0:00:02 > 0:00:05Families can be driven apart for all manner of reasons.
0:00:05 > 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 > 0:00:17Wonder 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 > 0:00:23Especially 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 > 0:00:34From international organisations...
0:00:34 > 0:00:37There's never been a day when we have never had new enquiries.
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 that other people can't get
0:00:47 > 0:00:49cos it makes me feel good.
0:00:49 > 0:00:51They hunt through history
0:00:51 > 0:00:54to bring families back together again.
0:00:54 > 0:00:56"You 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 > 0:01:06Learning the tricks they use to track missing 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 > 0:01:14And 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 > 0:01:25That was the start of finding my family.
0:01:32 > 0:01:35Across Britain, brothers, sisters, mothers
0:01:35 > 0:01:38and fathers can lose touch with each other.
0:01:38 > 0:01:43For all sorts of reasons, from death to divorce to geography,
0:01:43 > 0:01:45people drift apart.
0:01:45 > 0:01:47But sometimes fate can draw a family together.
0:01:49 > 0:01:52It's often the case that two people can approach us
0:01:52 > 0:01:55looking for each other, unbeknown to each other, as well.
0:01:55 > 0:01:58And that can make our job much easier because we have the details
0:01:58 > 0:02:00of that person on our systems
0:02:00 > 0:02:02so it's often a race to find each other.
0:02:03 > 0:02:08Geraldine Turner was born in Halifax in 1950 and spent much
0:02:08 > 0:02:11of her childhood in rural Yorkshire with her parents and grandparents.
0:02:13 > 0:02:15There was no running hot water.
0:02:15 > 0:02:18No heating, only gas mantles, no electric.
0:02:18 > 0:02:22Grandad used to have an accumulator for his radio.
0:02:22 > 0:02:29And woe and betide anybody who tried to listen to any pop music
0:02:29 > 0:02:34on his radio. It was there for the football results and for his racing.
0:02:34 > 0:02:35And that was it.
0:02:35 > 0:02:40But when she was around seven years old, her father walked out.
0:02:40 > 0:02:42Her mum, Violet, got on with life
0:02:42 > 0:02:45and met Bill, who became Geraldine's new stepdad.
0:02:47 > 0:02:51It wasn't long before she had two new baby brothers, Mark and John,
0:02:51 > 0:02:53and a little sister, Joanne.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56They lived in a small house in Coley in Yorkshire.
0:02:58 > 0:03:00Geraldine was 11 years older
0:03:00 > 0:03:02and like a surrogate mum to her younger siblings.
0:03:04 > 0:03:06There were six of us in a one-up one-down.
0:03:09 > 0:03:11But we were happy.
0:03:11 > 0:03:15I used to feed them, bathe them, change them,
0:03:15 > 0:03:20take them out, do things with them, babysit for Mum and my stepdad
0:03:20 > 0:03:23when they wanted to go out.
0:03:23 > 0:03:26So, yeah, it was very happy and that's...
0:03:26 > 0:03:30They were content with me. We just loved each other.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36Looking through all these photos, at the happy times that we
0:03:36 > 0:03:41actually had when we were all together, there's some really,
0:03:41 > 0:03:43really, really nice ones.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46And one of my favourites, I think, is the one with my mum and me
0:03:46 > 0:03:53and Mark at his christening. That just shows how happy times were.
0:03:53 > 0:03:57We used to go down the woods and they would play in the beck.
0:03:57 > 0:03:59Tiddler fishing, there, I think.
0:03:59 > 0:04:02I think that's what was going on in that one.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05And, then, we'd go on holiday to Bridlington.
0:04:05 > 0:04:10And I've got one of Mark here with me and his dad.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13Mind you, I used to have to hold him when they went on the donkeys
0:04:13 > 0:04:16and I used to have to go on the rides with him and things like that.
0:04:16 > 0:04:21But, yeah, it was happy times. That's Mum and my stepdad.
0:04:21 > 0:04:25We didn't have a lot of money but we got by.
0:04:25 > 0:04:29I think Mum did the best she could with what she had.
0:04:29 > 0:04:34Eventually, Geraldine was able to leave the family home and,
0:04:34 > 0:04:38in her early 20s, she got married and went to live in Scotland.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43But soon after Geraldine left, her stepdad, Bill, died,
0:04:43 > 0:04:45swiftly followed by her mum, Violet.
0:04:45 > 0:04:48For the oldest child, Mark, there was
0:04:48 > 0:04:51suddenly the pressure of responsibility.
0:04:53 > 0:04:56Mark, 16-year-old, and he's lost both his mum and his dad.
0:04:56 > 0:05:01His sister being 14 and John, the youngest, being 12.
0:05:01 > 0:05:06And their lifeline's just been wiped out completely.
0:05:06 > 0:05:07But for them...
0:05:09 > 0:05:11..Mum and Dad had gone. That was it.
0:05:12 > 0:05:16So, then, they're relying on relatives to look after them.
0:05:17 > 0:05:21With her half-siblings orphaned, Geraldine felt she should take
0:05:21 > 0:05:24them in. But with a new family of her own,
0:05:24 > 0:05:25things weren't that simple.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29I did want to take them on, very much so,
0:05:29 > 0:05:32but I was 27 and, in a lot of ways, I was quite naive.
0:05:34 > 0:05:38You always get, as you get older, you think, "Yes,
0:05:38 > 0:05:39"I would have done it different."
0:05:39 > 0:05:42And I wished I could have done it different.
0:05:42 > 0:05:44But the problem is that now I think to myself,
0:05:44 > 0:05:48"I can't have regrets, because that will tear me apart."
0:05:50 > 0:05:54Geraldine did manage to stay in contact with her eldest brother, Mark.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57He joined the Army and she used to write to him
0:05:57 > 0:06:01until a terrible piece of bad luck brought contact to an abrupt halt.
0:06:03 > 0:06:08One day, when I went to work, I had my purse pinched.
0:06:08 > 0:06:12And in my purse was Mark's address. So, that was it.
0:06:12 > 0:06:14I'd lost all contact with him
0:06:14 > 0:06:16because I hadn't written it down anywhere else.
0:06:16 > 0:06:22So, that was Mark just out of my life at that stage.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25So, I did wonder over the years what could have happened.
0:06:26 > 0:06:30Geraldine ended up losing touch with Mark and, for 30 years,
0:06:30 > 0:06:33she had no idea where he was or what he was up to.
0:06:34 > 0:06:38So, Mark, in the meantime, hadn't thought to get in touch with me
0:06:38 > 0:06:39where I was.
0:06:39 > 0:06:43Perhaps he was waiting for me to write to him, or something.
0:06:43 > 0:06:47Then I moved, so then I think that's how we lost contact completely.
0:06:48 > 0:06:52Little did she know the reasons her little brother was so elusive
0:06:52 > 0:06:55were both stressful and traumatic.
0:07:03 > 0:07:06Searching for lost relatives who've been missing for years
0:07:06 > 0:07:10can seem like an impossible task for an individual to take on.
0:07:11 > 0:07:13But there are plenty of people-finding organisations
0:07:13 > 0:07:15out there who can offer help.
0:07:18 > 0:07:20Good afternoon, FinderMonkey.
0:07:20 > 0:07:22Every time we get to reunite somebody who's lost touch for such
0:07:22 > 0:07:25a long period of time, obviously, it's great for us
0:07:25 > 0:07:28and it's great to be able to do this kind of work for people.
0:07:30 > 0:07:34Brother and sister cases are quite rare compared to parents
0:07:34 > 0:07:36trying to find their children, or vice versa.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39Especially where there's been no real reason that they've lost
0:07:39 > 0:07:43touch other than they've gone their own separate way after growing up.
0:07:44 > 0:07:49Anne Ingles has been searching for her brother John for 50 years.
0:07:49 > 0:07:52She was born in Scotland and is one of seven children.
0:07:53 > 0:07:58I was born in 1939 in a place called Bellshill, Lanarkshire.
0:07:58 > 0:08:02Anne's early years in Lanarkshire were idyllic.
0:08:02 > 0:08:05Times were good and she got on particularly well
0:08:05 > 0:08:06with her brother John.
0:08:08 > 0:08:12My brother John is two years younger. It was nice having a younger brother.
0:08:14 > 0:08:17But when Anne was five, her parents separated.
0:08:18 > 0:08:20They had their personal problems.
0:08:22 > 0:08:26So they separated and that was it. We were sort of poor anyway.
0:08:26 > 0:08:29My father went away to work, my mother just went out
0:08:29 > 0:08:31and left the children.
0:08:31 > 0:08:36And some neighbour reported my mother.
0:08:36 > 0:08:38That's how we ended up in the home.
0:08:38 > 0:08:42Anne and her brother John were sent to live in an unforgiving orphanage.
0:08:43 > 0:08:45I used to see him occasionally at school.
0:08:45 > 0:08:48I think he was a very shy person, believe it or not.
0:08:48 > 0:08:50SHE CHUCKLES
0:08:50 > 0:08:52He was. Like me, I was shy.
0:08:55 > 0:08:56Segregated by gender,
0:08:56 > 0:08:59Anne was with her sisters and hardly ever saw John.
0:09:00 > 0:09:04My sisters were in the same sides, my brothers were in a separate side.
0:09:04 > 0:09:09But, at 18, Anne, along with what remained of her siblings,
0:09:09 > 0:09:11moved back home with her father.
0:09:11 > 0:09:13Great relief, to tell you the truth.
0:09:14 > 0:09:16We got on together.
0:09:16 > 0:09:20Yes, we still had our arguments, like most families.
0:09:23 > 0:09:26Anne didn't see her little brother John again
0:09:26 > 0:09:28until she got tuberculosis in her 20s.
0:09:30 > 0:09:36In 1962, I was in Hairmyres Hospital in East Kilbride because I had TB.
0:09:37 > 0:09:39And then John came through with my father to visit.
0:09:41 > 0:09:43I mean, seriously, it was good.
0:09:43 > 0:09:46You don't get many visitors at a TB hospital, do you?
0:09:47 > 0:09:50But, by now, John had completely changed.
0:09:51 > 0:09:56Some of the nurses thought he was a film star. A young Rock Hudson.
0:09:57 > 0:10:00She said, "Who's the film star?" I said, "It's not a film star,
0:10:00 > 0:10:05"it's my brother." The last thing I knew, John was in the Merchant Navy.
0:10:05 > 0:10:09And he was a steward on board the Pretoria Castle.
0:10:09 > 0:10:11I used to think about him a lot, Christmas, his birthday,
0:10:11 > 0:10:13you know, all the time.
0:10:13 > 0:10:16Nobody... Never contacted his family after that.
0:10:19 > 0:10:24Unable to know how else to look for John, decades passed.
0:10:24 > 0:10:27Then, just a few months ago, Anne got a computer.
0:10:28 > 0:10:31It was then she realised she could search for John online.
0:10:33 > 0:10:36When I got the computer, I went on to the website.
0:10:36 > 0:10:42I put my brother's name in. And the last place I ever contacted him.
0:10:43 > 0:10:47Anne found a company that searches for lost relatives.
0:10:47 > 0:10:49Then I put all my details.
0:10:49 > 0:10:56His date of birth and the last place he was, like the Merchant Navy.
0:10:56 > 0:11:00Well, they told me they can go on very little information,
0:11:00 > 0:11:03even smallest details, they can find people.
0:11:06 > 0:11:10The minimum kind of information in a case like this you need is
0:11:10 > 0:11:13an approximate age for somebody, ideally a full name,
0:11:13 > 0:11:17but if you know the full date of birth and a place of birth
0:11:17 > 0:11:20that information's really, really helpful to know, as well.
0:11:20 > 0:11:23The information that Anne knew about John was his age,
0:11:23 > 0:11:26when he was born, and where he was born, which was really important
0:11:26 > 0:11:28because one of the things we like to do whenever
0:11:28 > 0:11:32we're trying to find somebody is confirm a birth record for them.
0:11:32 > 0:11:34Once we'd done that and confirmed all those details,
0:11:34 > 0:11:36we managed to find a match.
0:11:36 > 0:11:38Confirmed the address as a current address and then
0:11:38 > 0:11:43we knew that we'd found the exact person that Anne was looking for.
0:11:43 > 0:11:46When I put the information in, I didn't know how long it was
0:11:46 > 0:11:50going to take to find, you know, to do the research.
0:11:50 > 0:11:53Then he phoned me, I think it was the next day, he said,
0:11:53 > 0:11:57"We've found your brother." And I said, "Are you sure?!"
0:11:57 > 0:12:00And he said, "Yes." And then he gave me his home address.
0:12:01 > 0:12:03I sent a letter to him.
0:12:04 > 0:12:09After an exotic life travelling the world and living away from home,
0:12:09 > 0:12:11John was now tracked down in Aldershot in Hampshire.
0:12:14 > 0:12:17I found this letter with strange handwriting
0:12:17 > 0:12:18which I didn't recognise.
0:12:18 > 0:12:20The letter was addressed to me, you know,
0:12:20 > 0:12:23so, very curiously, I opened the letter.
0:12:25 > 0:12:28So, I started to read the letter.
0:12:28 > 0:12:33"Dear John, it has been a long time since we lost touch
0:12:33 > 0:12:37"over the years and just about three days ago
0:12:37 > 0:12:38"I managed to find you.
0:12:38 > 0:12:44"I have never been so delighted in my life.
0:12:44 > 0:12:49"Please don't get upset, I have never forgotten you.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52"I always wondered where you were.
0:12:52 > 0:12:56"It would be so good to hear from you after all this time.
0:12:56 > 0:12:58"Lots of love from your sister, Anne."
0:12:59 > 0:13:03And it wasn't long before they were chatting on the phone.
0:13:03 > 0:13:05I didn't recognise the accent cos it was...
0:13:06 > 0:13:08..like a South African accent.
0:13:09 > 0:13:11I didn't recognise it.
0:13:11 > 0:13:13I said, "Who are you?" He said, "I'm your brother."
0:13:13 > 0:13:14I said, "Are you sure?"
0:13:14 > 0:13:15SHE CHUCKLES
0:13:15 > 0:13:17No, but...
0:13:17 > 0:13:18He said, "Yes."
0:13:18 > 0:13:22Bit of a shock, actually, receiving the letter out of the blue,
0:13:22 > 0:13:24after 53 years.
0:13:24 > 0:13:27I just couldn't figure out how they got in touch with me.
0:13:27 > 0:13:31But I was really, really pleased. I said, "Oh, good.
0:13:31 > 0:13:33"Now I've got a family here."
0:13:33 > 0:13:37But reconnecting with his sister brought back difficult memories
0:13:37 > 0:13:40around being put into care in the late 1940s.
0:13:40 > 0:13:44When I was put in the orphanage, rejection, you know,
0:13:44 > 0:13:49I saw it as rejection from my mum and my dad.
0:13:49 > 0:13:52I never held it against them, you know what I mean,
0:13:52 > 0:13:53but that's how I felt.
0:13:55 > 0:13:57Just like his sister Anne,
0:13:57 > 0:13:58John remembers being kept apart
0:13:58 > 0:14:00while they were at the same orphanage.
0:14:01 > 0:14:06It was very difficult knowing that my sister particularly was so close
0:14:06 > 0:14:08and you hardly ever saw them.
0:14:08 > 0:14:10The only time, possibly, you could see them
0:14:10 > 0:14:15was when you went off to church on a Sunday, it was the only time.
0:14:15 > 0:14:20At 21, he left Britain for a life of adventure
0:14:20 > 0:14:22in the merchant navy.
0:14:24 > 0:14:29John now lives on his own, so Anne's letter was a welcome surprise.
0:14:29 > 0:14:31When I received that letter,
0:14:31 > 0:14:35I thought, "At last! Now, I've got a family."
0:14:35 > 0:14:37They can love me, which would be good.
0:14:37 > 0:14:39It's when she says in the letter
0:14:39 > 0:14:43that they'd tried for so long to find me,
0:14:43 > 0:14:45it shows a love, you know?
0:14:45 > 0:14:48I was very pleased with that.
0:14:48 > 0:14:51The last time I saw Anne was 1962.
0:14:51 > 0:14:54Anne and John have now arranged to meet up
0:14:54 > 0:14:57for the first time in 53 years.
0:14:57 > 0:15:03Very nervous and I'm not quite sure, when I do meet her,
0:15:03 > 0:15:05if I'm going to cry or not.
0:15:11 > 0:15:14When Geraldine Turner was a teenager,
0:15:14 > 0:15:15she lived in West Yorkshire
0:15:15 > 0:15:18and helped bring up her younger half-brothers and sister,
0:15:18 > 0:15:22Joanne, Mark and John.
0:15:22 > 0:15:24There were six of us in a one-up-one-down.
0:15:24 > 0:15:29I mean, I used to feed them, bathe them, change them,
0:15:29 > 0:15:32take them out, do things with them,
0:15:32 > 0:15:33but we were happy.
0:15:34 > 0:15:36After they were all orphaned as children,
0:15:36 > 0:15:38Geraldine lost touch,
0:15:38 > 0:15:41but in her 60s, she's found a way to find them again.
0:15:43 > 0:15:47I heard about the Salvation Army Family Tracing Service
0:15:47 > 0:15:49through somebody who'd also used them.
0:15:50 > 0:15:53I thought, "Yes, I must do it, I must contact them."
0:15:53 > 0:15:56They must have the childhood photos back.
0:15:56 > 0:15:58I've got their childhood memories
0:15:58 > 0:16:00and I want them to have them back.
0:16:01 > 0:16:05The Salvation Army have more than 100 years of experience
0:16:05 > 0:16:07reuniting families.
0:16:07 > 0:16:09Good afternoon, Family Tracing, how can I help?
0:16:09 > 0:16:11The Family Tracing Service
0:16:11 > 0:16:14uses public and less easily accessible data
0:16:14 > 0:16:20to find people and calls upon partner agencies when it needs help.
0:16:20 > 0:16:21Geraldine asked us to look for Mark,
0:16:21 > 0:16:24which was the eldest of the three siblings,
0:16:24 > 0:16:28so she gave us the information to get that enquiry started.
0:16:29 > 0:16:32It didn't take them long to find a Mark Wilkinson,
0:16:32 > 0:16:34who could have been Geraldine's half-brother
0:16:34 > 0:16:38and they sent him a letter of introduction.
0:16:38 > 0:16:40Mark responded to the letter.
0:16:40 > 0:16:43He phoned the office and he was identified with his name
0:16:43 > 0:16:45and date of birth.
0:16:45 > 0:16:47He was quite shocked that we'd been looking for him,
0:16:47 > 0:16:50cos he explained to us that he'd also been looking for Geraldine
0:16:50 > 0:16:52at the same time.
0:16:53 > 0:16:56It was an amazingly rare coincidence.
0:16:56 > 0:16:58As if drawn together,
0:16:58 > 0:17:01Mark and Geraldine had applied to the Salvation Army
0:17:01 > 0:17:03at more or less the same time
0:17:03 > 0:17:06and their details were just waiting to be paired up.
0:17:07 > 0:17:09That can obviously make our job a lot easier,
0:17:09 > 0:17:12because we would have their details on our system,
0:17:12 > 0:17:13so unbeknown to them,
0:17:13 > 0:17:16we already have the information of the person that they're looking for.
0:17:17 > 0:17:21After more than 20 years of no contact with Mark,
0:17:21 > 0:17:24it was a moment Geraldine had waited a long time for.
0:17:25 > 0:17:29It was really very, very emotional. I cried.
0:17:30 > 0:17:33I cried, I think, tears of...
0:17:33 > 0:17:35happiness, because they'd found him.
0:17:35 > 0:17:38Very emotional to think they'd done it
0:17:38 > 0:17:41and I couldn't wait to ring him up and speak to him.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53As it turns out, Mark now had a family of his own
0:17:53 > 0:17:56and was living on the south coast in Bournemouth.
0:17:57 > 0:18:01It was massive relief to think, "Oh, my God, my sister's found me."
0:18:03 > 0:18:06This is the start of my family again.
0:18:10 > 0:18:13Mark shared his childhood with Geraldine in West Yorkshire.
0:18:15 > 0:18:19I was born in 1961 in a place called Brighouse,
0:18:19 > 0:18:21which is West Yorkshire.
0:18:21 > 0:18:23I lived in a little village called Shelf.
0:18:24 > 0:18:27Me, my younger brother, younger sister
0:18:27 > 0:18:29and my older stepsister.
0:18:29 > 0:18:34Mark's half-sister Geraldine was 11 years older than him.
0:18:34 > 0:18:38I've always called her my big sister, but she's my half-sister.
0:18:38 > 0:18:40Basically, she brought me up.
0:18:40 > 0:18:42Sometimes, she didn't think she had a life,
0:18:42 > 0:18:45because she was always with us.
0:18:45 > 0:18:50But family life changed dramatically when Mark was 14
0:18:50 > 0:18:52and his dad, Bill, died in his early 50s.
0:18:54 > 0:18:56We were all upset
0:18:56 > 0:18:59and having to know you've got to go the rest of your life without a dad
0:18:59 > 0:19:01was quite hard at the time, but obviously,
0:19:01 > 0:19:04it's something you've got to get over, really,
0:19:04 > 0:19:06cos life's got to go on,
0:19:06 > 0:19:10so we just went back to school.
0:19:10 > 0:19:14Mum... Mum met somebody else.
0:19:14 > 0:19:18They were planning on getting married, then my mum died.
0:19:21 > 0:19:24With both parents gone within a few years of each other,
0:19:24 > 0:19:27Mark faced an uncertain future at the age of 16.
0:19:28 > 0:19:30A huge, huge shock.
0:19:30 > 0:19:32When your dad dies, that's your dad,
0:19:32 > 0:19:34but when your mum dies, it's different.
0:19:35 > 0:19:38It hit me quite hard.
0:19:38 > 0:19:41Mark turned to the only solid relationship he had left,
0:19:41 > 0:19:43his sister Geraldine,
0:19:43 > 0:19:45but he didn't end up staying long.
0:19:46 > 0:19:50We were in town one day and we just literally walked past
0:19:50 > 0:19:54the army careers and I says, "I want to do that."
0:19:54 > 0:19:57She went, "What?" I said, "I want to do that, I want to join the army.
0:19:57 > 0:20:00"I want a change of life."
0:20:00 > 0:20:01HE BARKS ORDERS
0:20:01 > 0:20:04Left! Right! Left! Right! Left!
0:20:04 > 0:20:08At the age of 16, Mark wasn't used to such a regimented life.
0:20:09 > 0:20:10That was a reality check, you know.
0:20:10 > 0:20:13Welcome to the world of the British Army.
0:20:14 > 0:20:17Basic training in the army is 18 weeks of hell.
0:20:19 > 0:20:22Mark passed with flying colours
0:20:22 > 0:20:24and was soon travelling the world.
0:20:24 > 0:20:27But Mark witnessed some traumatic events
0:20:27 > 0:20:30he's not comfortable talking about.
0:20:30 > 0:20:33It left him a broken man, disillusioned with military life.
0:20:35 > 0:20:39Basically, that was it. I just went off.
0:20:39 > 0:20:40Just went off on one.
0:20:40 > 0:20:45I wasn't set for it any more. I wasn't in the right frame of mind.
0:20:45 > 0:20:47I just went AWOL.
0:20:50 > 0:20:53Mark was absent without leave for almost a year.
0:20:54 > 0:20:56Eventually, I got caught.
0:20:57 > 0:20:59Got taken back to Catterick.
0:20:59 > 0:21:01Um...
0:21:02 > 0:21:03..got discharged.
0:21:05 > 0:21:07Mark moved to London, where he met Debbie,
0:21:07 > 0:21:09and started a family of his own.
0:21:09 > 0:21:15But as Mark hit 50, he felt ready to reconnect with his long-lost sister.
0:21:15 > 0:21:20I don't know why, but I just thought to myself,
0:21:20 > 0:21:22"I want to find my family."
0:21:22 > 0:21:28The Salvation Army came up with friends and family tracing.
0:21:28 > 0:21:30I thought, "Oh, that sounds pretty...
0:21:30 > 0:21:32"Let me give them a ring."
0:21:32 > 0:21:37Mark's enquiry to the Salvation Army's Family Tracing Service
0:21:37 > 0:21:39coincided with Geraldine's,
0:21:39 > 0:21:43as if they knew they were looking for each other.
0:21:43 > 0:21:46The first letter, I was shocked,
0:21:46 > 0:21:51to think, "My God, she's found me after all these years."
0:21:51 > 0:21:54When I got the letter, I actually cried.
0:21:55 > 0:21:58I think it was just the rush of emotion, "We've actually found him."
0:21:58 > 0:22:01Nothing in this world will split us up.
0:22:01 > 0:22:06We will never, ever be apart that long again.
0:22:10 > 0:22:14Mark has met up with Geraldine a few times since they found each other,
0:22:14 > 0:22:17but today, Geraldine's in Bournemouth with her partner Mike
0:22:17 > 0:22:20after a big gap since last seeing her brother.
0:22:21 > 0:22:24I've been looking forward to seeing him again,
0:22:24 > 0:22:26cos we haven't seen him for, oh, just over two years.
0:22:26 > 0:22:32It'll be really, really nice to have a get-together.
0:22:32 > 0:22:34- Hi!- Aww!
0:22:34 > 0:22:37- Oh, lovely to see you. - God, it's great to see you, Sis.
0:22:38 > 0:22:42The family bond is as close now as it was 30 years ago.
0:22:42 > 0:22:44You'll have me crying in a minute, you know.
0:22:44 > 0:22:47- Well...- You realise that? - ..that's families!
0:22:47 > 0:22:49I'm bigger than you as well, look.
0:22:49 > 0:22:52Only cos you're on a step. Get down, that's it.
0:22:52 > 0:22:55- Oh, it's great to see you. - You chump!
0:22:55 > 0:22:58For Mark, it's a chance to show his big sister
0:22:58 > 0:22:59how he's turned his life around.
0:23:09 > 0:23:13Anne Ingles and her brother John are on their way to meet each other
0:23:13 > 0:23:15after more than 50 years apart.
0:23:18 > 0:23:22Anne's made the 500-mile journey from Fort William in Scotland
0:23:22 > 0:23:24to John's home town of Aldershot.
0:23:29 > 0:23:31You never know until you actually meet
0:23:31 > 0:23:34what's going to happen and what's not.
0:23:35 > 0:23:37I'm looking forward to it.
0:23:37 > 0:23:40It's a long time. It's a long time since I've seen him.
0:23:40 > 0:23:43I do think I'll recognise her as soon as I see her.
0:23:43 > 0:23:45I will recognise her.
0:23:46 > 0:23:48I hope!
0:23:54 > 0:23:59It's hard to believe the years have just gone, you know.
0:24:04 > 0:24:07They're about to lay eyes on each other
0:24:07 > 0:24:09for the first time in over 50 years.
0:24:13 > 0:24:17- Hello.- How are you?- Fine!
0:24:17 > 0:24:19Nice to see you, stranger.
0:24:19 > 0:24:21- Are you OK?- Yeah, I'm fine.
0:24:21 > 0:24:23- A little something.- Thank you.
0:24:26 > 0:24:28And Anne's got a very Scottish gift
0:24:28 > 0:24:31for a man who's been away from his homeland for so long.
0:24:32 > 0:24:34Here's a little present for you.
0:24:34 > 0:24:36- Thank you.- I hope you like...
0:24:38 > 0:24:40- It's marmalade. - Excellent, thanks, Anne.
0:24:40 > 0:24:47After being apart for 53 years, to finally be reunited means a lot.
0:24:47 > 0:24:50- 1962 was the last time we saw each other.- That's right.
0:24:50 > 0:24:51We were all together.
0:24:53 > 0:24:56It's different, talking on the phone to face to face.
0:24:56 > 0:25:00You don't realise how the years have just gone by, isn't it?
0:25:00 > 0:25:02Still that handsome, am I?
0:25:03 > 0:25:05I'm not making any comment.
0:25:08 > 0:25:10Now Anne and John are back together,
0:25:10 > 0:25:13meeting up with the extended family is the next priority.
0:25:16 > 0:25:19I mean, I'm glad to see him after such a long time
0:25:19 > 0:25:23and to have to talk to him, rather than on the phone.
0:25:23 > 0:25:25His hug was stronger than mine.
0:25:25 > 0:25:27I think he was more glad to see me.
0:25:27 > 0:25:30Oh, I'm really pleased to get my brother back, definitely.
0:25:30 > 0:25:33It's nice to get my brother back at last.
0:25:33 > 0:25:35Been away too long.
0:25:43 > 0:25:46Geraldine Turner spent much of her childhood in the '60s
0:25:46 > 0:25:49looking after her half-brothers Mark and John
0:25:49 > 0:25:51and sister Joanne near Halifax.
0:25:52 > 0:25:56But after Geraldine moved away, she lost touch with them all,
0:25:56 > 0:25:59until three years ago, when she found Mark.
0:26:00 > 0:26:03Sadly, Mark's sister Joanne died a few years ago
0:26:03 > 0:26:06and he doesn't see his brother John as much as he'd like.
0:26:08 > 0:26:10- Hey!- Hi!
0:26:10 > 0:26:12- Aww!- Oh! It's lovely to see you.
0:26:12 > 0:26:14God, it's great to see you, Sis.
0:26:14 > 0:26:16But Mark and Geraldine are inseparable.
0:26:20 > 0:26:23Mark and his wife Debbie have been together for 30 years
0:26:23 > 0:26:26and today, they want to show Geraldine and Mike
0:26:26 > 0:26:29the delights of Bournemouth with granddaughter Elisa.
0:26:29 > 0:26:31How about having a go on the carousel?
0:26:31 > 0:26:33Yeah, as long as it's not fast.
0:26:34 > 0:26:38Whoa-oa-oa!
0:26:38 > 0:26:42Just to see how much they actually look alike and their mannerisms
0:26:42 > 0:26:46and little things that they do and I'll go, "Mark does that.
0:26:46 > 0:26:48"Mark does this. Oh, Mark does that too!"
0:26:48 > 0:26:51Can you remember when you were a child, when I used to take you
0:26:51 > 0:26:55on the rides at Bridlington? I had to go, whether I wanted to or not.
0:26:57 > 0:26:59It's like one of them photos, when I'm in the pushchair.
0:26:59 > 0:27:02That were when he was cute.
0:27:02 > 0:27:04Oh, yeah, thank you very much!
0:27:05 > 0:27:09I found a sister. It's like 30 years have just melted away.
0:27:13 > 0:27:16It's family occasions like this that mean so much to Mark,
0:27:16 > 0:27:20after circumstances kept them apart for so long.
0:27:20 > 0:27:27I was really pleased when I found you and you told me about Deb,
0:27:27 > 0:27:30your wife, and how long you'd been married.
0:27:30 > 0:27:33That's part of life. I just had to turn my life around and...
0:27:35 > 0:27:39..focus on things and just get myself back on track,
0:27:39 > 0:27:41- which I have done.- You did.
0:27:41 > 0:27:43- You've got a job, a good job. - Yeah, I've got a good job.
0:27:43 > 0:27:46- Lovely, loving family.- Yeah, I wouldn't be here without my family.
0:27:46 > 0:27:48And you've got me back in your life.
0:27:48 > 0:27:50And there's you back in my life.
0:27:50 > 0:27:52Oh, what have I done wrong(!)
0:27:52 > 0:27:53I don't know!
0:27:56 > 0:27:58It's like closure.
0:27:58 > 0:28:01It's something that's been brought together
0:28:01 > 0:28:04and that bond won't be broken again.
0:28:04 > 0:28:07It's been absolutely fantastic seeing Mark again
0:28:07 > 0:28:10and I can't wait for the next time we meet up.
0:28:10 > 0:28:12- What have we done wrong? What have we...?- Hey!
0:28:12 > 0:28:15Go and give us a cuddle.