a life-changing event for me.

I knew if I could clarify that this was actually Jean and Alan's home,

I would be about to meet my sister. And it was life changing.

And so it was, on Christmas Eve, 1998, that Ron's life

was to change forever.

I was 60 when I met Ron.

Hi, Jeannie!

At the time, it was a total shock for Jean,

who, like Ron, had grown up thinking she had no other family.

'The only time I knew about Ron was when he found me.'

It was good, you know, knowing that I did have someone,

because all them years on, I did not have anyone.

No relatives, you know?

You said to me husband, "Is your wife's birthday the 24th

-"of the fourth, '39?"

-That's right.

-And Alan said, "Yes."

-Yeah.

-And he said, "You'd better come in."

-Yeah, because I'll never forget

the moment I said, "So, would you mind if I say hello

-"to my sister?"

-Yeah.

-And he just looked at me and he said...

I don't know whether to laugh or cry. It was emotional,

-but it was a lovely occasion.

-It was.

-And thank you for that.

-You're welcome.

-Thank you very much.

Through finding Jean, Ron also made contact with another brother, Roy,

who has since passed away, but his search for his new family

didn't end there. A letter Ron was given by social services,

explaining his mother's death, had also referenced two mysterious

twin siblings, who were half Chinese.

Finding Jean inspired Ron to launch a new search, for them.

After a local newspaper wrote an article about him and Jean,

a cousin got in touch with a vital piece of information

about the twins.

They gave me that little clue that we didn't have,

which was that surname, which led to the name Yong

and, because by now, we were used to doing a bit of detective work,

we were able to trace the births.

And that was the start of the adventure of actually finding them.

This time around, Ron was able to use the internet

to trace the unusual name of Yong.

The name is obviously nothing like as widely known as the name Clark

would be. In searching for that name,

I was able, actually, to find a birth registration

for somebody and it was listed as "Yong or Clark",

so I knew, absolutely, that I had found their names.

It was an incredible moment.

Armed with this information, Ron trawled the social networking sites

and found a photograph that someone had posted of a wedding in Bali.

Yeah, there it is. That is the photo that I found when I could identify,

for the first time ever, the guy that I thought was Raymond,

my brother.

I just immediately felt a, sort of, bond that,

"There he is. That's my brother." I knew.

He had a strong lead, but now Ron had to find a way of getting in touch

with this Raymond Clark.

In Lincolnshire, 80-year-old Violet Rossini is on her way to meet her

beloved sister Kathleen. They were separated when Violet was aged eight

and have not seen each other for 72 years.

-Are you excited?

-Yes. Yes. Excited, but also...nervous.

After taking on their case,

the Salvation Army found Kathleen in a nursing home in Lincoln,

where she is waiting with her daughter Sharon

-for this transcontinental reunion.

-Does it feel unreal?

-It does, actually.

-Yeah, a bit surreal.

I just want to hold her.

Is your heart going?

-Yeah.

-Yeah! Blood pressure going up!

Can you give my daughter a hug now?

-72 years.

-I thought of you all the time.

-Have you? So have I.

So have I.

-How have you felt?

-Oh, waiting, waiting, to the start.

-But it has been worth every minute.

-It has, hasn't it?

-Yes.

-Well, we are here now.

-Yes.

-And we'll keep in touch.

-Yes.

-Don't know where to begin, do we?

-No, but we will, eventually.

-Never forgotten.

-Neither have I.

There has been that bond. A very strong bond.

-What is her name, did you say?

-Candy.

-Candy.

-Yeah.

I had a little dog called that!

LAUGHTER

I think she is better than a dog!

Auntie Violet has travelled across, what, half the world to get here,

at her age. I am astounded. Respect, to the lady.

LAUGHTER

CHATTER

I have never seen her cry, so the fact that she broke down,

it's like you knew she was coming home,

that she has come to someone that she recognises and has a bond with

and is someone who is so familiar, without knowing her for 72 years.

It is amazing that that is the reaction that they have.

Can you remember giving me a piggyback up the hill,

when we were going to school?

-Oh, yes.

-When we met in secret.

-Yes.

-Yeah. We used to meet in secret.

I think, yes, I did.

The ultimate revenge for my mum, meeting Violet again, on the people

who dragged them apart is that they are now together again.

They should have known each other their whole lives

and now they get to make up for that.

'It is really nice to have my sister back, because,'

well, she has meant a lot to me all these years.

I have never forgotten her and I have always thought about her.

So, I am glad to have a sister back again.

'It doesn't feel like 72 years, at all, since we last met.

'A lot of things that I have felt,'

Kathleen has been able to put into place and I have got that

sense of feeling that what I thought was right and I was not just

imagining it. She has just closed everything up for me.

That is my youngest daughter, Diane.

'It's like a miracle.'

I can't describe it in any other way,

because I never really thought I would never see her.

'I thought, if I found her,'

she might have passed away, because she was older than me

and I am getting on, too!

'But, no, this is just really wonderful.'

In Liverpool,

Ron Clark thought he was on his own from the age of eight.

But when he was in his forties, Ron started searching for his siblings

and found four brothers and sisters he had never known.

That is me, you, and there is our Roy.

He had found his older sister Jean and a brother, Roy,

but next, Ron was on the hunt for the half-Chinese twins

-who are also his siblings.

-The difference between finding Jean

and dealing with finding the twins

was I could use some more modern technology, some newer methods.

When Ron started trawling through social network sites, he came across

an image that changed everything, but it turned out that Ray was on

the other side of the world, in Bali, Indonesia.

Ron found an e-mail for the hotel which he manages there and sent him

a letter.

"Dear Raymond, I have something important to discuss with you.

"Will you contact me?", with a telephone number.

I recognised it as being a Liverpool telephone number.

Signed, "Ron Clark".

Whoof.

Speechless.

SHE CHORTLES

I'm sat my office and I took a deep breath and thought,

"Oh, my God, what's this?!"

Then, I, sort of, calmed down a little bit and I am thinking,

"Hmm... Relative."

Somebody has found us.

Cos I did not know about Ron.

Nobody told me about Ron.

I did not know he existed.

So, then, when I called him, the moment he spoke,

the minute I spoke...

automated connection.

It was like we knew each other already.

Just chatted and chatted and chatted.

And then, I told him, "OK, next time I come to the UK,

"we will get together."

The next time I went to the UK, we had the weekend together.

Fantastic. Super nice. Yeah.

Ray always thought he and his twin sister Irene were completely

on their own, with no immediate family.

-I am so proud of what he has done.

-Yeah, fantastic.

And he has found us, in the end.

-Yeah.

-He has helped us belong to someone, at last.

-I take my hat off to him.

-Yeah. Absolutely.

They have all met up before, but today, Ray has come back over

from Bali to visit Ron, Jean and Irene, who now lives in Wigan.

And Ron has someone really special he wants them to meet...

..his foster brother Steve, who he grew up with from the age of eight.

I have never met Irene or Ray.

This is the very first time. I am really looking forward to it.

I am sure we will get on great, hopefully, and I hope to see

a lot more of them, as well. You know, it is good for me.

I am a little bit nervous, because we have never met.

-Cheers.

-Cheers.

Hey-hey!

-I don't even need to be introduced.

-There is our kid.

Hi. Come here. I've got you first!

-Hiya.

-And you. Ray.

-Hello, mate. Pleased to meet you.

-Very, very pleased to meet you.

-I'm glad you're here now.

-Thank you.

-Thank you. We have met.

-Yeah, we have met, a few times!

LAUGHTER

'I thought,'

through my whole childhood, adulthood, that the only relative

I had was my twin sister, Irene.

'There was nobody else. And all of a sudden, I have got'

this new-found family. Massive!

-It has gone from, like, a small finding to a massive...

-Massive.

Ronnie rings me and says to me, "I have found somebody else now."

It is networking, isn't it, really? It is networking, isn't it,

in effect? Because, "Oh, you have got a cousin here

"or a second cousin there or an auntie here or an uncle there."

And they're not just in Liverpool.

-No, they are over the world, aren't they?

-I was in Australia

two weeks ago and he was telling me, "Oh, we have got relations

"in Brisbane." I said, "I was there last week!"

So, I have a family and I had been brought up all these years thinking

I did not have a family. So, now, I am a family man!

Yeah! So, it is quite exciting, yeah.

It went superbly well, didn't it?

As much as it may be true to say that my mum is not here

to see these things, this is the next best thing. We have created

a situation that she would be very, very proud of

and I just know that she would. For me, that is everything.

Since filming the programme,

Kathleen has passed away.

But not before having the opportunity to catch up on a lifetime

of happy memories with her beloved sister, Violet.