0:00:02 > 0:00:04Families can be driven apart for all manner of reasons.
0:00:04 > 0:00:07My mum went away and didn't come back.
0:00:07 > 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's doing.
0:00:17 > 0:00:19You don't really know where to begin.
0:00:19 > 0:00:23..especially when they could be anywhere, at home or abroad.
0:00:25 > 0:00:28And that's where the Family Finders come in.
0:00:28 > 0:00:31Hi, it's the Salvation Army Family Tracing Service.
0:00:31 > 0:00:33From international organisations...
0:00:33 > 0:00:37There's 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 is 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 the 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 > 0:00:56You are 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 > 0:01:04Learning the tricks they use to track
0:01:04 > 0:01:06missing relatives through time...
0:01:06 > 0:01:10I'm 68 years of age, she's 75 years of age and we're 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, "Well, this is your younger sister."
0:01:16 > 0:01:18It's 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 > 0:01:26That was the start of finding my family.
0:01:33 > 0:01:36Every year, thousands of people across the UK
0:01:36 > 0:01:39begin searching for their families.
0:01:39 > 0:01:42And just occasionally, they find out that while they're
0:01:42 > 0:01:47looking for their relatives, those same relatives are looking for them.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50That's what happened to 65-year-old Mark Kerr,
0:01:50 > 0:01:52who was desperate to find his father,
0:01:52 > 0:01:55but a stroke of luck led him to someone just as interesting.
0:01:55 > 0:01:59Mark was born to a single mother in Paddington, West London,
0:01:59 > 0:02:02four years after the end of World War II.
0:02:02 > 0:02:0625th of December, 1949. A Christmas Day baby.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09My dad wasn't about at the time, I suppose, and...
0:02:09 > 0:02:12But like I said, back then, it was...
0:02:12 > 0:02:16You didn't keep children out of wedlock. You was pushed away.
0:02:16 > 0:02:18As a very young boy,
0:02:18 > 0:02:21Mark was sent to the Maybourne Children's Home in Sydenham.
0:02:21 > 0:02:25It wasn't an orphanage as such because we all had parents,
0:02:25 > 0:02:28so I suppose it was a children's home where children was put because their
0:02:28 > 0:02:32mums and dads weren't in a position to look after them at the time.
0:02:32 > 0:02:35You hear so many stories back in the '50s and '60s,
0:02:35 > 0:02:38but I consider myself pretty lucky to have ended up in that house.
0:02:38 > 0:02:41Reluctant to completely give him up to the care system,
0:02:41 > 0:02:45Mark's parents, Solly and Peggy, used to visit him regularly.
0:02:45 > 0:02:47So every second week, my mum would come
0:02:47 > 0:02:51and she'd bring a big food parcel and sweets and comics.
0:02:51 > 0:02:55My dad used to come and see me every second Tuesday
0:02:55 > 0:02:59and I distinctly remember sitting on these massive great steps outside
0:02:59 > 0:03:04and sometimes, he didn't turn up and I used to get so upset, I really did.
0:03:04 > 0:03:06It was heartbreaking, it really was,
0:03:06 > 0:03:09because you look forward to this every second week.
0:03:09 > 0:03:14Mark's dad slowly faded from his life and then, aged around ten,
0:03:14 > 0:03:18he went back to live with his mum and her new partner.
0:03:18 > 0:03:22He was a hard taskmaster, he really was. He didn't like me...
0:03:22 > 0:03:25and he made it known he didn't like me.
0:03:25 > 0:03:28And he... The belt would come off and he, you know...
0:03:28 > 0:03:30I was very wary of him.
0:03:30 > 0:03:33Mum picked a bad one there.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36And that's when I think I went off the straight and narrow.
0:03:36 > 0:03:39As a young teen, Mark got in with the wrong crowd
0:03:39 > 0:03:41and ended up in borstal.
0:03:41 > 0:03:43By the time of his release,
0:03:43 > 0:03:46Mark's mum had set up home with another man, Bob.
0:03:46 > 0:03:49He was a lovely chap. He idolised her.
0:03:49 > 0:03:53He really thought the world of her. Treated me very, very well.
0:03:53 > 0:03:57Never once raised a hand, once took his belt off.
0:03:57 > 0:04:00He used to run a butcher's shop down the Harrow Road.
0:04:00 > 0:04:01And I remember moving in there
0:04:01 > 0:04:03and I must have gone to school for about a year,
0:04:03 > 0:04:05but then I went down into the butcher's shop
0:04:05 > 0:04:08working in the butcher's shop. I was only about 14 or 15,
0:04:08 > 0:04:11because back then, you left school fairly young.
0:04:11 > 0:04:13And I enjoyed it. I loved the butcher's shop.
0:04:13 > 0:04:18But then, tragedy struck the new family unit.
0:04:18 > 0:04:22Unfortunately, then, just as things was going on, Mum got meningitis,
0:04:22 > 0:04:27I think it was, yeah, meningitis, rushed to hospital and passed on.
0:04:27 > 0:04:31When my mum died, I would have been 16, 17.
0:04:31 > 0:04:33I think Bob took it fairly bad.
0:04:33 > 0:04:35He just threw himself into his work.
0:04:35 > 0:04:38We plodded on for a couple of months and I just said to him one day,
0:04:38 > 0:04:41"Oh, I've been down Oxford, I'm joining the Army."
0:04:41 > 0:04:45But Mark continued to see Bob when he could.
0:04:45 > 0:04:49I went to see him a few times when I was on leave from the Army
0:04:49 > 0:04:51because I didn't have no family, as such.
0:04:51 > 0:04:55And then, unfortunately, we drifted apart.
0:04:55 > 0:04:57Christmas times and Easter and stuff like that,
0:04:57 > 0:05:00when all the other chaps, all of them going to their mums and dads,
0:05:00 > 0:05:01brothers, sisters,
0:05:01 > 0:05:05I used to volunteer and do the guard duty for them.
0:05:05 > 0:05:09Yearning for a sense of family, Mark decided to trace his
0:05:09 > 0:05:11biological father, Solly Levene,
0:05:11 > 0:05:13whose details he had on his birth certificate.
0:05:13 > 0:05:19Like I say, I was born on the 25th of December, 1949, Mark Joseph.
0:05:20 > 0:05:25Father, Solly Levene, a taxi driver working out of London Bridge.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29I did try and trace him in the Army.
0:05:29 > 0:05:31There was a family liaison officer,
0:05:31 > 0:05:34he heard about my family and everything.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37Thanks to all the information Mark had on his father,
0:05:37 > 0:05:41it didn't take the Army family liaison officer long to trace him.
0:05:41 > 0:05:45But the moment of first contact didn't go quite as Mark had hoped.
0:05:45 > 0:05:49He gave me a telephone with a phone number, I dialled the number,
0:05:49 > 0:05:52a lady answered, "Oh, hello, can I speak to Solly, please?"
0:05:52 > 0:05:54"Yes, who's talking?" And I said, "It's Mark."
0:05:54 > 0:05:57And she was insistent. "Just Mark, his son."
0:05:57 > 0:05:59Phone went dead.
0:06:00 > 0:06:03Because back in them days, when a phone went dead, it was dead.
0:06:03 > 0:06:05There was none of this, "Ooh, I've lost you, I've lost you,
0:06:05 > 0:06:07"where are you?" It was dead, that was the end of it.
0:06:07 > 0:06:11Rejected, Mark gave up hope of tracing any family.
0:06:11 > 0:06:15But little did he know, someone else was looking for him.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25Every year, more and more people set about trying to find
0:06:25 > 0:06:28family members they've lost contact with.
0:06:28 > 0:06:32Numerous organisations are now available to help
0:06:32 > 0:06:35this difficult and sensitive process.
0:06:35 > 0:06:38After 30 years in the police force, Antony Marr set up
0:06:38 > 0:06:43a genealogy consultancy helping families reunite across the country.
0:06:45 > 0:06:47Many people come to Antony after attempting
0:06:47 > 0:06:50a search on their own without success.
0:06:50 > 0:06:53So a lot of people get so far and get stuck and get frustrated,
0:06:53 > 0:06:56and we try and help them and get past that point, and show them
0:06:56 > 0:06:58where they might want to go and look next.
0:07:01 > 0:07:03One person who sought Antony's help
0:07:03 > 0:07:07is 72-year-old Wendy Brightwell from Buckinghamshire.
0:07:07 > 0:07:13I wanted to find out more about my dad, that was the paramount thing.
0:07:13 > 0:07:17Wendy grew up in Middlesex with her brother Rod and sister Margaret,
0:07:17 > 0:07:20but theirs was an unusual family set-up
0:07:20 > 0:07:24because, as well as Dad, there were two ladies of the household.
0:07:24 > 0:07:27My mum had the job, when she was a teenager,
0:07:27 > 0:07:30of going to the dairy to get the milk and, of course,
0:07:30 > 0:07:35she used to get the milk in a churn, and my father worked in the dairy.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39Before Wendy was born, her family relocated
0:07:39 > 0:07:42and her father invited her mother to come with them
0:07:42 > 0:07:47and work as a nanny to the children he already had, Rod and Margaret.
0:07:47 > 0:07:51When they decided to move away to Hayes,
0:07:51 > 0:07:55I understand that my mother went with them.
0:07:55 > 0:07:59Because by this time, she was like a baby-sitter, so...
0:07:59 > 0:08:03And I think she was about... I think she was in her early 20s.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06But it was soon clear that Wendy's mother
0:08:06 > 0:08:08was more than just a baby-sitter.
0:08:09 > 0:08:14So by 1942, I arrived on the scene.
0:08:14 > 0:08:18Despite already being married to a woman called Lil, Wendy's father
0:08:18 > 0:08:22suggested that the young Wendy and her mother join the family home.
0:08:22 > 0:08:27My Auntie Lil was obviously the mother of Rodney and Margret
0:08:27 > 0:08:31and, really, my father's wife,
0:08:31 > 0:08:33but I've always called her Auntie Lil.
0:08:33 > 0:08:37Despite the unusual arrangement of one father and two mothers,
0:08:37 > 0:08:39things seemed to work.
0:08:39 > 0:08:42We lived very happily together
0:08:42 > 0:08:46and I never really thought anything about it,
0:08:46 > 0:08:49and I don't think Rod did either, or Margaret.
0:08:49 > 0:08:51I mean, we just lived as one big family.
0:08:51 > 0:08:55For Rod and me, it was almost like having two mums
0:08:55 > 0:08:57because they looked after both of us.
0:09:01 > 0:09:04Wendy's father passed away when she was just nine,
0:09:04 > 0:09:08after which, the unconventional arrangement broke down.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11Obviously, with my father not there, then, you know,
0:09:11 > 0:09:15my mother had to then find something to just look after me,
0:09:15 > 0:09:20so she moved to a place in Harrow, near Harrow, a place called Kenton.
0:09:20 > 0:09:25It was at this point Wendy lost contact with Rodney and Margaret.
0:09:25 > 0:09:28There was no way, really, that we could keep in touch
0:09:28 > 0:09:33because people didn't have telephones, you know,
0:09:33 > 0:09:37no Internet or anything, no mobiles or anything like that.
0:09:37 > 0:09:40It wasn't until Wendy was a little more grown-up that
0:09:40 > 0:09:44she realised just how unusual her family make-up had been
0:09:44 > 0:09:46and it came as a real shock to her.
0:09:46 > 0:09:51When I got to about...probably about 10, 11,
0:09:51 > 0:09:53it suddenly occurred... I mean, my dad had died by them.
0:09:53 > 0:09:57And it suddenly occurred to me that I didn't have the same surname.
0:09:57 > 0:10:00And up till then, it hadn't twigged that
0:10:00 > 0:10:06I wasn't actually a legitimate child, you know.
0:10:06 > 0:10:10And it always felt like a bit of a...a stigma, really.
0:10:10 > 0:10:14And also, I wondered if I was really wanted.
0:10:14 > 0:10:19Years later, Wendy got married and had three children of her own.
0:10:19 > 0:10:23That's when I really started to search and think to myself,
0:10:23 > 0:10:28"One of these days, when I've got the time, when the kids have grown up,
0:10:28 > 0:10:33"I'm going to start looking and seeing if I can find out",
0:10:33 > 0:10:39to put it right in my mind that I was actually wanted.
0:10:39 > 0:10:42Desperate to find out what had happened to her old family,
0:10:42 > 0:10:45Wendy turned to family finder, Antony Marr.
0:10:45 > 0:10:47She wanted to know more about her father,
0:10:47 > 0:10:49and of course, he wasn't there to ask any more.
0:10:49 > 0:10:52And the more I spoke to her, and I gave her advice about where
0:10:52 > 0:10:55she wanted to look, where she might think about looking,
0:10:55 > 0:10:58how to find out more information, and she was very happy with that
0:10:58 > 0:11:00and she went away, then a little while later came back and
0:11:00 > 0:11:03asked me to do the research for her and see where we could get to.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06It soon became apparent there was much more to know about
0:11:06 > 0:11:09her brothers and sisters that she'd lost touch with
0:11:09 > 0:11:12and that was very quickly where the focus of the investigation went.
0:11:12 > 0:11:16I wanted to find out if Margaret and Rodney were still alive
0:11:16 > 0:11:19because I knew that time was marching on.
0:11:19 > 0:11:21I knew they were both older than me and I thought,
0:11:21 > 0:11:26"If I don't do something about it, you know, it's going to be too late."
0:11:26 > 0:11:30But I was frightened that they would actually want to see me
0:11:30 > 0:11:32and want to talk to me.
0:11:32 > 0:11:37Because at that point, I still felt that I was like the outsider
0:11:37 > 0:11:42and I didn't, you know, I felt very nervous.
0:11:42 > 0:11:45I thought, "Well, supposing when I do find them, they'll say, well,
0:11:45 > 0:11:50"they don't want to talk to..." You know, they won't want to talk to me.
0:11:50 > 0:11:52With no way of knowing what he might discover,
0:11:52 > 0:11:56Wendy asked Antony to carry on digging.
0:11:56 > 0:11:59Antony soon discovered that Margaret had passed away,
0:11:59 > 0:12:03but he put together family trees for both Wendy and her brother Rod.
0:12:03 > 0:12:08Rod's family tree led Antony to his son Neil
0:12:08 > 0:12:11and some more detective work revealed that Neil's phone number
0:12:11 > 0:12:14was actually available on Directory Enquiries.
0:12:14 > 0:12:16Once I'd got all the information I needed,
0:12:16 > 0:12:19I put it together in a report and arranged to go and see Wendy.
0:12:19 > 0:12:22It is a very, very exciting situation to be in,
0:12:22 > 0:12:24but it's also quite tense
0:12:24 > 0:12:27because I didn't know for certain that Rod was still alive.
0:12:27 > 0:12:31I knew his son seemed to be alive and living locally,
0:12:31 > 0:12:35but the information is always that little bit extra you don't know.
0:12:35 > 0:12:37So we arranged to meet. I went and saw Wendy,
0:12:37 > 0:12:39gave her the report, gave the information I had
0:12:39 > 0:12:44and we talked about how she might then make contact with Rod's son.
0:12:44 > 0:12:49So I rang Neil...Rod's son,
0:12:49 > 0:12:53and I was very nervous.
0:12:53 > 0:12:56I didn't know what his reaction would be.
0:12:56 > 0:12:59I didn't know if he knew about me. He probably didn't.
0:12:59 > 0:13:02So I... He answered, and I said, "My name is Wendy."
0:13:02 > 0:13:05I said, "Please don't put the phone down",
0:13:05 > 0:13:07because I thought he might've put the phone down.
0:13:07 > 0:13:10I said, "I think we're vaguely related."
0:13:10 > 0:13:14And I said, "Is your dad still alive?"
0:13:14 > 0:13:15And he said, "Yes, he is."
0:13:15 > 0:13:21And, I said, "Well, do you think you could ring him for me
0:13:21 > 0:13:24"and see if he would like to talk to me?"
0:13:24 > 0:13:26PHONE RINGS
0:13:29 > 0:13:34My son phones up and said, "I've had your half-sister on the phone
0:13:34 > 0:13:36"and she wonders if she can phone you."
0:13:36 > 0:13:39I said, "Well, of course she can." I wanted to find her,
0:13:39 > 0:13:42but I could never find her because I didn't know her surname.
0:13:42 > 0:13:44Wendy's sudden departure from family life was
0:13:44 > 0:13:46a great shock to Rod at the time.
0:13:46 > 0:13:51The next thing I know is Wendy's not there and her mum's not there.
0:13:51 > 0:13:55And...at that age, you don't say to your mum, "What's going on?"
0:13:55 > 0:13:57She wouldn't have told me anyway, I don't suppose.
0:13:57 > 0:14:01So I waited till the next day
0:14:01 > 0:14:03and then I rang and, you know,
0:14:03 > 0:14:07we spoke to each other for the first time, so it was just amazing.
0:14:07 > 0:14:11Obviously, relieved to hear that she was OK.
0:14:11 > 0:14:13I was very surprised that she found me.
0:14:15 > 0:14:18Wendy and Rod have met up for the first time recently,
0:14:18 > 0:14:22but there's still one big thing missing from Wendy's life.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25Maybe a photo of us all out together, you know.
0:14:25 > 0:14:27We were a family unit, after all,
0:14:27 > 0:14:30and it would have been nice to see something like that,
0:14:30 > 0:14:33just to prove to everybody that...
0:14:34 > 0:14:37..in spite of my birth
0:14:37 > 0:14:41and everything like that, we were just a unit and we were happy.
0:14:42 > 0:14:45They're getting together again in a few days
0:14:45 > 0:14:49and Rod has promised he'll bring what family photos he has.
0:14:49 > 0:14:52So, Wendy will have to wait until then to find out if he does
0:14:52 > 0:14:56hold the proof of the happy childhood she so fondly remembers.
0:15:04 > 0:15:09Mark Kerr was born Mark Levene to a single mother in 1950s London
0:15:09 > 0:15:12and spent his childhood in care and Approved School.
0:15:14 > 0:15:19Mark's search for his family began initially with his father, Solly,
0:15:19 > 0:15:22but it hit a brick wall when the only lead he had hung up on him.
0:15:22 > 0:15:24Phone went dead.
0:15:25 > 0:15:28But little did Mark know that, all along, another woman was
0:15:28 > 0:15:31conducting an investigation into her identity,
0:15:31 > 0:15:35which would ultimately hold the key to Mark's search.
0:15:37 > 0:15:41Margaret Teague was born in the '40s and grew up in post-war
0:15:41 > 0:15:43south-east London as an only child.
0:15:44 > 0:15:48I did have a very good childhood. I can never complain about that.
0:15:48 > 0:15:51My parents were absolutely wonderful.
0:15:51 > 0:15:53Despite being well cared for,
0:15:53 > 0:15:57it was in her teenage years Margaret felt something wasn't quite right.
0:15:57 > 0:16:01People used to say, "They your mum and dad?" "Yes."
0:16:01 > 0:16:02"Oh, aren't they tiny?!"
0:16:02 > 0:16:06It just didn't look right because I was really tall.
0:16:06 > 0:16:11When Margaret was 17, she overheard her aunt talking to her mother.
0:16:11 > 0:16:15I remember her saying, "Oh, that daughter of yours, she's so...
0:16:15 > 0:16:18"Why on earth did we ever have her because she's the black sheep of
0:16:18 > 0:16:21"the family." And they didn't think that I'd heard it
0:16:21 > 0:16:25and I got quite upset. I walked round the block of flats, you know.
0:16:25 > 0:16:27I thought, "Why did they call me the black sheep of the family?"
0:16:27 > 0:16:30Then I thought to myself, "Well, perhaps I'm not theirs."
0:16:30 > 0:16:33Pushing questions to the back of her mind,
0:16:33 > 0:16:36Margaret did her best to get on with her life.
0:16:36 > 0:16:40I worked in the bank in the Foreign Exchange in London, in Moorgate.
0:16:40 > 0:16:41Then, one day,
0:16:41 > 0:16:45a friend again commented on the lack of Margaret's family resemblance.
0:16:45 > 0:16:49She said to me one day, "Your father definitely doesn't look like you.
0:16:49 > 0:16:53"You definitely must have been adopted."
0:16:53 > 0:16:57By then, her mother had passed away, so Margaret asked her father,
0:16:57 > 0:17:01the man she called Mike, directly about her possible adoption.
0:17:01 > 0:17:04Mike never told me anything.
0:17:04 > 0:17:08When I used to say to Mike, "Is it true that I was adopted?"
0:17:08 > 0:17:12"No, no, no." He wouldn't... He'd say, "You're just being silly."
0:17:12 > 0:17:14Despite her father telling her otherwise,
0:17:14 > 0:17:17Margaret was convinced she was adopted.
0:17:17 > 0:17:21Her suspicions were confirmed when she dug out her birth certificate
0:17:21 > 0:17:24from the Records Office. She decided to turn to her aunt.
0:17:25 > 0:17:27I told her that I'd got my birth certificate.
0:17:27 > 0:17:30"Oh, my goodness," she said, "I always knew.
0:17:30 > 0:17:33"I always knew but I could never get the gist of it."
0:17:33 > 0:17:36When her biological mother fell pregnant with Margaret
0:17:36 > 0:17:40she wasn't married, which held a great stigma at that time,
0:17:40 > 0:17:42so she chose to give Margaret away.
0:17:42 > 0:17:45A close friend of her mother's who couldn't have children
0:17:45 > 0:17:48was the obvious choice to adopt her.
0:17:48 > 0:17:50After revealing all this to Margaret,
0:17:50 > 0:17:53her aunt then dropped another bombshell.
0:17:53 > 0:17:57"You've got a brother somewhere, I can't remember where he was,
0:17:57 > 0:18:01"but he's somewhere." And he was eight or nine years younger than me.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05I was determined to see if it was true
0:18:05 > 0:18:08cos I always wanted to have a brother or sister.
0:18:10 > 0:18:13Margaret spent decades unsuccessfully
0:18:13 > 0:18:14searching for her brother.
0:18:15 > 0:18:21Then, in 2005, she enlisted the help of an independent family finder
0:18:21 > 0:18:27who, after five years of research, finally made a breakthrough.
0:18:27 > 0:18:31This is the letter that she sent me telling me all about my mother.
0:18:31 > 0:18:35She trained to be a dressmaker at Corots in Bond Street
0:18:35 > 0:18:38and was a first-class dressmaker working in Richmond.
0:18:38 > 0:18:42The family finder also confirmed her birth mother Peggy
0:18:42 > 0:18:46did indeed have a son, Margaret's brother, Mark.
0:18:46 > 0:18:50In the March quarter of 1950, Peggy had a son
0:18:50 > 0:18:52and he was called Mark J Levene.
0:18:54 > 0:18:58It did make me feel better that I've actually found it all out.
0:18:58 > 0:19:01I can now know the actual truth
0:19:01 > 0:19:05and not walk around like I was living a lie all my life, like, "Who am I really?"
0:19:06 > 0:19:10With Margaret's consent, the family finder sent a letter to Mark,
0:19:10 > 0:19:12the brother she'd never met.
0:19:12 > 0:19:15"Dear Mr Kerr, I'm sorry to intrude on your time,
0:19:15 > 0:19:19"but I'm hoping that you may be able to assist me with my search.
0:19:19 > 0:19:22"I'm trying to chase a Mr Mark Joseph Levene,
0:19:22 > 0:19:24"who later took the surname Kerr.
0:19:24 > 0:19:27"As my search is of a sensitive nature, I would be grateful
0:19:27 > 0:19:30"if you could let me know whether you are the person I'm looking for."
0:19:30 > 0:19:33And I sent the letter back confirming who I was.
0:19:33 > 0:19:36The family finder then gave Mark a call.
0:19:36 > 0:19:39She said, "Are you sitting down?" I said, "Yes."
0:19:39 > 0:19:41She said, "Are you on your own?"
0:19:41 > 0:19:44I said, "No, I've got one of my daughters with me."
0:19:44 > 0:19:48And she actually said, "Look, you've got a sister."
0:19:49 > 0:19:52And I just... I just couldn't believe it.
0:19:52 > 0:19:57I said, "No." She said, "You have got a sister, Mark." And I just...
0:19:57 > 0:19:59Well, I couldn't talk to her.
0:19:59 > 0:20:02I had to hand the phone over to my daughter.
0:20:02 > 0:20:06Mark and Margaret then arranged to meet for the first time in their lives.
0:20:06 > 0:20:09I just went there and I sat at Guildford railway station
0:20:09 > 0:20:12waiting for this train to come in from Brighton.
0:20:12 > 0:20:16Saw the train on the board arrive, all these people coming off,
0:20:16 > 0:20:18and I saw this woman walk through,
0:20:18 > 0:20:21and I knew straightaway that that was Margaret.
0:20:21 > 0:20:26He knew it was me by my hair because it was like Mum's.
0:20:27 > 0:20:30She was the spitting image of Mum, how I remembered her -
0:20:30 > 0:20:32tall, blonde hair...
0:20:33 > 0:20:34..make-up.
0:20:34 > 0:20:38Mum would never go out without any make-up and I went up to her,
0:20:38 > 0:20:40tapped her on the shoulder and said, "Margaret?"
0:20:40 > 0:20:42And we just fell into each other's arms.
0:20:42 > 0:20:46Mark and Margaret have met regularly since they found each other.
0:20:46 > 0:20:48But as Margaret was adopted at birth,
0:20:48 > 0:20:52she never knew their mother, so today Mark is preparing to share
0:20:52 > 0:20:55some of his memories of her in a trip to London.
0:21:02 > 0:21:06This is actually the first time that we have met in London.
0:21:06 > 0:21:10We're both hoping to get to the cemetery where Mum was laid to rest.
0:21:20 > 0:21:22- Hello, my dear. How are you?- All right.
0:21:25 > 0:21:28- Lovely to see you again. - And you.- All right, then?
0:21:28 > 0:21:30Cor.
0:21:30 > 0:21:33- Our mum would be pleased now, wouldn't she?- Yeah.
0:21:33 > 0:21:37Believe it or not, this was Mum's old handbag and inside...
0:21:43 > 0:21:47- ..the pearls she used to wear.- Oh, look at them. Aren't they lovely?
0:21:47 > 0:21:50Gosh. Is it all right if I put these round my neck just for once?
0:21:50 > 0:21:51Course it is, love. Of course it is.
0:21:51 > 0:21:55- Look at that.- Yeah, and she used to do that, as well.
0:21:55 > 0:21:59Well, look at that. Keep them as a family heirloom from now on.
0:22:00 > 0:22:04- OK.- And these are headscarves. - Oh, gracious.- Look at this.
0:22:06 > 0:22:10- Never been worn.- Oh, look at them. - 1962, I think it is.
0:22:10 > 0:22:12- A pen there, look. - Oh, lovely, look at that.
0:22:12 > 0:22:15- Pen what me mum used to have. - Yeah.- Our mum.
0:22:15 > 0:22:17Yeah. Oh, that's lovely.
0:22:22 > 0:22:24When he left Approved School,
0:22:24 > 0:22:27Mark only had two more years with his mum Peggy
0:22:27 > 0:22:30before she died suddenly of meningitis.
0:22:30 > 0:22:33It's been a long time since Mark has been able to visit her grave.
0:22:33 > 0:22:37Today, he's taking Margaret there for the very first time.
0:22:37 > 0:22:40I think I can see it now, Margaret.
0:22:40 > 0:22:42- This one?- This is it.
0:22:42 > 0:22:43Yeah, there you go.
0:22:45 > 0:22:47"In loving memory of my darling Peggy.
0:22:47 > 0:22:50"Laid to rest, 14th of January, 1968...
0:22:51 > 0:22:54"An angel on earth, now an angel in heaven."
0:22:57 > 0:23:01- Yeah. All right, Margaret? - Yeah, lovely.- There you go, Mum.
0:23:01 > 0:23:03We're back together now.
0:23:03 > 0:23:06You've got nothing to be afraid of, nothing to be ashamed of.
0:23:06 > 0:23:11Nothing at all, love. If only you'd let us known earlier.
0:23:11 > 0:23:13But there it is, what's done is done.
0:23:13 > 0:23:16- Right, love?- Yeah.- There you go.
0:23:16 > 0:23:17I've go... I've got to go.
0:23:21 > 0:23:23HE EXHALES
0:23:23 > 0:23:24HE SNIFFS
0:23:24 > 0:23:26- Are you OK now?- Yeah.- Sure?
0:23:32 > 0:23:36- Sorry, love.- That's all right. Listen, don't you dare say sorry.
0:23:36 > 0:23:39- You don't say sorry for anything. - I can remember the day,
0:23:39 > 0:23:40the funeral, now.
0:23:42 > 0:23:46Now that I know that my mum is there,
0:23:46 > 0:23:48it makes the picture a lot clearer now.
0:23:48 > 0:23:51And after all these years, I understood everything that
0:23:51 > 0:23:54went on and I understand, you know,
0:23:54 > 0:23:56these things are a must.
0:23:56 > 0:24:01It's just made everything really happy.
0:24:01 > 0:24:05'It was a really, really lovely experience for both of us.'
0:24:05 > 0:24:08And we intend to come up again, get the grave cleaned up,
0:24:08 > 0:24:11bring some flowers and maybe come up once or twice a year
0:24:11 > 0:24:13for as long as we can.
0:24:20 > 0:24:23In Buckinghamshire, Wendy Brightwell
0:24:23 > 0:24:27has reconnected with her half brother Rod after 60 years apart.
0:24:27 > 0:24:31They've met up briefly a few times since getting back in touch,
0:24:31 > 0:24:34but today is a huge day for them both.
0:24:34 > 0:24:38Rod is bringing some family photos which Wendy has never seen before.
0:24:38 > 0:24:42And Wendy will introduce him to her family for the first time,
0:24:42 > 0:24:46including the nieces and nephews he never knew he had.
0:24:46 > 0:24:49I'm really excited. I couldn't sleep last night, waiting...
0:24:49 > 0:24:50waiting to see him again.
0:24:52 > 0:24:55I'm hoping he's going to bring some photos with him
0:24:55 > 0:24:59that we can look at together and I can show him my photos.
0:24:59 > 0:25:02Maybe we will remember things, you know, together that happened
0:25:02 > 0:25:05when we were young.
0:25:05 > 0:25:08- God! I've been so looking forward to this.- How are you?
0:25:08 > 0:25:11So looking forward to meeting you again.
0:25:11 > 0:25:13- All right?- I'm all right. Yeah.
0:25:13 > 0:25:15- Oh!- You're still tiny.
0:25:15 > 0:25:17- I'm still tiny! - SHE LAUGHS
0:25:18 > 0:25:22- I've got some photos. - You've brought some photos, lovely.
0:25:22 > 0:25:24And I've got all my stuff there as well.
0:25:24 > 0:25:27- I really like that one.- Yeah.
0:25:27 > 0:25:30- There again.- Really, really nice.
0:25:30 > 0:25:33But I find it amazing, Rod, that you've got
0:25:33 > 0:25:36all these pictures of me when
0:25:36 > 0:25:38I... You know...
0:25:38 > 0:25:43I didn't know that you cared about me that much, you know.
0:25:43 > 0:25:46Rod now produces the photo which Wendy has been
0:25:46 > 0:25:48waiting to see for 60 years.
0:25:48 > 0:25:51- Oh, my goodness.- That's all of us. That's all of us together.
0:25:51 > 0:25:54This is amazing because we were all on a day out
0:25:54 > 0:25:57- and Dad must have been taking that photo, mustn't he?- Yes.
0:25:57 > 0:26:02That proves that we were all living together as a family
0:26:02 > 0:26:03and everybody was OK with it.
0:26:03 > 0:26:08I'm going to put that in a frame and put it on the wall.
0:26:09 > 0:26:13Although their family set-up was unusual, Wendy can take comfort from
0:26:13 > 0:26:18the fact that Rod's photo shows them as a close-knit and loving unit.
0:26:18 > 0:26:22Now Wendy would like to introduce Rod to her immediate family.
0:26:22 > 0:26:24She's arranged for him to meet her husband,
0:26:24 > 0:26:27daughter and grandchildren in a local cafe.
0:26:27 > 0:26:31- Hello.- This is Lewis. - Hi, you all right?- Hi.- Lewis.
0:26:31 > 0:26:34- Hello, nice to meet you. - And you.- That's Liddie.
0:26:34 > 0:26:39- You didn't know you had an uncle, did you?- No. And little Ella.
0:26:39 > 0:26:41- Are you all right?- Hello.
0:26:41 > 0:26:44- And this is Sue. - Hi, lovely to meet you.
0:26:45 > 0:26:48- Really lovely. - Hello, Ken. All right?
0:26:48 > 0:26:52- Hello, Rod. - Got a whole new family now.
0:26:52 > 0:26:55This is only... This is only a little bit of it.
0:26:55 > 0:26:57How did it work out, you all living together?
0:26:57 > 0:26:59That must have been rather odd.
0:26:59 > 0:27:03Well, because we were young, Rod and I didn't really...
0:27:03 > 0:27:07We didn't really think anything of it. But it was an odd set-up.
0:27:07 > 0:27:10I mean, two women, one man,
0:27:10 > 0:27:13but there was never any trouble.
0:27:13 > 0:27:16The neighbours didn't seem to... There was never any...
0:27:16 > 0:27:20We were never aware of any bad feeling in the house.
0:27:20 > 0:27:23- There was never any rows...- No. - ..that we remember, anyway.
0:27:23 > 0:27:26- Just all got on with it. - And we just all got on with it.
0:27:28 > 0:27:30As family are so important to Mum,
0:27:30 > 0:27:35meeting Rodney is really fantastic and she's really happy about it,
0:27:35 > 0:27:38and we are all delighted to meet another new member of our family.
0:27:38 > 0:27:42- It's the icing on the cake. - It is the icing on the cake.
0:27:42 > 0:27:44Good quote, Lydia.
0:27:44 > 0:27:47And for Rod and Wendy, a new chapter of their lives has begun.
0:27:48 > 0:27:53Family is important, it's always been a search to find
0:27:53 > 0:27:57the rest of my family, to find the family that I grew up with,
0:27:57 > 0:27:59so to find Rod is just amazing.
0:27:59 > 0:28:02- And I've got a lot more family than I did have before.- That's right.
0:28:02 > 0:28:04I only had one, I only had a son. Now I've got loads.
0:28:04 > 0:28:06THEY LAUGH
0:28:06 > 0:28:10It just makes our family complete
0:28:10 > 0:28:14and... And that's just wonderful. It's just what I wanted.