Episode 11 Family Finders


Episode 11

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Families can be driven apart for all manner of reasons.

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My mum went away and didn't come back.

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

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I never saw Kathleen again.

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..finding them can take a lifetime.

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I wonder where he is, I wonder what he's doing.

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You don't really know where to begin.

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Especially when they could be anywhere.

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At home, or abroad.

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And that's where the family finders come in.

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Hi, it's the Salvation Army Family Tracing Service.

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From international organisations...

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There's never been a day when we have never had new enquires.

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..to genealogy detective agencies...

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When is it you last had contact with him?

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..and dedicated one-man bands.

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I like to do the searches that other people can't get,

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because it makes me feel good.

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They hunt through history to bring families back together again.

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You are my biological...dad.

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In this series, we follow the work of the family finders...

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This case came from our Australian colleagues.

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

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I'm 68 years of age, she's 75 years of age, and we're just starting off!

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

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

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It's a miracle.

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I was struck speechless.

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And I couldn't stop crying.

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It's a proud moment. For Dad.

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It was the thought of finding my family.

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Tracking down lost family members has never been easier.

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The internet has made the tools of the trade available to anyone.

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And for those who lack the time or expertise

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to search for themselves, there's a whole host

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of family finding organisations, big and small, ready to help.

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Yeah, that's what we do, we trace people on a daily basis.

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The busiest of them all is the Salvation Army's Family Tracing Service.

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Who're you trying to trace?

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Your brother, all right...

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Over the year, we are looking at over 2,000 cases

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that were successful in finding the family members who have,

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for one reason or another, lost contact with each other.

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Just a few months ago,

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the Salvation Army Family Finders were approached by a man desperate

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to track down the cousin he hadn't seen since they were small boys.

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Often, a death in the family can be the reason why people contact us

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to look for relatives relating to that family.

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This was a case with Brian, who wanted us to look for his cousin, Denis,

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after his brother, Tony, had passed away.

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78-year-old Brian Read grew up with his brother Tony and cousin Denis

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in south-east London during the Second World War.

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Born a long time ago, 1937.

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My brother was born two years before me, but lived mostly in Abbey Wood.

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Brian and Tony grew up with their mum, Doris, and father, Don.

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And life centred around the house of their grandmother,

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Nanny Stubbington.

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Mum was a Stubbington and Abbey Wood Road was the centre of life

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as far as the Stubbingtons were concerned.

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Wherever the uncles and aunts may have lived, they were always back

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at number 34 for various reasons, weekends and what have you.

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Another regular at number 34 was Brian and Tony's cousin, Denis.

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Denis was born on the 8th of December, 1934,

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and Tony was born the very next day.

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So both my mother, Doris, and my Auntie Gertrude, Denis's mother,

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were in the hospital at the same time,

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and I think this is why they grew up together and were great friends.

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It was a very happy time, despite the Second World War.

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As the war escalated, Brian's father was called up to fight in Italy

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and the boys were evacuated to Scarborough.

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NEWSREEL: By sheer weight of numbers, the enemy again and again

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broke through the coastal defences.

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Hello? Gunfire in the south-east. Right.

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With urban areas under threat from German bombing,

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as soon as war broke out,

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the British government appealed to families living outside the major cities

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to take in children considered most at risk.

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Nearly 2,000,000 children were sent away to live

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with strangers in the relative safety of the countryside.

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But for many, the upheaval proved too upsetting for them and their families,

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and they returned home, despite the dangers.

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Which is just what happened to Brian and Tony.

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We missed Mum, we missed all the Stubbingtons,

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and all we wanted to do was get home.

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And I think eventually what happened was that...

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When Mum came up and she took us home, the war wasn't over,

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she just came and took us home.

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She realised that, you know, we weren't having a good time.

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Brian's mum managed to find them a home above the local fish and chip shop,

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but while living there, they almost fell victim

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to German bombing themselves.

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We were actually down in the chip shop buying some chips,

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and this bomb came down with one hell of a whistle.

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And the chippy just grabbed hold of Tony and I

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and shoved us under the counter.

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Thankfully, the bomb missed the chip shop,

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but the jam factory next door wasn't so lucky.

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SOUND OF FALLING BOMBS

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There was Tony, there was me, there was Denis.

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Were quite pleased, because we went around gathering tins of jam.

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HE LAUGHS

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And I think we had bread and jam for tea for the next several months.

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Brian's father survived the war, and on his return,

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the family moved to a new house a few miles away.

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We had two very happy years at Red Lion Lane,

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but then Dad came home one day and said, "Mum's ill".

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She'd been taken ill at work. That was in 1948.

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And that was another thing, the first thing that Dad did was to take us

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back to 34 Abbey Wood Road.

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So that Gran, Grandad, could look after us down there

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while he was toing and froing to hospital.

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Brian's mum's condition soon got worse.

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We visited her once and while we were there, she was sick,

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so we were immediately taken out, and that was the last time we saw her, in actual fact.

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Yeah, um...

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Dad came home one day,

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he came in, I was out in the scullery with Gran and Auntie Gertrude.

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Gran was feeding the washing into the mangle

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and I was turning the handle, I remember.

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And Dad came in the door.

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His face just collapsed.

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And he just said, "She's gone."

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Always remember what Denis said.

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First thing he said was,

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"Does this mean that Tony and Brian can come and live with us now, Mum?"

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Which other was quite... Rather nice.

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I've never forgotten that.

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I think we stayed there for about a week.

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And then Dad took us home to Red Lion Lane.

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His wife's death hit Brian's father hard,

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and the family closed ranks.

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Years passed, and Brian and Tony lost touch with Denis

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and they started families of their own.

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Tony got married.

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I got married shortly thereafter.

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But Brian never forgot about his cousin.

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I was thinking about him all the time and what had happened to him.

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I thought, "Right, I'll try and find Denis now."

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And, um... But I couldn't.

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Then, just last year,

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tragedy struck once more.

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Tony was killed in an accident.

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When Tony died...

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We were very close.

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And I just felt that I...

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That was a time when I just felt that I had to,

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I HAD to contact Denis, because I knew that he would have

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some good memories that we could share together. Yeah

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Despite having seen or heard nothing of Denis in 70 years,

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Brian was determined to track him down.

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I started to do some serious research just to try and find him,

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but I just kept coming up against brick walls.

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Brian's digging took him via various family finding websites

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on a journey into his family's past.

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But despite unearthing various nuggets,

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his main quarry proved elusive.

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I found children, grandchildren, where people

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had got married etc, but then always came up against a dead end.

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Brian gave up all hope of ever seeing Denis again.

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But a chance encounter was about to open new doors to his search.

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Andrea Wood lives in Surrey with her husband, John,

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and sons Luke and James.

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A classic nuclear family,

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and very different to her own experiences, growing up.

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My mum and my dad got married at a very young age.

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I think my mum was 17.

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And she fell pregnant and had me at 19.

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But things obviously didn't work out, because it was way too young.

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By the time of Andrea's birth, her father had already left home.

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When my mum had me, at that point they'd split up.

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He hadn't got involved, I think.

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I'm not too sure of the whole history of it,

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but he didn't see me.

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Andrea was brought up by her mum and her grandparents.

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The father she'd never met simply wasn't discussed.

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My mum didn't really speak to me about him.

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I'd, on the odd occasion, ask a question,

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but it wasn't really a very discussed subject.

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But Andrea would soon have a father figure

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and it was party thanks to her that her mum remarried.

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When my mum first met my stepdad, we were on holiday and I actually made

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friends with his daughter and his son and then my mum and he got chatting.

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They got married not too long afterwards.

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From being an only child, Andrea was now part of a growing family

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and as she got older, she began to question just who she was

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and where she'd come from.

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Growing up, I was never made to feel the odd one out in the family,

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but I knew I was different from my three brothers.

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My stepdad pushed me - you need to go and find your dad,

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you need to meet your biological dad, but obviously,

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I didn't act on that straight away, sadly.

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When you're younger, you don't tend to think about things like that

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so much.

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I wondered about him, just wondered if I was anything like him,

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but at that point in time,

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maybe I wasn't quite ready psychologically and emotionally.

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And then, after a lifetime with no contact from her father,

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Andrea's 18th birthday brought a wholly unexpected surprise.

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I actually got a birthday card from my biological dad,

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but at that point, I was a very hot-headed teenager

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and I looked at it and I thought, "Oh - happy birthday from Pete.

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"Well..." And I didn't really think much of it.

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Sadly.

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Putting the card to the back of her mind, Andrea got on with life,

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meeting and marrying John and starting a family of her own.

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It was only with the death of John's father that Andrea

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decided the time was right to go looking for her dad.

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It made her realise that life's a bit too short,

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so I always used to wind her up and say, "You'd never actually do it!"

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John turned round and said, "Oh, you'll never trace him.

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"You've been saying that for years. You won't do it."

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John's teasing spurred Andrea into action.

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She went straight online and with just a few clicks of a mouse,

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brought up the name of a firm of family finders.

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All right. That sounds like something we can help you with.

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What information do you have?

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Finder Monkey is one of a number of agencies that use

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a combination of experience, contacts

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and publicly accessible information to track people down.

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When Andrea first came to us,

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she supplied us with some basic information, so she knew the name of

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the person she was looking for,

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so she knew she was looking for a Peter David Bond.

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She knew his father's name and she also was able to tell us

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that he'd married her mum in 1966 in Reading.

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For the experts, this was plenty to be going on.

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What we managed to find in this case was a Peter D Bond,

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born in Reading in 1946.

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Could this be their man?

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Everything hinged upon whether the available information

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about this Peter's parents matched the details Andrea had given.

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What we found was that a Norman Peter Bond had married in Reading in

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1941 a Nellie A Bendell,

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so we were then confident that the birth record we'd found

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related to the right person because it related to the right

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father's name, was right age and in the right area.

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It was the breakthrough Andrea had been waiting for.

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I got a phone call saying, "OK, we've found your man."

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I was so excited, so nervous.

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So then I had to think about - OK, well, I need to write him a letter.

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I've got his address, I need to write him a letter.

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But how do you go about writing to a father you've never met?

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Andrea gave it her best shot.

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"Dear Peter, I'm not sure if I need to introduce myself,

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"but I will in case of doubt.

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"I'm Andrea Wood and my birth name was Bond.

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"I know this letter may come as a surprise after all these years,

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"but it has been written in my head so many times over many years.

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"However, I know now that I'm mature enough to deal with whatever

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"the outcome.

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"This letter is sent with no blame or malice.

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"Take care and I look forward with warm anticipation

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-"to your response."

-Andrea posted the letter off,

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crossed her fingers and waited to hear back from her father.

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I was going crazy.

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"You heard anything?" "No." "You got anything?" "No." And I was getting...

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You remember? I was getting a little bit tense, thinking,

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"Obviously, he just doesn't want to know me. Maybe he's just..."

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But I had to obviously remember that maybe that was what he wanted.

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Two weeks passed with no news, but 80 miles away,

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unknown to Andrea, her letter was lying unopened and unread.

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Only time would tell if it would ever reach its target.

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These days, the first port of call for any family finder is

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the internet, but believe it or not,

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there's a limit to the amount of information available online.

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Sometimes, more traditional methods can pay dividends.

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Local newspapers are an amazing resource, not just for announcements

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of births, marriages and deaths,

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but to add colour and historical context to your search.

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You can stumble across fascinating nuggets,

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from old school photos to juicy local scandals.

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There are digitised copies of some newspapers available online,

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but often, it can be more rewarding to head to the local library

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and get digging.

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It's been nearly 70 years

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since Brian Reid last saw his cousin Denis.

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As small boys in wartime London, Brian, Denis

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and Brian's brother Tony were inseparable.

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Brian's been searching tirelessly for Denis, without success, but

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a chance encounter in a barber shop has just changed everything.

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For some crazy reason,

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I was relating to my hairdresser

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that I'd been trying to find my cousin and she said,

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"Have you tried the Salvation Army?" And I thought, "Crikey!

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"Salvation Army."

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Brian was able to provide us with Denis' full name,

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his date of birth and his last known address and often,

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this information is all that we need to start an inquiry.

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But what looked like being a straightforward case proved

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unexpectedly tricky.

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When we began the search to look for Denis,

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we used all the information given, but after two attempts,

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we were unsuccessful in making contact with him.

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I was thinking, "Oh, they're having problems.

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"If they've found anything, they'd let me know

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"if they were having some good luck or good fortune." And I was

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beginning to get a little bit sort of - it's not going to happen.

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The family finders decided to cast their next wider

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and their digging unearthed a possible daughter for Denis.

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We believed it was her,

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matching the information that we'd been given from Brian,

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so we wrote to that address,

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in the hope that she was the person we were looking for.

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Their hunch proved to be spot on.

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It turned out the reason Denis had proved

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so elusive is that he's relocated to the Costa del Sol.

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My daughter rang me and said,

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"Dad, the Salvation Army have been on, want to know -

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"do I know you?" And I said, "What's it about?" She said, "I don't know.

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Do you mind if I give them your phone number?"

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I said, "No, I'm not hiding from anybody.

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"Give them the phone number, by all means."

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And then when I found out it was Brian, that was great.

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I just remember him in short pants and curly hair

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and about ten years old.

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Literally, that's the last time I can remember seeing him.

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After losing touch with Brian and Tony, Denis lived a colourful life.

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He served in the Household Cavalry,

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the famous regiment who stand sentry on Whitehall,

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before becoming first a policeman and then a private detective.

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Retired and married for a fourth time, he now lives in Spain.

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Tony and Brian were my mum's sister's boys and I know we,

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as the older kids,

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were always trying to get rid of the younger ones.

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I still tell stories to my grandson

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about the boys during the war.

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We had great fun, we had great fun.

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But in post-war Britain, losing touch was easy,

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especially for a free spirit like Denis.

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Shortly after they moved, I also had to move down to Dartford.

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It was all due to the re-housing schedule that was

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going on after the war.

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Council houses were being built all over the place.

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So, I was a bit of a nomad for a while, moving from place to place.

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But despite the passing years and the move abroad,

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now the Salvation Army had tracked Denis down.

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Brian was at home with his wife Pauline when the call came through.

0:21:450:21:50

When she phoned me and said, "We've made contact with a daughter

0:21:500:21:54

"and he's living in Spain," I thought,

0:21:540:21:57

"That's why I couldn't find him! Obviously!"

0:21:570:22:00

And the first thing I did, I was...

0:22:000:22:03

I think Pauline was sitting in the lounge,

0:22:030:22:06

watching a bit of TV or something and I was in there and...

0:22:060:22:11

"We've found him! We've got him!

0:22:110:22:14

"We're going to make contact!" Absolutely terrific.

0:22:140:22:17

Although Brian hasn't seen or heard from Denis for so many years,

0:22:170:22:21

he has a very special meaning in the whole scheme of things

0:22:210:22:26

and it's just so special and so special for me to know

0:22:260:22:31

that I can see Brian gain some comfort after Tony,

0:22:310:22:36

by meeting up again with Denis.

0:22:360:22:39

It's the best thing, in my point of view, that could ever have happened.

0:22:390:22:43

-Mm-hm.

-After Tony.

-Yeah.

0:22:430:22:46

And the upset and the devastation that you went through then.

0:22:460:22:52

-It's the best thing that could have happened for you.

-Yeah.

0:22:520:22:57

And I hope that when you

0:22:570:22:59

and Denis get together, that you'll get the comfort from that.

0:22:590:23:05

-I think I will, Pauline.

-That nobody else can give you.

-That's it.

0:23:050:23:10

And if you don't give me a hug right now, I'm going to hit you.

0:23:100:23:13

Overjoyed, Brian couldn't wait to arrange the reunion.

0:23:170:23:22

Before I could do anything, Denis phoned me,

0:23:220:23:25

so that was absolutely terrific.

0:23:250:23:27

You know, we spoke after 70 years, I think, as far as I can remember...

0:23:270:23:33

We were only sort of ten years old when I last saw him.

0:23:330:23:36

After 70 years apart,

0:23:380:23:41

the two cousins wasted no time in arranging to meet up.

0:23:410:23:45

I don't know if I'm not going to break down.

0:23:450:23:48

The mere fact that we had this connection, I think, is going

0:23:480:23:52

to be quite emotional for me.

0:23:520:23:55

Yeah.

0:23:550:23:56

Denis has flown over from Spain and today,

0:23:580:24:02

he and Brian will meet for the first time since they were small boys.

0:24:020:24:06

I'm very excited for Brian. Really excited for him.

0:24:080:24:12

This is about Brian and Denis, with Tony there on their shoulders.

0:24:120:24:18

I just hope I'm not going to get too emotional.

0:24:180:24:21

-Well, it is going to be emotional.

-I know, but...

0:24:210:24:23

I'm so much looking forward to it, after all these years. Yeah.

0:24:230:24:27

I'm feeling a little bit nervous about it, but at the same time,

0:24:270:24:32

it'll be great to see him again and it's exciting, really.

0:24:320:24:36

It's 2,000 miles and 70 years between us.

0:24:360:24:41

The fact that he's flown all the way over from Spain, I think,

0:24:410:24:45

is absolutely terrific, absolutely wonderful.

0:24:450:24:48

It'll be great to see what he's like now, anyway.

0:24:480:24:51

And I'm sure he feels the same.

0:24:510:24:54

I don't know if I'm taller than him, shorter than him,

0:24:540:24:56

fatter than him, thinner than him... It'll be great.

0:24:560:25:00

-Denis.

-Ha-ha!

0:25:510:25:52

Hello, mate!

0:25:520:25:54

Oh!

0:25:540:25:56

Oh, Denis!

0:25:560:25:59

You are a little bit shorter than me.

0:26:000:26:03

I was wondering if you were bigger or smaller.

0:26:030:26:06

-No, I knew you'd be up there somewhere.

-Oh, great.

-Gee whizz!

0:26:060:26:09

-I should have put my tie on, Denis.

-No!

0:26:090:26:11

It's the old army training, ain't it?

0:26:110:26:13

-I left it off at the last minute.

-Good luck to you.

0:26:130:26:16

-You're comfortable, I expect. It's great.

-Oh, dear.

0:26:160:26:19

You're looking all right. What have we got...? That's me Lifeguards...

0:26:190:26:22

Old Comrades Association.

0:26:220:26:23

-Brilliant.

-Lifeguards Association.

-Absolutely wonderful.

0:26:230:26:26

-Shall we sit down?

-Yeah, great.

-Yeah.

0:26:260:26:28

I got a few photographs in there for you, Denis.

0:26:280:26:31

Yeah. And you've got some for me that I haven't seen before.

0:26:310:26:35

It's brilliant to see you. Really fantastic.

0:26:350:26:39

Fantastic's not the word for it, Denis.

0:26:390:26:42

A lifetime may have passed since their last meeting,

0:26:420:26:44

but it's like these two old friends have never been apart.

0:26:440:26:48

I've got to recognise you. Come on. Where are you?

0:26:480:26:51

Er...

0:26:510:26:53

I can't see you, Denis. I'm no good at these sort of things.

0:26:530:26:56

-I think is it me in the middle.

-Ah.

-Yes.

0:26:560:26:59

-Right in the middle, at the back.

-I can see you, yeah.

0:26:590:27:01

There's a few of Tony and I.

0:27:050:27:07

That's the last time I sort of remember you, as it were.

0:27:080:27:12

-The last time I remember seeing you.

-Right.

0:27:120:27:14

Was when you were about... Like that.

0:27:140:27:16

-Like that.

-Around that time.

-Yeah.

0:27:160:27:17

Cor, look at the cheeky smiles on those two!

0:27:190:27:22

Chubby chops.

0:27:220:27:24

-Tony looks great, doesn't he?

-Yeah.

0:27:240:27:27

Brian and Denis have lived separate lives as adults,

0:27:270:27:30

but their childhood was spent very much together.

0:27:300:27:33

And today, they've planned a pilgrimage

0:27:330:27:36

to the streets where they grew up.

0:27:360:27:38

I tell you what. That is so familiar, isn't it?

0:27:380:27:41

-Huh?

-Be nice to go and see what it's like now.

-See what it's like now.

0:27:410:27:44

-Yeah.

-I doubt it's all individual shops. It'll all be sort of...

0:27:440:27:48

-Mini-markets and things now.

-Wonder what it is. Yeah.

0:27:480:27:51

It'll be interesting to go and see.

0:27:510:27:52

-Shall we?

-Yeah, absolutely.

0:27:520:27:54

Let's go and see it, Denis.

0:27:540:27:56

I'd really very much like to see that.

0:27:560:27:58

-Let's give it a...

-Yeah.

-Let's give it a go.

-Great stuff.

0:28:010:28:04

As Brian and Denis get closer to their old neighbourhood

0:28:150:28:18

of Abbey Wood, the memories start to flood back.

0:28:180:28:23

-Yeah, this is Knee Hill.

-This is Knee Hill.

-Yeah.

0:28:230:28:25

I've walked all the way up here.

0:28:250:28:28

I never forget, because it was during the war.

0:28:280:28:30

Brian's thoughts turn to his mother,

0:28:320:28:35

who died shortly after the end of the war.

0:28:350:28:37

Do you remember what you said, Denis?

0:28:370:28:39

-About her?

-When you learned that Mum had died?

0:28:400:28:42

-You don't remember what you said to your mother?

-No.

-Oh, I do.

-Really?

0:28:420:28:46

I do. You said...

0:28:460:28:47

"Does this mean that Tony and Brian can come and live with us now, Mum?"

0:28:480:28:52

-Oh, God.

-Yeah. I've never forgotten that, Denis.

0:28:520:28:55

I thought that was lovely. Yeah.

0:28:550:28:57

I really did. I've never, ever forgotten that.

0:29:000:29:03

I've always thought that was...

0:29:030:29:05

-Cos you were such good friends with Tony especially.

-Yeah, yeah.

0:29:050:29:09

You know?

0:29:090:29:10

Ray Huntley lived in that house there.

0:29:140:29:16

THEY LAUGH

0:29:160:29:18

Cor, dear, oh, dear.

0:29:180:29:20

-I tell you what. This hasn't changed, Denis.

-It hasn't.

0:29:200:29:22

-Apart from the cars and the wheelie bins.

-It hasn't.

0:29:220:29:25

An incendiary bomb went down the chimney in one of these here.

0:29:250:29:28

For Brian, Denis and the rest of their extended family,

0:29:290:29:33

life in the 1940s revolved around their grandmother's house.

0:29:330:29:37

It's the obvious place to start.

0:29:370:29:39

-Oh, this is fantastic!

-It hasn't changed.

0:29:400:29:42

-The hedge hasn't changed.

-No. It hasn't. Still well kept.

0:29:450:29:50

Well, I'll be jiggered. Look at that.

0:29:500:29:52

Yeah.

0:29:520:29:53

Brilliant, innit?

0:29:540:29:55

Come on, let's give it a go, Denis.

0:29:590:30:01

See who's here. Now, I can remember how proud I was

0:30:040:30:07

-when I could jump down those five steps.

-Yeah. Yeah.

0:30:070:30:10

-It's our house.

-Yeah.

-Still the same.

-Still the same.

0:30:120:30:15

KNOCKING

0:30:150:30:17

-Nobody's home.

-I think we're out of luck here.

0:30:240:30:26

I think we are, yeah.

0:30:260:30:28

HE LAUGHS

0:30:280:30:30

I can't jump down them now!

0:30:300:30:32

That's... Both sides, as you say, were the bomb sites, weren't they?

0:30:340:30:37

I suppose it's when you're a kid, this seems quite a long way,

0:30:390:30:43

-doesn't it?

-It does.

0:30:430:30:45

Just around the corner from their grandmother's house

0:30:450:30:47

was the chip shop where Brian lived during the war

0:30:470:30:50

with his mother and brother.

0:30:500:30:51

It's where I used to live! What does it say up there?

0:30:520:30:55

-I can't read it. Provisions?

-Grocer and provisions.

0:30:570:31:00

-So it's been more than a fish and chip shop.

-Yeah.

0:31:000:31:03

Crikey. This used to be a big window. The door used to be there.

0:31:030:31:07

That's where we lived. Up there in there.

0:31:080:31:10

And when the bomb dropped on the jam factory,

0:31:110:31:14

we were actually - Tony and I - were in there, buying some chips,

0:31:140:31:17

and the chippy got hold of us and shoved us under the counter and said,

0:31:170:31:21

"You stay there."

0:31:210:31:23

Cos this bomb was bloody whistling down. Yeah.

0:31:230:31:25

-Yeah, this was the off-licence.

-Still is, look. Off-licence.

-Yeah.

0:31:300:31:33

Nan would say, "Go and get me a Guinness."

0:31:350:31:37

-Yeah, a Guinness. Yeah. Yeah.

-Yeah.

0:31:370:31:39

-Look at the lock on the door.

-Yeah.

0:31:460:31:48

That door always used to be open.

0:31:500:31:52

Yeah, always. And the jam factory.

0:31:520:31:54

This is where the jam factory was, yeah.

0:31:540:31:56

-The bomb dropped...

-Sugar and jam everywhere.

-Everywhere.

0:31:580:32:02

For both cousins,

0:32:040:32:05

it's been a welcome return to their old stamping grounds

0:32:050:32:08

and the neighbourhood they thought they'd never see again.

0:32:080:32:12

Brilliant. We've done well.

0:32:120:32:13

It's been absolutely bloody marvellous, Denis. It really has.

0:32:130:32:16

For Brian, having lost his brother Tony so recently,

0:32:180:32:22

having his cousin and childhood friend back

0:32:220:32:24

has come at just the right time.

0:32:240:32:26

Give us another hug, please.

0:32:280:32:29

-Another hug.

-And one from Tony as well.

-Oh, yes. God rest his soul.

0:32:290:32:34

-Don't start me off.

-God rest his soul. No, don't start now.

0:32:340:32:37

I'm getting better now, Denis.

0:32:370:32:39

-Yeah, that was from Tony.

-Oh, great.

-That's what all this is about.

0:32:390:32:43

-Yep.

-Yeah.

0:32:430:32:44

Wow.

0:32:470:32:48

It's been...absolutely marvellous.

0:32:480:32:51

I've met Denis after all these years and... Oh, what a character!

0:32:520:32:57

-There was a beautiful girl used to work in the jam factory.

-Uh-huh?

0:32:570:33:01

Long blonde hair.

0:33:010:33:02

We used to see her walking to work every morning

0:33:020:33:04

and all the boys were whistling at her.

0:33:040:33:08

It really has been absolutely terrific.

0:33:080:33:10

We've recalled so many wonderful, wonderful memories.

0:33:100:33:14

Refresh my memory.

0:33:140:33:15

Is it a little further down the road where there's the park with

0:33:150:33:18

-the paddling pool?

-Paddling pool.

0:33:180:33:19

On hot days, we'd go down there and lay in the water.

0:33:190:33:23

I used to fall in it, Denis. I used to fall in it, fully clothed.

0:33:230:33:28

Gosh, he's... He's just grand. He's great.

0:33:280:33:32

He's marvellous.

0:33:320:33:33

He's what I call a real character.

0:33:330:33:36

An absolute real...

0:33:360:33:38

I just want to get hold of him and hug him all the time.

0:33:380:33:40

They say absence makes the heart grow fonder.

0:33:400:33:43

I suppose that's starting to ring true

0:33:430:33:46

because I feel closer to him now than I've ever felt.

0:33:460:33:49

Brian can only imagine what Tony would have made of meeting Denis

0:33:500:33:54

and visiting their childhood haunts after all these years.

0:33:540:33:58

I think - and I don't believe in that sort of thing - but if he were

0:34:000:34:05

watching and listening, I think he would be absolutely delighted.

0:34:050:34:09

Andrea Wood used a family finding agency to track down Peter,

0:34:190:34:23

the father she'd never met.

0:34:230:34:25

She sent him a letter, but two and a half weeks passed and still,

0:34:260:34:30

she's heard nothing.

0:34:300:34:32

There's me sitting there, thinking, OK, well,

0:34:320:34:35

he obviously doesn't want to know me or he's still not around...

0:34:350:34:38

It was the longest two and a bit weeks that I'd ever, ever had.

0:34:400:34:46

But just when she'd given up hope, Peter returned from a long holiday

0:34:480:34:53

to find Andrea's letter waiting for him.

0:34:530:34:55

It was just something that I did not expect,

0:34:570:35:01

and it was... It was really so unexpected.

0:35:010:35:05

I can't think of anything else that would have surprised me more,

0:35:050:35:09

seriously. I was well, well pleased.

0:35:090:35:13

Shocked and delighted, Peter immediately wrote back,

0:35:130:35:17

and Andrea finally knew her search was over.

0:35:170:35:20

I felt so happy

0:35:240:35:28

and so relieved.

0:35:280:35:31

The relief was expressed through tears.

0:35:310:35:35

I couldn't control the happiness.

0:35:350:35:37

Peter lives near Newbury in Berkshire.

0:35:400:35:43

Now 69, he was barely 21 when he married Andrea's mother.

0:35:430:35:49

I decided that marriage was not for me.

0:35:490:35:53

I was still a very young man,

0:35:530:35:55

and I really thought that I knew my own mind

0:35:550:35:59

and that I knew what I was doing.

0:35:590:36:01

In retrospect, I certainly didn't.

0:36:010:36:05

I remember when Andrea was born.

0:36:070:36:10

You know, she was a lovely little thing, she really was.

0:36:100:36:14

But I was still determined to do what I wanted to do,

0:36:140:36:18

even though it wasn't the right thing.

0:36:180:36:20

And it really wasn't the right thing.

0:36:200:36:23

I've made one or two decisions in my life that I'm not proud of,

0:36:230:36:27

and that is definitely the major one.

0:36:270:36:30

Peter had chosen to walk away,

0:36:300:36:32

but he never stopped thinking about his daughter.

0:36:320:36:36

I always wondered what Andrea looked like,

0:36:360:36:39

but when I did try and get in touch,

0:36:390:36:42

it was a card on her 18th birthday.

0:36:420:36:46

She made it quite plain that she didn't want to know,

0:36:460:36:50

which is understandable.

0:36:500:36:53

After that I left it alone, which is fair enough -

0:36:530:36:56

you don't encroach on somebody if they don't want to know.

0:36:560:37:00

Having given up hope of ever seeing his daughter again,

0:37:030:37:06

Andrea's letter offered Peter the chance

0:37:060:37:08

to start a whole new chapter in his life.

0:37:080:37:11

They wasted no time in arranging to meet at Peter's home in Berkshire.

0:37:130:37:18

The first meeting, when I actually drove into his drive,

0:37:190:37:24

I had to get myself...

0:37:240:37:26

I had to get myself under control. I was so nervous.

0:37:260:37:31

Oh, I was a bag of nerves.

0:37:310:37:33

I really was a bag of nerves.

0:37:330:37:36

I think I polished everything about ten times.

0:37:360:37:39

I was pacing up and down and God knows what.

0:37:390:37:42

I was trying to find things to do, really, more to occupy my mind.

0:37:420:37:47

I got out of the car and went and knocked on the door,

0:37:490:37:52

and he opened the door, and he said, "Hello, Andrea."

0:37:520:37:54

And I just put my arms around him and said,

0:37:540:37:58

"Lovely to meet you, Pete."

0:37:580:38:00

It was lovely. Absolutely. She looked a treat, she really did.

0:38:000:38:04

I think there was a bit of a... SHE SNIFFS

0:38:040:38:06

..from him, and I think from me also.

0:38:060:38:10

Yeah.

0:38:130:38:14

It was an immediate hug.

0:38:140:38:17

We couldn't stop hugging one another. I mean, absolutely amazing.

0:38:170:38:22

I've got to say, I had a tear in my eye.

0:38:220:38:25

Since their first meeting,

0:38:270:38:29

Peter and Andrea have been making up for lost time,

0:38:290:38:32

spending weekends and family holidays together

0:38:320:38:35

and giving Peter the chance to be a grandad.

0:38:350:38:37

First when my mum didn't find her dad,

0:38:380:38:44

she was a bit, like, sad and lonely,

0:38:440:38:47

and a bit depressed. And ever since she found him,

0:38:470:38:52

-she's been really happy.

-She's woken up and everything.

0:38:520:38:56

Instead of being all grumpy in the morning, she's like,

0:38:560:39:00

IN A CHIRPY VOICE: "Hey, boys, how you been? Did you have a nice sleep?"

0:39:000:39:03

And everything, instead of,

0:39:030:39:05

IN A MONOTONOUS VOICE: "Uh, I'm going to work now. Bye."

0:39:050:39:09

But there's one special occasion that Peter's never been present for.

0:39:150:39:19

He's missed all of Andrea's birthdays,

0:39:190:39:22

but what she doesn't know is that's about to change.

0:39:220:39:27

Yeah, it's lovely. Can't wait. I really can't.

0:39:270:39:30

Now he's planning to spring a surprise on her special day.

0:39:330:39:36

Here we go. Awesome.

0:39:380:39:40

-Oh, dear. Happy birthday.

-Fancy seeing you!

-Happy birthday.

0:40:070:40:12

There's a surprise!

0:40:120:40:15

-There you go.

-Oh, my word!

-Happy birthday.

-Thank you.

0:40:150:40:18

It was lovely when my dad turned up today.

0:40:180:40:21

Yeah, complete and utter surprise, didn't expect it.

0:40:210:40:25

When I saw his reflection in the mirror,

0:40:280:40:31

yeah, it was just... It was just awesome.

0:40:310:40:35

-You didn't tell us he was coming.

-I didn't know he was coming.

0:40:350:40:39

-It's a surprise.

-Only your dad knew.

-SHE LAUGHS

0:40:390:40:43

You're looking nice. You're looking very nice.

0:40:430:40:46

-It's nice to see you.

-Lovely.

0:40:460:40:49

Absolutely incredible.

0:40:510:40:53

To actually get here on her birthday was a rare treat,

0:40:530:40:57

and I know that she loved it. Bless her.

0:40:570:41:00

I think Andrea liked the pretty pink ones.

0:41:020:41:05

Sorted.

0:41:080:41:10

After 47 years, Peter finally gets the chance

0:41:120:41:16

to do something most dads take for granted.

0:41:160:41:19

You do feel more complete.

0:41:230:41:25

Since I've met Andrea, I've got, if you like, a tailor-made family.

0:41:250:41:31

Blow the candles.

0:41:310:41:33

Yes, that'll do. Awesome. Well done, Mum.

0:41:330:41:37

I get on with John like a house on fire,

0:41:370:41:39

and the little boys just add the energy to the mix

0:41:390:41:43

which is something, perhaps, that was missing out of my life before.

0:41:430:41:48

There was no energy, and they are energetic, those two.

0:41:510:41:55

I love them to bits.

0:41:550:41:56

-How long have you made this den, then?

-We've had it for ages.

0:41:570:42:01

-Have you?

-Ever since we started knocking down that shed.

-Right.

0:42:010:42:05

And having missed out on the chance to be a dad first time around,

0:42:060:42:11

Peter now intends to make the most of his time with his grandchildren.

0:42:110:42:15

He came back to our house in our mum's car,

0:42:150:42:19

and we saw him and the first thing we did

0:42:190:42:24

was give him a massive hug.

0:42:240:42:26

Yeah, and we hand-shaked him and everything.

0:42:260:42:29

So over you went.

0:42:290:42:31

He normally takes us out for a walk in the morning.

0:42:310:42:35

-Yeah.

-And then we, like...

-He buys us sweets.

-Yeah, sometimes.

0:42:350:42:39

You've got a climbing tree as well? Awesome.

0:42:390:42:43

It's down to Andrea, really.

0:42:440:42:46

I mean, this was instigated by her,

0:42:460:42:49

and if it hadn't been for her,

0:42:490:42:52

then it wouldn't have happened.

0:42:520:42:55

It's as simple as that, and I'm so pleased. I am so...

0:42:550:42:59

Well, I can't really say how pleased I am. It's just...

0:42:590:43:02

It has changed my life.

0:43:020:43:04

Well, it's certainly changed ours.

0:43:040:43:07

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