0:00:02 > 0:00:04Families can be driven apart for all manner of reasons.
0:00:04 > 0:00:08My mum went away and didn't come back.
0:00:08 > 0:00:10And when you do lose touch with your loved ones...
0:00:10 > 0:00:12I never saw Kathleen again.
0:00:12 > 0:00:14..finding them can take a lifetime...
0:00:14 > 0:00:17I wonder where he is, I wonder what he is doing.
0:00:17 > 0:00:20You don't really know where to begin.
0:00:20 > 0:00:23..especially when they could be anywhere, at home or abroad.
0:00:25 > 0:00:28And that is where the Family Finders come in.
0:00:28 > 0:00:31Hi, it is the Salvation Army Family Tracing Service.
0:00:31 > 0:00:33From international organisations...
0:00:33 > 0:00:37There has never been a day when we have never had new inquiries.
0:00:37 > 0:00:40..to genealogy detective agencies...
0:00:40 > 0:00:42When was it you last had contact with him?
0:00:42 > 0:00:44..and dedicated one-man bands...
0:00:44 > 0:00:47I like to do searches other people can't get,
0:00:47 > 0:00:48because it makes me feel good.
0:00:48 > 0:00:51..they hunt through history...
0:00:51 > 0:00:54to bring families back together again.
0:00:54 > 0:00:56"You're my biological dad."
0:00:56 > 0:00:59In this series, we follow the work of the Family Finders...
0:00:59 > 0:01:02This case came from our Australian colleagues.
0:01:02 > 0:01:03..learning the tricks they use
0:01:03 > 0:01:06to track missing relatives through time...
0:01:06 > 0:01:10I am 68 years of age, he is 75 years of age and we are just starting off.
0:01:10 > 0:01:14..and meeting the people whose lives they change along the way.
0:01:14 > 0:01:16I said, "This is your younger sister."
0:01:16 > 0:01:18It is a miracle.
0:01:18 > 0:01:21I was struck speechless. And I couldn't stop crying.
0:01:21 > 0:01:23It's a proud moment for Dad.
0:01:23 > 0:01:26It was a start on finding my family.
0:01:32 > 0:01:36There are a wealth of agencies all over the UK that can help
0:01:36 > 0:01:38reunite estranged families.
0:01:38 > 0:01:40I don't just look for dead people
0:01:40 > 0:01:43but I also look for live people, trying to reunite relatives
0:01:43 > 0:01:45or friends who have lost contact with each other.
0:01:45 > 0:01:48But not everyone chooses to call in the experts.
0:01:48 > 0:01:52Plenty of people decide to turn family finder themselves.
0:01:52 > 0:01:55Nowadays you sit down at your computer, you go onto the screen,
0:01:55 > 0:01:57you click the mouse and hopefully
0:01:57 > 0:02:00the computer will do the searching for you.
0:02:00 > 0:02:03And that is exactly what 40-year-old Tracy has decided to do
0:02:03 > 0:02:06on behalf of her father, George Chapman.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09It was about eight months searching through all the files
0:02:09 > 0:02:14until we actually found what we thought was a family member.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19Throughout his tough upbringing in 1940s Northumberland,
0:02:19 > 0:02:22George believed he was an only child.
0:02:23 > 0:02:25Well, I was born in 1946.
0:02:25 > 0:02:27I moved to a place called Hartford Huts,
0:02:27 > 0:02:30which belonged to the council now,
0:02:30 > 0:02:32but they were Nissen huts, you know?
0:02:32 > 0:02:35They had no toilet, so you had to walk a quarter of a mile
0:02:35 > 0:02:37if you wanted your toilet.
0:02:37 > 0:02:43And we were there until I was nearly four, four years old.
0:02:43 > 0:02:47Then the council had built a new estate at Bedlington Station
0:02:47 > 0:02:50and that is when we all moved down to Bedlington Station.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53I had a couple of paper rounds, you know,
0:02:53 > 0:02:54to make a bit of pocket money
0:02:54 > 0:02:58and I used to come back in the morning and do my mum's
0:02:58 > 0:03:02breakfast because she had turned blind, you know, she couldn't cook.
0:03:02 > 0:03:07And then away to school, come back at dinner time,
0:03:07 > 0:03:10do a little sandwich or something for her, you know,
0:03:10 > 0:03:13because she was diabetic, so she hardly had food.
0:03:13 > 0:03:16Many a time I came in and she was in, like,
0:03:16 > 0:03:19what we call a diabetic coma.
0:03:19 > 0:03:22I had to try and get her out of it with plenty of sweet tea.
0:03:22 > 0:03:24My dad contracted TB.
0:03:26 > 0:03:30He was ill with that, so I had two ill parents for a long time.
0:03:30 > 0:03:33Hadn't any help from social services at all
0:03:33 > 0:03:35and I still had to go to school.
0:03:35 > 0:03:37But I coped, you know.
0:03:39 > 0:03:41With so many responsibilities at home,
0:03:41 > 0:03:45George was encouraged to go on a school trip when he was 15.
0:03:45 > 0:03:50My dad says, "Oh, just get away. You need a break and that," you know?
0:03:50 > 0:03:53And my mother was in hospital at this time, she had been
0:03:53 > 0:03:56took in two days before I went, but they told us to still go.
0:03:58 > 0:04:01So I went away and everything was all right
0:04:01 > 0:04:05and a week later I got a letter saying my mother had died.
0:04:07 > 0:04:09And she had been buried.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13And nobody had informed us, you know, till then.
0:04:16 > 0:04:22My dad and me just had to get on with our two selves
0:04:22 > 0:04:24until I started going out with Maureen.
0:04:25 > 0:04:30George and Maureen became engaged and got married not long after.
0:04:30 > 0:04:33Then, a few years later, George's dad also passed away.
0:04:35 > 0:04:41I was 22 when my dad died and I was going through a lot
0:04:41 > 0:04:45of papers, you know, as you do with your dad's stuff and that.
0:04:45 > 0:04:49And stuffed away in a little wallet, hidden away
0:04:49 > 0:04:53was this adoption certificate
0:04:53 > 0:04:56which I had never seen.
0:04:56 > 0:04:58So I looked at it and...
0:05:00 > 0:05:01..I couldn't believe what I saw.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04I am shocked, you know,
0:05:04 > 0:05:08at nobody telling me this, you know?
0:05:08 > 0:05:11George pleaded with his relatives for more information
0:05:11 > 0:05:16about his birth parents but was given nothing more than his mother's name.
0:05:16 > 0:05:19He went on to have a family of his own, but it wasn't until his
0:05:19 > 0:05:23daughter Tracy had grown up that he decided to open up about the past.
0:05:24 > 0:05:26This is how it started.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29I found this and I couldn't believe it
0:05:29 > 0:05:32when I saw the date that I had been adopted.
0:05:32 > 0:05:36With me being born on 4th May, it's...
0:05:36 > 0:05:42The whole thing was completed in 1946 on 31st May.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45- And that's it.- Yeah.
0:05:46 > 0:05:50Armed with her dad's adoption papers, Tracy approached
0:05:50 > 0:05:54Northumberland social services, who gave her his birth certificate.
0:05:54 > 0:05:56And this crucial document gave them
0:05:56 > 0:05:59confirmation of George's original name.
0:05:59 > 0:06:03They give you the name of your mam,
0:06:03 > 0:06:07who was Purdy, formerly Foster, which was her maiden name.
0:06:08 > 0:06:13With this vital information, the next part of the search could begin.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16We went on a site on the internet and you could search through births,
0:06:16 > 0:06:19you could search through deaths, marriages.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22There was a census on there as well.
0:06:22 > 0:06:26I looked under the marriages from Mary Purdy
0:06:26 > 0:06:31and it came up saying that she had been married to George Clough.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34So then we put in Clough in the next ten years
0:06:34 > 0:06:38and it brought up Christine, Vera and Allan.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41Christine, Vera and Allan were also children
0:06:41 > 0:06:43of George's birth mother, Mary.
0:06:43 > 0:06:45At the very least, they were half-siblings to George
0:06:45 > 0:06:47and possibly even full siblings.
0:06:47 > 0:06:51And armed with these names, Tracy turned her attention to social media.
0:06:51 > 0:06:53Me and my niece Rebecca,
0:06:53 > 0:06:55we had the list of names and she contacted me and says,
0:06:55 > 0:06:58"Why don't you search through the social media site and see
0:06:58 > 0:07:01"if you can see if anybody is on there?"
0:07:03 > 0:07:07And when Tracy entered the name of George's brother, Allan Clough,
0:07:07 > 0:07:08she seemed to strike gold.
0:07:10 > 0:07:13I said straight away that he looked like my dad. I could see.
0:07:13 > 0:07:15The bit from the eyes and the...
0:07:15 > 0:07:18The nose and the eyes, I thought that was...
0:07:18 > 0:07:20They looked very similar.
0:07:20 > 0:07:25So I pretty much thought we hit on finding the right person.
0:07:26 > 0:07:30Tracy sent this Allan a message asking if he might be a relative.
0:07:31 > 0:07:33But they received no reply.
0:07:35 > 0:07:40I just thought, "Oh, they don't want to know. They have rejected it."
0:07:40 > 0:07:42But we knew that they hadn't read it.
0:07:42 > 0:07:45But Tracy kept saying, "Well, nobody has read it.
0:07:45 > 0:07:46- "They haven't read it..."- Yeah.
0:07:46 > 0:07:49"..so it cannot have been rejected," you know?
0:07:50 > 0:07:52George's search had hit a dead end.
0:07:54 > 0:07:57Little did they know what was just around the corner.
0:08:03 > 0:08:07Since the early 1960s Britain's divorce rate has risen by 80%.
0:08:10 > 0:08:12And with families splitting up,
0:08:12 > 0:08:15many children get separated from one of their parents.
0:08:17 > 0:08:20That is what happened to Rebecca Taylor,
0:08:20 > 0:08:24who enlisted the help of the Salvation Army to try to track down
0:08:24 > 0:08:25her biological father.
0:08:28 > 0:08:30OK, and can I just take her name? Sorry.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36More often than not people can't provide the information
0:08:36 > 0:08:39that would be ideal,
0:08:39 > 0:08:42but we can still work with quite basic information.
0:08:49 > 0:08:52Rebecca's story begins in the Black Country in 1976.
0:08:52 > 0:08:56I was born in Walsall in the West Midlands.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59My mum was from Walsall and my dad was from Walsall
0:08:59 > 0:09:00and I grew up there.
0:09:00 > 0:09:04Rebecca has a few precious early memories of her father, Trevor.
0:09:04 > 0:09:07I remember seeing my dad when I was very little.
0:09:07 > 0:09:10I also remember him teaching me to ride a bike.
0:09:10 > 0:09:13At the age of three her parents split up,
0:09:13 > 0:09:16but Rebecca continued to see her dad.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19I used to see him every now and again.
0:09:19 > 0:09:22I remember he took me to a teddy bears' picnic in the park.
0:09:23 > 0:09:27We went to Alton Towers. He didn't live with us, but I got to see him.
0:09:28 > 0:09:31However, when Rebecca was ten, her mother remarried
0:09:31 > 0:09:35and the new family decided to start a fresh life in Devon.
0:09:35 > 0:09:38We moved from a semidetached house in Smethwick,
0:09:38 > 0:09:42which is not the nicest part of the world but that is where we lived,
0:09:42 > 0:09:44and we moved down south.
0:09:44 > 0:09:47And that was the last time Rebecca saw her dad.
0:09:47 > 0:09:50I stopped seeing my dad when we moved away.
0:09:50 > 0:09:55My dad was quite keen to see me but then my mum remarried again
0:09:55 > 0:09:59and they had my sister when I was ten years old.
0:09:59 > 0:10:03Even though she grew up far removed from her biological father
0:10:03 > 0:10:05and had just a few blurry photos of him,
0:10:05 > 0:10:08Rebecca was always determined to track him down.
0:10:08 > 0:10:12I always kind of said to myself, "I'm going to find my dad one day."
0:10:12 > 0:10:14You know, "I'm going to do it."
0:10:15 > 0:10:18She made several failed attempts to track down her father
0:10:18 > 0:10:21over the years, but it wasn't until she hit her late 30s
0:10:21 > 0:10:23that Rebecca took her search online.
0:10:26 > 0:10:30I put in my dad's name, where he was born and birthday
0:10:30 > 0:10:32and I came across an amazing story.
0:10:34 > 0:10:37Rebecca found an article relating to a Trevor Matthews.
0:10:39 > 0:10:42"To our brother on 20 February. Have a great day.
0:10:42 > 0:10:45"Love you, from sisters and families and Auntie Peggy."
0:10:45 > 0:10:48But with no knowledge of this Auntie Peggy,
0:10:48 > 0:10:51Rebecca couldn't be certain if she had the right man.
0:10:51 > 0:10:55When I opened the page up there was a photograph of him.
0:10:55 > 0:10:56I saw that and thought,
0:10:56 > 0:10:58"Wow, I actually think this is my dad."
0:11:01 > 0:11:04With a photo, date of birth and location,
0:11:04 > 0:11:09Rebecca would have had a fighting chance of finding Trevor by herself.
0:11:09 > 0:11:11But nervous about making first contact,
0:11:11 > 0:11:15she decided to place the search in the hands of the experts.
0:11:19 > 0:11:21The Salvation Army have a high rate of success
0:11:21 > 0:11:23when it comes to reuniting families.
0:11:25 > 0:11:28Rebecca had made a good start, but she couldn't be entirely sure
0:11:28 > 0:11:32that the man she had found was her father.
0:11:32 > 0:11:35Could the Family Tracing Unit solve the case and find their man?
0:11:35 > 0:11:37She contacted us in the first place
0:11:37 > 0:11:41by filling in one of our online inquiry forms.
0:11:41 > 0:11:45She provided us with her father's full name, date of birth
0:11:45 > 0:11:48and the last known area he was possibly known to be in.
0:11:48 > 0:11:52Rebecca was also able to send us a copy of her birth certificate,
0:11:52 > 0:11:56her parents' marriage certificate, which was able to help us
0:11:56 > 0:11:57with our searches.
0:12:00 > 0:12:04They had some basic information, but the Salvation Army now needed
0:12:04 > 0:12:07to track down Trevor Matthews' current whereabouts
0:12:07 > 0:12:11and then write to him asking if he'd like to reconnect with his daughter.
0:12:13 > 0:12:18And while this all took place, all Rebecca could do was wait.
0:12:24 > 0:12:27In Tyne and Wear, ten months have passed since George
0:12:27 > 0:12:30and his daughter Tracy sent a message on social media
0:12:30 > 0:12:33to the man they thought to be his brother Allan.
0:12:33 > 0:12:36Understandably, they had given up hope.
0:12:37 > 0:12:41But a mere ten miles away, his prayers have just been answered.
0:12:41 > 0:12:43I didn't go on for over a year
0:12:43 > 0:12:46and on 27 December...
0:12:46 > 0:12:50for some reason I decided to go on.
0:12:50 > 0:12:54And I realised I had a message and when I opened the message,
0:12:54 > 0:12:57it was from a Tracy Stephenson.
0:12:59 > 0:13:03She said her father had been doing his family tree.
0:13:03 > 0:13:07His mother was called Mary Purdy, nee Foster,
0:13:07 > 0:13:10who then married George Clough...
0:13:11 > 0:13:13..and asked if I was a relative.
0:13:14 > 0:13:18And when I'm seeing this, I thought, "God, I don't believe this,"
0:13:18 > 0:13:23because Mary and George were my mother and father.
0:13:23 > 0:13:27So I replied to Tracy's message telling her who I was
0:13:27 > 0:13:31and I'll give the telephone number out and...
0:13:33 > 0:13:36..George phoned me a couple of days later.
0:13:36 > 0:13:39I phoned up, I was shaking, I was phoning up,
0:13:39 > 0:13:42and funny enough the first words out of his mouth was,
0:13:42 > 0:13:44"Is that George?"
0:13:44 > 0:13:47He says, "I have been sitting here waiting all morning
0:13:47 > 0:13:49"hoping that you would phone us."
0:13:50 > 0:13:54And, oh, I think we spoke for about an hour.
0:13:54 > 0:13:57I wept, you know,
0:13:57 > 0:13:59that I had found some family.
0:13:59 > 0:14:04After 68 years, and knowing that you've got a brother
0:14:04 > 0:14:09and sisters, it's the best feeling in the world, you know.
0:14:09 > 0:14:13It felt great, you know, to know that I had a brother.
0:14:14 > 0:14:20And, like I say, it just felt as though I knew him for years.
0:14:20 > 0:14:24Allan and Christine had a loving but tough upbringing with their mum, who
0:14:24 > 0:14:29raised them by herself after their father died when Allan was just 11.
0:14:29 > 0:14:33And their mother kept George a secret from both of them all her life.
0:14:33 > 0:14:40I was 21 when she died and she never mentioned anything whatsoever.
0:14:40 > 0:14:42I just couldn't take it in and I just thought,
0:14:42 > 0:14:45"My mum's not my mum, not the person I knew."
0:14:45 > 0:14:48It was just a shock at first for me.
0:14:48 > 0:14:52Then Allan came down New Year's Day, specifically to make me
0:14:52 > 0:14:55talk to him, and I never regretted it from the day I did.
0:14:57 > 0:15:00It's Christine's birthday today and George and his new
0:15:00 > 0:15:04siblings are all coming together for a proper knees-up tonight.
0:15:05 > 0:15:08But there's another big event today, too.
0:15:08 > 0:15:13Allan and Christine had a sister, Vera, who died in her 20s.
0:15:13 > 0:15:17But there's also another sister, Thelma, who now lives in Australia.
0:15:17 > 0:15:21And today, Thelma's come all the way over to Northumberland to
0:15:21 > 0:15:24celebrate Christine's birthday and to meet George,
0:15:24 > 0:15:26the brother she never knew she had.
0:15:26 > 0:15:33When Christine rang to say we had a brother, I was so confused.
0:15:33 > 0:15:35- "Who is it?"- Yeah.
0:15:35 > 0:15:40But when I've seen the picture of him, it was the image of Christine.
0:15:43 > 0:15:45Yeah, very excited when I see them. Yeah.
0:15:45 > 0:15:46I'm...
0:15:48 > 0:15:54I'm usually fairly calm, you know, but when I come to see
0:15:54 > 0:15:59the family, I do get a bit excited about it, you know?
0:15:59 > 0:16:01Just because I've never had anything like this.
0:16:01 > 0:16:07I've been an only one, you know, and I've always seen
0:16:07 > 0:16:12a lot of families, you know, when they're all together.
0:16:12 > 0:16:13And...
0:16:15 > 0:16:20And I've often said I wouldn't mind having a family, a brother
0:16:20 > 0:16:25and sisters, to share, you know. I think that would be lovely.
0:16:26 > 0:16:27And it's happened.
0:16:27 > 0:16:32I've got brothers and sisters and it's the best feeling in the world.
0:16:32 > 0:16:33I love it.
0:16:35 > 0:16:37George has met Allan and Christine already
0:16:37 > 0:16:40but this is the first time he'll get to know Thelma.
0:16:47 > 0:16:50- Hello.- Hello, Christine. - You all right?- That's another one.
0:16:51 > 0:16:54After a tough childhood caring for sick parents
0:16:54 > 0:16:58- and believing he was an only child... - What are you doing, then?
0:16:58 > 0:16:59Hello, Allan.
0:16:59 > 0:17:03..George now has not just a brother and sister who live ten miles away
0:17:03 > 0:17:07but also another sister from the other side of the world.
0:17:07 > 0:17:10- At long last!- At long last! - My brother, George.- Yeah.
0:17:19 > 0:17:23- It's a long flight, isn't it? 23, is it?- 24.- 24?
0:17:23 > 0:17:25And then the rest and hanging around the airport.
0:17:25 > 0:17:31- Yeah, I think that's the worst part. - Yeah, but it was worth it.- It was.
0:17:31 > 0:17:34- It was worth it.- Very well worth it. - I'm pleased you've come over.
0:17:34 > 0:17:36- Yeah, so am I.- Been looking forward to this for a long time.
0:17:36 > 0:17:40- Yeah, I have, too. Yeah.- Yeah. Now I've got a new family.
0:17:40 > 0:17:42That's right, yeah. It's lovely.
0:17:43 > 0:17:49Just wish that I had met my mother, you know,
0:17:49 > 0:17:54- before she died, you know? - She was young when she died.- Yeah.
0:17:54 > 0:17:56- That's my mum. - That's your mum, yeah?
0:17:56 > 0:18:01- That's Allan when he was little.- She was great. Great sense of humour.
0:18:01 > 0:18:05She was strict, very strict, but fair. Very strict but fair.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09Shame it's taken all these years to find each other.
0:18:09 > 0:18:14- But we'll make up for it now. - Oh, yes, yes.- The best we can.
0:18:14 > 0:18:17We were shocked and then happy and then saddened
0:18:17 > 0:18:20- because it's taken all this time. - It's taken all this time, that's it.
0:18:20 > 0:18:22But it's great.
0:18:22 > 0:18:26It's the best thing that's ever happened to me, you know.
0:18:26 > 0:18:29I've always said I wanted brothers or sisters...and sisters,
0:18:29 > 0:18:33- and I've got what I've asked for. Cannot ask for any more.- Yeah.
0:18:33 > 0:18:38Sadly, the exact reasons why George was adopted remain a mystery.
0:18:41 > 0:18:44But having spent his whole life wishing he had siblings,
0:18:44 > 0:18:47George's dream has come true, and tonight,
0:18:47 > 0:18:51he gets to celebrate his sister's birthday with his new-found family.
0:18:55 > 0:18:57Just like to thank everyone for coming.
0:18:57 > 0:19:01I would like to thank George and family for looking and finding us.
0:19:01 > 0:19:04It was the best thing that ever happened and to tell him all his
0:19:04 > 0:19:09new family love him and his family, and I'm sure Allan will agree.
0:19:09 > 0:19:11Me and him are much closer now.
0:19:12 > 0:19:13And that's it.
0:19:13 > 0:19:14SHE LAUGHS
0:19:14 > 0:19:17CHEERING
0:19:23 > 0:19:25I was going to have a little party
0:19:25 > 0:19:27but my girls have decided I'm going to have a big party
0:19:27 > 0:19:29because I found my brother that I never knew I had,
0:19:29 > 0:19:32and it's the best thing that's ever happened.
0:19:37 > 0:19:39This is the first time the four of us
0:19:39 > 0:19:41have had a night out together and it's really good.
0:19:42 > 0:19:46- Nice to take back memories to Australia.- Yeah.
0:19:46 > 0:19:48It's been a fabulous night
0:19:48 > 0:19:51and we're hoping you'll enjoy the rest of it.
0:19:51 > 0:19:52I did well.
0:19:55 > 0:20:01Christine's speech was lovely and I was very emotional when she made it.
0:20:01 > 0:20:02Um...
0:20:03 > 0:20:08I really got, you know...got the lump in my throat at the time.
0:20:08 > 0:20:10Well, it was nice just to get some lovely words and that
0:20:10 > 0:20:15about my family and that, and I appreciate what she said.
0:20:15 > 0:20:16It is better late than never.
0:20:18 > 0:20:19I mean, it all happened...
0:20:21 > 0:20:25Really got together in about 68 weeks, you know,
0:20:25 > 0:20:30and to be together like this is just fantastic, you know.
0:20:30 > 0:20:34Being accepted is the main thing for me, being accepted.
0:20:34 > 0:20:36I found them and I'll never let go.
0:20:37 > 0:20:40That's what I want and that's what I've got.
0:20:47 > 0:20:50In Berkshire, Rebecca had contacted the Salvation Army to help
0:20:50 > 0:20:54find her father, Trevor, after over 30 years apart.
0:20:55 > 0:20:58The Family Tracing Unit had made some inroads
0:20:58 > 0:21:00but Rebecca had heard nothing.
0:21:01 > 0:21:05The best place to start with a case like this one with
0:21:05 > 0:21:09the information we were provided with is the electoral roll.
0:21:09 > 0:21:13I was able to cross-reference the details, which meant
0:21:13 > 0:21:18I was able to narrow it down to possibly the right person.
0:21:18 > 0:21:23After an agonising wait, the Salvation Army had come up trumps.
0:21:23 > 0:21:26They were able to confirm that the man Rebecca had found online
0:21:26 > 0:21:30was her father, Trevor Matthews, and they were also able to
0:21:30 > 0:21:33confirm that he was happy to reconnect with her.
0:21:33 > 0:21:36I got a phone call two weeks after, roughly.
0:21:36 > 0:21:39And I thought to myself, "This is going to be an emotional moment."
0:21:39 > 0:21:42So I went into a meeting room, shut myself in there and she said,
0:21:42 > 0:21:44"I've got some fantastic news for you.
0:21:44 > 0:21:47"I'm really pleased to tell you that we found your dad and he's
0:21:47 > 0:21:50"over the moon that you've taken the effort and found, you know...
0:21:50 > 0:21:55"that he's in touch with you now." And I was in floods of tears.
0:21:55 > 0:21:58I was just so happy, emotional tears,
0:21:58 > 0:22:02after all these years, I'd actually finally found him
0:22:02 > 0:22:04and that, actually, he wanted me to find him.
0:22:06 > 0:22:09Naturally, Rebecca wasn't the only one the Salvation Army had
0:22:09 > 0:22:11got in touch with.
0:22:11 > 0:22:16When I received the letter saying one of my family would like to
0:22:16 > 0:22:18contact me, um...
0:22:19 > 0:22:21Well, my mind was doing overtime.
0:22:23 > 0:22:27I found Rebecca and I heard a voice and I thought,
0:22:27 > 0:22:28"I'm glad when I can meet you, you know,
0:22:28 > 0:22:31"really pleased to meet you, you know,
0:22:31 > 0:22:32"I just want to meet you."
0:22:32 > 0:22:35I thought, "Oh, it's my dad, it's my dad!"
0:22:36 > 0:22:40So that was quite a good memory, when I actually got to speak to him.
0:22:40 > 0:22:42He kept saying to me, "I can't actually believe this.
0:22:42 > 0:22:44"I keep having to pinch myself.
0:22:44 > 0:22:46"I can't believe this is actually happening,"
0:22:46 > 0:22:50because he didn't think he would actually ever see me again.
0:22:50 > 0:22:54Rebecca and Trevor were separated for 30 years.
0:22:54 > 0:22:56There's been a lot of water under the bridge
0:22:56 > 0:23:01and Trevor's only recently been able to share his version of events.
0:23:01 > 0:23:02It was so sad...
0:23:04 > 0:23:08..because I didn't want to leave Rebecca behind or anybody else,
0:23:08 > 0:23:10yeah.
0:23:10 > 0:23:13But, you know, due to circumstances beyond my control...
0:23:15 > 0:23:19..I decided I could, and that's what I'll always do.
0:23:20 > 0:23:23I don't know if that's any good but that's about the truth of it,
0:23:23 > 0:23:24you know.
0:23:27 > 0:23:31Back in contact, the pair are hoping they can make up for lost time.
0:23:33 > 0:23:37And that's exactly what they did when they first met.
0:23:37 > 0:23:38I went there for the weekend
0:23:38 > 0:23:41and I was supposed to see him on the Saturday.
0:23:41 > 0:23:43And he was so keen to see me that he phoned me up and said, "I think
0:23:43 > 0:23:46"you should come and meet us tonight. Why wait?"
0:23:46 > 0:23:49And I said, "I'm not ready for this yet!
0:23:49 > 0:23:52"This is such a big thing, I'm not ready. Let's just do it tomorrow."
0:23:52 > 0:23:54You know, seize the day and all that, just do it now.
0:23:54 > 0:23:56He's asking to see you.
0:23:56 > 0:24:00So we got ready and we went and met him at his local pub, got the
0:24:00 > 0:24:04taxi, and the taxi pulled up and he was waiting outside the pub already.
0:24:04 > 0:24:08I was, like, "I think that's my dad. I think that's him! There he is.
0:24:08 > 0:24:09"But is it him?"
0:24:09 > 0:24:12So we got out of the taxi and he said, "All right, Rebecca?"
0:24:13 > 0:24:15He was really over the moon
0:24:15 > 0:24:19and it was really good to speak to him again.
0:24:19 > 0:24:22As for Trevor, he's just pleased to get a second chance.
0:24:22 > 0:24:26I'll put back, you know, what I've missed out on.
0:24:27 > 0:24:29Yeah? And do my best to do it.
0:24:29 > 0:24:31Cos I'm determined
0:24:31 > 0:24:33and I'm glad to be back.
0:24:33 > 0:24:35As Arnold Schwarzenegger said, "I'll be back."
0:24:35 > 0:24:37TREVOR WHEEZES AND LAUGHS
0:24:39 > 0:24:43Rebecca and her daughter, Holly, now live in Berkshire.
0:24:43 > 0:24:47Today, they're making the 120-mile journey to Walsall,
0:24:47 > 0:24:52so Rebecca can take Holly to meet her grandad on home turf.
0:24:55 > 0:24:56Hello.
0:24:56 > 0:25:01- Hello, Holly. Nice to meet you.- Are you all right?- Yes, lovely.
0:25:01 > 0:25:03- Long time.- Hello.
0:25:03 > 0:25:07- How are you?- I've been good, how are you?- Not too bad, thank you.- Good.
0:25:07 > 0:25:10We've brought a present for you today, Grandad.
0:25:10 > 0:25:13We've brought you...some photos.
0:25:13 > 0:25:18Oh, thank you very much, that's absolutely...
0:25:18 > 0:25:19beautiful.
0:25:23 > 0:25:27The first picture was me as a baby, five months old.
0:25:27 > 0:25:29That's absolutely beautiful.
0:25:29 > 0:25:31You recognise?
0:25:31 > 0:25:33That's a lovely photo.
0:25:39 > 0:25:41That's me and my mum when I was born.
0:25:46 > 0:25:51That's me and Holly, when Holly was just a few months old.
0:25:51 > 0:25:54I shall treasure this. It's absolutely beautiful.
0:25:54 > 0:25:56And she's got the family red hair.
0:25:56 > 0:25:58- HOLLY LAUGHS - Yeah.
0:26:00 > 0:26:02And then there's some from when I was young.
0:26:02 > 0:26:05I was in Zimbabwe there, in 1987.
0:26:05 > 0:26:07I was 11 years old there.
0:26:09 > 0:26:13- Thank you very much.- That's fine. - I'll give you a cuddle.
0:26:14 > 0:26:15OK.
0:26:15 > 0:26:18- Good girl.- I hope you enjoy looking at them.- I will do.
0:26:18 > 0:26:21- I've enjoyed putting those together. - Yes.- It's been nice.- And you...
0:26:21 > 0:26:25- look after yourself, right? - I will.- Thank you.
0:26:25 > 0:26:28The great thing is, even though we don't know each other that well,
0:26:28 > 0:26:31I've honestly got that connection, because you're my dad.
0:26:31 > 0:26:34You can't replace that, I don't feel that way with other people,
0:26:34 > 0:26:36- you know? So...- Well, you won't, will you?
0:26:36 > 0:26:40I'd love to have had you there when I got married to give me away and things like that.
0:26:40 > 0:26:41There's times like that that I...
0:26:41 > 0:26:45I really appreciate that, believe me, that you think like that, right?
0:26:45 > 0:26:49- Mm.- But there is only one thing I want you to do, is be happy.
0:26:49 > 0:26:52- Yeah.- And that's all I want in the world.
0:26:52 > 0:26:55Yeah, well... I'm happier now that I've got you.
0:26:55 > 0:26:59We writ a book, a part of the book, it's not finished yet, right?
0:26:59 > 0:27:01- Mm.- But now we're moving on to this chapter,
0:27:01 > 0:27:03now you've found me,
0:27:03 > 0:27:07and this chapter in the book is the most interesting part of that book.
0:27:07 > 0:27:10- Mm.- Let's leave it like that, yeah?
0:27:13 > 0:27:15'It's nice to actually show him,'
0:27:15 > 0:27:18instead of just telling him what's been going on.
0:27:19 > 0:27:22It's good that we've actually made the effort,
0:27:22 > 0:27:26she's made the effort to finally find him
0:27:26 > 0:27:29and now hopefully we'll be able to see him a lot more often.
0:27:30 > 0:27:32I'm over the moon.
0:27:34 > 0:27:36And I feel tremendous...
0:27:36 > 0:27:41that this, my own daughter searched after all these years,
0:27:41 > 0:27:43for us to come together
0:27:43 > 0:27:47and now I know we can build a future from here.
0:27:47 > 0:27:50This is the happiest thing that's happened to me in the last year
0:27:50 > 0:27:53and it's something that I will never forget.
0:27:53 > 0:27:55You know, it's something you can't recreate.
0:27:55 > 0:27:58Um...you know, I'm lucky to have the rest of my family around,
0:27:58 > 0:28:01but this was like the missing piece, if you like,
0:28:01 > 0:28:04so I'm really glad I've found my dad and now I can spend time with him
0:28:04 > 0:28:08and my two daughters can spend time with him, and if they have children,
0:28:08 > 0:28:11hopefully he'll be around to be there for his great-grandchildren.
0:28:11 > 0:28:15So, for me it's a great achievement, I'm really happy.