0:00:02 > 0:00:05Families can be driven apart for all manner of reasons.
0:00:05 > 0:00:08My mum went away and didn't come back.
0:00:08 > 0:00:10And when you do lose touch with your loved ones...
0:00:10 > 0:00:15- I never saw Catherine again. - ..finding them can take a lifetime.
0:00:15 > 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 > 0:00:25Especially 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've 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 use searches that other people can't get,
0:00:47 > 0:00:51- because it makes me feel good. - ..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 > 0:01:03..learning the tricks they use
0:01:03 > 0:01:06to 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 > 0:01:14..and meeting the people whose lives they change along the way.
0:01:14 > 0:01:18- I said, "Well, this is your younger sister."- It'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 > 0:01:36Every year, thousands of people throughout the UK attempt to
0:01:36 > 0:01:39trace long-lost relatives.
0:01:39 > 0:01:42This daunting quest is one the Salvation Army has provided
0:01:42 > 0:01:47help with for over 130 years through its Family Tracing Service.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50Good afternoon. Family Tracing. How can I help?
0:01:50 > 0:01:53On average, we accept around about
0:01:53 > 0:01:562,000 enquiries a year from family members
0:01:56 > 0:01:58and, obviously, with every enquiry we take on,
0:01:58 > 0:02:02we want a positive result.
0:02:02 > 0:02:05Recently, the Family Tracing Unit received an intriguing
0:02:05 > 0:02:09enquiry from a woman in Huddersfield who hadn't seen her little
0:02:09 > 0:02:11brother for over 30 years.
0:02:11 > 0:02:13We received an application from Mary, who explained
0:02:13 > 0:02:16that she was looking for her younger half-brother, Leonard,
0:02:16 > 0:02:19and she believed that he was still living in London,
0:02:19 > 0:02:22where she last had contact with him.
0:02:24 > 0:02:27Mary Kitchin lives in Huddersfield with her husband
0:02:27 > 0:02:31and four children, but her story begins in 1960.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34I was born in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire.
0:02:34 > 0:02:38At the age of three months, myself and my mum moved to London.
0:02:38 > 0:02:42London in the early '60s was a city on the brink of change.
0:02:42 > 0:02:45Britain as a nation had put the Second World War
0:02:45 > 0:02:47well and truly behind it,
0:02:47 > 0:02:49and the swinging '60s were just around the corner.
0:02:51 > 0:02:56The capital was at the epicentre of this social change and after finding
0:02:56 > 0:02:59a job as a pub barmaid, Mary's mother was right at the heart of it.
0:03:01 > 0:03:05In 1963, no longer in a relationship with Mary's birth father,
0:03:05 > 0:03:08her mother met Jamaican-born Sidney Banton
0:03:08 > 0:03:11and fell pregnant with Mary's baby brother, Lenny.
0:03:11 > 0:03:17I don't remember Mum being pregnant but, obviously, when she had him,
0:03:17 > 0:03:19I was taken to the hospital to see him,
0:03:19 > 0:03:22so, obviously, I knew about him.
0:03:22 > 0:03:25After growing up with just her mother,
0:03:25 > 0:03:29Mary now had a brother, but it turned out Sidney was married
0:03:29 > 0:03:33and it wasn't long before his family came over from Jamaica to join him.
0:03:33 > 0:03:37At first, Mary and baby Lenny lived together with their own mother,
0:03:37 > 0:03:39but just a few months after his birth,
0:03:39 > 0:03:44she fell ill and both children moved in with Sidney and his family.
0:03:44 > 0:03:46I remember staying in the house with them
0:03:46 > 0:03:50and all his other brothers, and he's got one sister,
0:03:50 > 0:03:52being part of the family
0:03:52 > 0:03:57and then, obviously, Mum must have moved on then and so we lost,
0:03:57 > 0:04:02so, basically, I've been brought up as an only child, really.
0:04:02 > 0:04:06Ultimately, Lenny's birth father, Sidney, wanted to bring him up,
0:04:06 > 0:04:09so Mary and her mother moved back to West Yorkshire.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16All she had left to remind her of her brother was one precious photo.
0:04:16 > 0:04:22I had a photograph of myself and him that I've carried with me
0:04:22 > 0:04:24wherever we've moved to.
0:04:24 > 0:04:28He's never been out of my thoughts. I've always thought about him.
0:04:30 > 0:04:32But Mary had a life to get on with.
0:04:32 > 0:04:37She made Huddersfield her home, and at 19, gave birth to a daughter.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40Still, the knowledge that Lenny was out there gnawed away at her,
0:04:40 > 0:04:43and having a baby of her own was the spur she needed to
0:04:43 > 0:04:45go back and try and find him.
0:04:45 > 0:04:511979, I went back down to London to sort of retrace my steps
0:04:51 > 0:04:53of where I'd lived and everything.
0:04:53 > 0:04:56At that time, I'd got my eldest daughter,
0:04:56 > 0:05:01and me and her went down, and I did retrace steps.
0:05:01 > 0:05:06I did go to the house where he was living, I did see him,
0:05:06 > 0:05:11but I don't think that he knew I was his sister at that stage.
0:05:12 > 0:05:15Whether the teenage Lenny had no idea who she was,
0:05:15 > 0:05:18or simply did not want to know, either way,
0:05:18 > 0:05:22it was a severe blow for Mary, who returned to Huddersfield
0:05:22 > 0:05:25not knowing if she would ever see her brother again.
0:05:25 > 0:05:27You get on with life, don't you?
0:05:27 > 0:05:30I settled in Huddersfield, met my husband,
0:05:30 > 0:05:33had children and still here.
0:05:33 > 0:05:37I did want to contact him, but I don't know...
0:05:37 > 0:05:41Circumstances and having my own kids
0:05:41 > 0:05:45and settling myself, sort of kept putting it off and putting it off.
0:05:46 > 0:05:5130 years passed, then Mary heard that her estranged father had died.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54It was the spur to action that she needed.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57Lots of friends that I know had gone through bereavements
0:05:57 > 0:06:00and things and I just thought, "You know what?
0:06:00 > 0:06:05"I ought to do something before I get too old to do something,"
0:06:05 > 0:06:09so I discussed it with my family.
0:06:09 > 0:06:13My husband was very wary, but I think that's
0:06:13 > 0:06:18because he was looking out for me, but my daughter pushed me.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21She's like, "You've got to do it, Mum. You've got to do it."
0:06:21 > 0:06:23My mum has always spoke about a brother.
0:06:23 > 0:06:27She's always mentioned him and I know that she's wanted to get in contact
0:06:27 > 0:06:30with him for quite a long time. I've said to her as well,
0:06:30 > 0:06:33"You need to do it, because if you don't, you're never going to know."
0:06:33 > 0:06:36I was frightened of rejection and I kept saying,
0:06:36 > 0:06:39"No, I'm not going to do it," and then she said,
0:06:39 > 0:06:42"Well, if you don't do it, you're never going to know."
0:06:42 > 0:06:45Determined to strike while the iron was hot,
0:06:45 > 0:06:48Mary's daughter Elena contacted the Salvation Army.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51- Can you remember when I got the form? - I can, yes.
0:06:51 > 0:06:54- I were going to kill you!- Yeah. THEY LAUGH
0:06:54 > 0:06:57- And I wouldn't fill it in straight away, would I?- No.
0:06:57 > 0:07:00- It took ages, didn't it? - I took ages to think about it.
0:07:01 > 0:07:05Very apprehensive, very nervous, very frightened.
0:07:06 > 0:07:09A few days later, you said, "You know what?
0:07:09 > 0:07:13"We need to fill this form out," so we did.
0:07:13 > 0:07:17All I knew was his name, obviously my mum's name.
0:07:17 > 0:07:19I knew his dad's name.
0:07:19 > 0:07:22But the most important piece of information
0:07:22 > 0:07:24required was a date of birth.
0:07:24 > 0:07:30I know from being small, I always knew his birthday was on 1st June.
0:07:30 > 0:07:33Every first of June, I've thought, "I wonder where he is.
0:07:33 > 0:07:34"I wonder what he's doing."
0:07:34 > 0:07:40Mary knew the date, but she had no idea what year Lenny was born in,
0:07:40 > 0:07:42so she decided to play detective.
0:07:42 > 0:07:47From a photograph that I've got, we've sort of estimated that he was
0:07:47 > 0:07:52two, maybe three years younger, so we sort of put three years down.
0:07:54 > 0:07:57Mary handed the information to the experts,
0:07:57 > 0:08:00complete with three possible dates of birth.
0:08:00 > 0:08:02In all cases, it's really important to have as much
0:08:02 > 0:08:06information as possible about the person that we're looking for.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09I didn't think for a minute actually that the Salvation Army would be
0:08:09 > 0:08:12able to find him, because on my form
0:08:12 > 0:08:15there was so little information, it was...
0:08:15 > 0:08:19I even said to my daughter, "There's no chance of finding
0:08:19 > 0:08:23"anybody with little snippets of what I've got."
0:08:23 > 0:08:27Mary may have thought it was scant information to go on,
0:08:27 > 0:08:31but for the family finders, it was the perfect starting point.
0:08:31 > 0:08:35With that information, we would take that and apply to the
0:08:35 > 0:08:37General Register Office for birth certificates and ask them
0:08:37 > 0:08:42to send us copies to establish which date of birth was the correct one.
0:08:43 > 0:08:45Once we had Leonard's birth information,
0:08:45 > 0:08:48we were able to find him pretty quickly.
0:08:49 > 0:08:53It turned out that Leonard wasn't living too far from where Mary
0:08:53 > 0:08:57had last seen him and we were able to send him a letter straight away.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02The Salvation Army letter informs a lost relative a family member
0:09:02 > 0:09:05would like to get in touch.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08The person can then decide how to respond.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11I received this letter and, to be honest, I didn't know how I felt.
0:09:11 > 0:09:15I didn't know if I was shocked, surprised, mortified, what,
0:09:15 > 0:09:18and I didn't know how to react. Like...
0:09:20 > 0:09:26You know, so I didn't immediately reply to the letter.
0:09:26 > 0:09:32I didn't know what to do. As well, I was scared as well. I don't know.
0:09:32 > 0:09:34I don't know how to explain it.
0:09:34 > 0:09:38Lenny decided to proceed, but with caution.
0:09:38 > 0:09:40He called the office
0:09:40 > 0:09:43and said that he would love to hear from his sister
0:09:43 > 0:09:48and that he'd like initially to have a letter from her via our office.
0:09:48 > 0:09:52The letter forwarding service that we offer is something that is
0:09:52 > 0:09:56taken up in quite a lot of cases and people sometimes are nervous
0:09:56 > 0:09:59about being in touch with their relative after such a long time.
0:10:00 > 0:10:03It's a good way to break the ice without disclosing anything
0:10:03 > 0:10:07personal like address or contact details.
0:10:07 > 0:10:11Mary had an agonising wait to discover the news.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14I didn't hear anything then for about four weeks
0:10:14 > 0:10:20and then I got a letter. I had the letter here for about two hours.
0:10:20 > 0:10:22Nobody was at home.
0:10:22 > 0:10:25Everybody was out working and I was looking at this letter,
0:10:25 > 0:10:28"Shall I open it? Shan't I open it? Shall I open it?"
0:10:28 > 0:10:3230 years after last setting eyes on her brother, the contents of this
0:10:32 > 0:10:37letter would determine whether or not Mary would ever see Lenny again.
0:10:37 > 0:10:41So, I opened it and I said, "They found him! They found him!"
0:10:41 > 0:10:46So, I set to that night and wrote just a few short lines
0:10:46 > 0:10:47and enclosed the photo.
0:10:51 > 0:10:53Lenny may have asked for the letter,
0:10:53 > 0:10:56but its arrival was no less overwhelming for that.
0:10:56 > 0:11:00The emotions I had when I received the letter?
0:11:00 > 0:11:04Everything - joy, sadness, shock, horror.
0:11:09 > 0:11:14I have to pinch myself sometimes to say, "Is this really happening?"
0:11:14 > 0:11:17It's crazy. It's good, but it's crazy.
0:11:19 > 0:11:21But it was the photograph Mary had enclosed
0:11:21 > 0:11:23which had the biggest impact.
0:11:23 > 0:11:28When Mary sent me the letter, she put a photograph of me
0:11:28 > 0:11:30that I didn't even know existed
0:11:30 > 0:11:36and then, that's when I looked at it and thought, "Wow! Who's this?"
0:11:36 > 0:11:39It's me and Mary when we was kids.
0:11:39 > 0:11:44Well, straight away, I had to photocopy it, blow it up.
0:11:44 > 0:11:48It's everywhere, it's on my laptop, it's on the wall, it's everywhere.
0:11:51 > 0:11:57Leonard's story begins with his father in 1963.
0:11:57 > 0:12:00When he first got here, he had to find lodgings
0:12:00 > 0:12:03and that's where he met my birth mother.
0:12:03 > 0:12:09- That person was Mary's mother. - And obviously...
0:12:09 > 0:12:11two and two equals Lenny.
0:12:12 > 0:12:16Soon after that, Sidney's wife and children arrived from Jamaica.
0:12:16 > 0:12:21When my dad had found his own place to live,
0:12:21 > 0:12:25he sent for my mum to come over with my brothers and sister.
0:12:25 > 0:12:28Lenny grew up with his dad's family in South London,
0:12:28 > 0:12:34- unaware of his true origins. - I just had a normal childhood.
0:12:34 > 0:12:39You know, like, I didn't feel different, I didn't...
0:12:39 > 0:12:41look at myself and think,
0:12:41 > 0:12:44"I'm a duck. You lot are chickens," you know?
0:12:45 > 0:12:49Then one year, his birth mother turned up on the doorstep.
0:12:49 > 0:12:51This woman came and knocked on the door.
0:12:51 > 0:12:55She stood, like, in the doorway and my mum was saying,
0:12:55 > 0:12:58turned around to me and said, "Say hello to your mother,"
0:12:58 > 0:13:00pointing to the woman in the doorway.
0:13:00 > 0:13:03So, I looked at my mother saying, "Hello, Mum."
0:13:03 > 0:13:06And my mum was saying, "No, say hello to your mother."
0:13:09 > 0:13:12So, I said, "Hello," to my mum again and my mum said, "No,"
0:13:12 > 0:13:17pointing at this woman in the doorway,
0:13:17 > 0:13:21and me being young, I said, "I don't know who this woman is,"
0:13:21 > 0:13:24and then as far as I can remember, I think
0:13:24 > 0:13:27I ran off into the kitchen or into the garden and that was it,
0:13:27 > 0:13:32and that is the only recollection I've got of ever seeing this woman.
0:13:32 > 0:13:34I couldn't even describe her now,
0:13:34 > 0:13:38because I think, on purpose, I blanked everything out with her.
0:13:39 > 0:13:42Lenny struggles to remember exactly how
0:13:42 > 0:13:45he learned the truth about where he'd come from.
0:13:45 > 0:13:49I can't remember when it first came up or how it came up...
0:13:50 > 0:13:55..but my mum explained about my birth mother.
0:13:57 > 0:14:00But he found it hard to cope with the revelation.
0:14:00 > 0:14:03I didn't want to know, because as far as I'm concerned,
0:14:03 > 0:14:07I'm with my mother, I've still got my mother today.
0:14:08 > 0:14:11So, I suppose, in a way, that's why I put it to the back of my mind
0:14:11 > 0:14:14and just forgot all about it, and just got on with life.
0:14:14 > 0:14:18Lenny has no memory of living with Mary as a tiny baby
0:14:18 > 0:14:23and can only vaguely remember her visit to London in 1979.
0:14:23 > 0:14:28She was at the house and, you know, I wasn't rude to her, but...
0:14:28 > 0:14:33because I didn't know who she was, I just totally ignored her.
0:14:33 > 0:14:37It's only at a later date, I found out that she was my sister.
0:14:39 > 0:14:42But the past is now the past and tomorrow,
0:14:42 > 0:14:45brother and sister will be reunited
0:14:45 > 0:14:47for the first time in their adult lives.
0:14:47 > 0:14:51It's been a lifetime since we've actually seen each other.
0:14:51 > 0:14:53You know, we are two strangers.
0:14:53 > 0:14:56Do I hug her? Do I kiss her? Do I shake her hand? I don't know.
0:14:56 > 0:15:02Baffles me, but I think, emotions are just going to take over.
0:15:03 > 0:15:05There's so much we've got to say to each other.
0:15:05 > 0:15:10In fact, there's that much, I don't know where to start...
0:15:10 > 0:15:13apart from saying sorry. That's the first thing, of course.
0:15:21 > 0:15:24If you're thinking of trying to trace a relative, living or dead,
0:15:24 > 0:15:27it's important to arm yourself with all the facts
0:15:27 > 0:15:29before starting your search.
0:15:29 > 0:15:34Spread the net as wide as you can, asking relatives for any photos,
0:15:34 > 0:15:37memories, anecdotes or documents they may have.
0:15:37 > 0:15:39Make a note of any names, locations
0:15:39 > 0:15:42or dates of key events such as births or marriages,
0:15:42 > 0:15:46and drawing up a timeline can also be a useful tool.
0:15:46 > 0:15:48The more work you put in at the outset,
0:15:48 > 0:15:50the better your chances of success.
0:15:52 > 0:15:55But if the thought of doing the work yourself is daunting,
0:15:55 > 0:15:57for anyone wishing to track down a loved one,
0:15:57 > 0:16:01there's been a boom in independent family finders willing to hope.
0:16:03 > 0:16:07One such authority is Derbyshire-based Charlie Watson.
0:16:07 > 0:16:11It's commonplace for people to want me to undertake enquiries
0:16:11 > 0:16:15to try and find something special in the family.
0:16:15 > 0:16:18With years of experience in the family-finding business,
0:16:18 > 0:16:21Charlie has dealt with all sorts of colourful cases.
0:16:21 > 0:16:24People like to find they've been transported to Australia,
0:16:24 > 0:16:28are crooks or murderers or who've run off with the family silver,
0:16:28 > 0:16:31or who have some sort of naughtiness around them.
0:16:31 > 0:16:35But Charlie doesn't just delve into his clients' past.
0:16:35 > 0:16:38He also helps them track down living relatives who
0:16:38 > 0:16:40they may not have seen in years, if at all.
0:16:40 > 0:16:43Many of my clients are actually in their later years, who have
0:16:43 > 0:16:47suddenly taken an interest in trying to find out about their families,
0:16:47 > 0:16:49whether they are living or dead.
0:16:49 > 0:16:53Recently, Charlie was contacted by a woman desperate to
0:16:53 > 0:16:57track down her missing family and to finally unravel a long-standing
0:16:57 > 0:17:01mystery surrounding exactly who she was and where she had come from.
0:17:08 > 0:17:1181-year-old Linda Wright is a retired musician who now
0:17:11 > 0:17:14lives in North Yorkshire.
0:17:14 > 0:17:18Born in 1934, she grew up in Southport, Merseyside.
0:17:18 > 0:17:21An only child, she was brought up by the couple
0:17:21 > 0:17:24she assumed were her birth mother and father.
0:17:24 > 0:17:28When I was young, I went to a private day school
0:17:28 > 0:17:31and it was very old-fashioned and, occasionally,
0:17:31 > 0:17:35we had air raids over the town, so we slept
0:17:35 > 0:17:40every night in an Anderson shelter underneath the kitchen table.
0:17:40 > 0:17:43To try to blot out the air raids above, Linda remembers hiding
0:17:43 > 0:17:47under the blankets and losing herself in the stories of the era.
0:17:47 > 0:17:51Because it was wartime, we weren't allowed lights on and blackout,
0:17:51 > 0:17:53and I loved Peter Pan and Wendy.
0:17:54 > 0:17:57Linda loved the novels so much that later in life,
0:17:57 > 0:18:00she ended up adding Wendy to her name.
0:18:00 > 0:18:02I was Linda Margaret to start with,
0:18:02 > 0:18:07but I've added Wendy for some reason, because I liked it.
0:18:08 > 0:18:11But Linda's love of literature and the arts did not end there.
0:18:11 > 0:18:14Music was her biggest passion
0:18:14 > 0:18:17and she would spend many evenings glued to the family wireless.
0:18:17 > 0:18:21One night, we were listening to a lovely violinist, so I said,
0:18:21 > 0:18:22"I want to learn one of those."
0:18:25 > 0:18:29And on that Sunday and on Tuesday, I'd started.
0:18:29 > 0:18:34In three years, I was playing quite good concertos.
0:18:34 > 0:18:38I then got a scholarship to the Royal Manchester College of Music
0:18:38 > 0:18:39and I went there for three years.
0:18:39 > 0:18:43Linda passed her musical studies with distinction
0:18:43 > 0:18:45and went on to become a professional violinist.
0:18:45 > 0:18:50By this time, I had already met my husband-to-be, Cliff Wright.
0:18:50 > 0:18:53Linda and Cliff got married in 1954.
0:18:53 > 0:18:57Then, later that year, he got a posting to a new
0:18:57 > 0:19:01position as band leader to the Border Regiment based in Berlin.
0:19:01 > 0:19:04I was 20 and I'd never been abroad,
0:19:04 > 0:19:08and eventually I realised I hadn't got a passport
0:19:08 > 0:19:10and I hadn't got any...
0:19:12 > 0:19:17..any piece of paper that said who I was, so I rang my dad up
0:19:17 > 0:19:22and he came across with a... well, my marriage certificate,
0:19:22 > 0:19:25but then I said, "Well, haven't I got a birth certificate?"
0:19:25 > 0:19:28Linda's dad was initially unable to produce her birth certificate,
0:19:28 > 0:19:32and the possible implications began to dawn on her.
0:19:32 > 0:19:37I started to have a suspicion then and then he told me I was adopted.
0:19:37 > 0:19:40The news that her mum and dad weren't her birth parents was
0:19:40 > 0:19:44shock enough for Linda, but when she pushed to know more,
0:19:44 > 0:19:47the details behind her adoption were hazy, to say the least.
0:19:47 > 0:19:52He'd told me that he'd gone to Barnardo's and chosen me
0:19:52 > 0:19:53for my lovely smile.
0:19:53 > 0:19:58Hardly likely at one month old when you've got no teeth, is there?
0:19:58 > 0:20:02It was only years later, on the night of her father's funeral,
0:20:02 > 0:20:06that Linda's auntie, Iris, challenged this story.
0:20:06 > 0:20:08"What did your father tell you?"
0:20:08 > 0:20:13"Oh," I said. "He told me he'd been to Barnardo's and picked me up
0:20:13 > 0:20:17"for my big smile." And she said, "Oh, not that story again."
0:20:19 > 0:20:21She said, "I'll tell you the real story."
0:20:21 > 0:20:25This news came as a huge shock, because now Linda had
0:20:25 > 0:20:29two conflicting stories about how she came to be adopted.
0:20:29 > 0:20:31In her Auntie Iris's version,
0:20:31 > 0:20:34Linda's music-loving adoptive parents had long wanted
0:20:34 > 0:20:37a child of their own and not just any old child.
0:20:37 > 0:20:40They couldn't have any children and they were very musical
0:20:40 > 0:20:42and loved opera and all sorts of things,
0:20:42 > 0:20:47and just wanted a musician and they heard about this child in Yorkshire.
0:20:47 > 0:20:51Their prayers were answered in the form of an unusual
0:20:51 > 0:20:53news story in the local paper.
0:20:53 > 0:20:56An opera singer was putting her daughter up for adoption.
0:20:56 > 0:20:59"Young opera singer has unfortunate liaison,"
0:20:59 > 0:21:02and, of course, I was the result.
0:21:02 > 0:21:07So, they arranged to adopt me on the spot.
0:21:07 > 0:21:11As the years passed, Linda never stopped wondering about her mother
0:21:11 > 0:21:15and, more importantly, whether there might be anyone else out there.
0:21:15 > 0:21:18I thought, "Wouldn't it be fantastic
0:21:18 > 0:21:20"if I actually had some brothers and sisters?"
0:21:22 > 0:21:26It was time to bring in expert help in the shape of genealogist
0:21:26 > 0:21:29and family finder Charlie Watson.
0:21:30 > 0:21:35She had some stories that she was told by her adoptive parents,
0:21:35 > 0:21:38and it was clear when she was telling me some of these stories
0:21:38 > 0:21:41that she had quite strong feelings about wanting to find,
0:21:41 > 0:21:45potentially, her birth mother and her siblings.
0:21:45 > 0:21:48What Linda had in her possession was an adoption order
0:21:48 > 0:21:51and a birth certificate, which really isn't very much,
0:21:51 > 0:21:53but not entirely unexpected,
0:21:53 > 0:21:57because we're going back quite a few years now to the 1930s
0:21:57 > 0:22:02and it's fairly commonplace to find very few documents that one can use.
0:22:02 > 0:22:06But armed with what little he had, Charlie set to work.
0:22:06 > 0:22:09The adoption order will give you the name of the court that made
0:22:09 > 0:22:14the order, so it was necessary to write to the court to see whether
0:22:14 > 0:22:19they had any records of adoption file relating to that particular adoption.
0:22:19 > 0:22:23Charlie's investigations unearthed a name for Linda's birth mother -
0:22:23 > 0:22:24Dorothy Turner.
0:22:24 > 0:22:29Dorothy was no longer alive, but did she have any other children?
0:22:29 > 0:22:32I started to look for Linda's birth mother's parents,
0:22:32 > 0:22:35so that would be Linda's grandparents,
0:22:35 > 0:22:38and what I finally managed to do was evidence of their marriage
0:22:38 > 0:22:41by looking online.
0:22:41 > 0:22:45By accessing scores of online records, Charlie managed
0:22:45 > 0:22:49to get a clearer picture of Linda's history and family tree.
0:22:49 > 0:22:52That whole process took probably two to three months
0:22:52 > 0:22:56and eventually resulted in my sending out four letters to people.
0:22:57 > 0:23:02These four letters were sent to potential close relatives of Linda.
0:23:02 > 0:23:04We had one positive response,
0:23:04 > 0:23:07and one positive response is pretty much all you need.
0:23:07 > 0:23:08One will do.
0:23:08 > 0:23:13Charlie's sleuthing had paid off. Linda did indeed have siblings,
0:23:13 > 0:23:17and 270 miles away in the Brecon Beacons,
0:23:17 > 0:23:18one of them, Bridget,
0:23:18 > 0:23:22was about to receive a phone call that would change her life.
0:23:22 > 0:23:26My remaining brother, Richard, called me up and said,
0:23:26 > 0:23:28"A genealogist has been in touch with me
0:23:28 > 0:23:32"saying that there's a lady that would like to contact us, who's...
0:23:32 > 0:23:34"who's our sister."
0:23:34 > 0:23:38Born 15 years after Linda, Bridget grew up with her birth parents
0:23:38 > 0:23:42and two elder brothers. But while Linda spent her adult life
0:23:42 > 0:23:44wondering whether she had any siblings,
0:23:44 > 0:23:48Bridget and have brothers had been put in the picture much earlier.
0:23:48 > 0:23:53When my mother died in 1999, my father got us all together
0:23:53 > 0:23:55and said, "I've got some news,"
0:23:55 > 0:23:59and told us that we had a sister,
0:23:59 > 0:24:01which was a shock, because we'd always been a three,
0:24:01 > 0:24:03and suddenly we were a four.
0:24:03 > 0:24:05It was a bit of a bombshell, I have to say,
0:24:05 > 0:24:08because you always think your parents are without reproach.
0:24:08 > 0:24:10I'd had a really settled childhood,
0:24:10 > 0:24:12they'd been together all their lives,
0:24:12 > 0:24:14they hadn't divorced or anything like that,
0:24:14 > 0:24:15and then we had a long discussion
0:24:15 > 0:24:18as to whether we should try and find her or not.
0:24:18 > 0:24:20And in the end, we decided not.
0:24:20 > 0:24:24We probably took what was the easier way out, but we thought...
0:24:24 > 0:24:26We just didn't know. I just thought
0:24:26 > 0:24:30it would be better to leave things as they were, leave well alone.
0:24:30 > 0:24:33- Well, it was a joint decision. - Yeah, it was a joint decision.
0:24:33 > 0:24:36Remarkably, just like the sister she'd never met,
0:24:36 > 0:24:39Bridget has also spent her life steeped in music.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42I had a passion for music right from the start.
0:24:42 > 0:24:46I just have a musical brain, so when I was about four,
0:24:46 > 0:24:49we had an old piano which belonged to my grandmother,
0:24:49 > 0:24:51and my mother showed me the notes on the piano
0:24:51 > 0:24:53and I just took it from there and taught myself,
0:24:53 > 0:24:56and eventually ended up going to music college.
0:24:56 > 0:25:00Bridget and her partner, Brendan, run an opera company,
0:25:00 > 0:25:03an uncanny echo of the story Linda was told,
0:25:03 > 0:25:05that her mother was a young opera singer.
0:25:05 > 0:25:10I've spent all my life in opera. That's what I do and have done.
0:25:10 > 0:25:14Bridget and her brothers had decided to let sleeping dogs lie
0:25:14 > 0:25:17and not go looking for Linda, until she came looking for them.
0:25:17 > 0:25:23Suddenly we got this call saying, "There's a lady wants to find you,"
0:25:23 > 0:25:29so we couldn't really believe it. I went, "Oh, God!" at the time
0:25:29 > 0:25:32And then, we just talked about it and I said,
0:25:32 > 0:25:34"Of course, we've got to meet her."
0:25:36 > 0:25:40Three months after his first meeting with Linda, Charlie contacted her
0:25:40 > 0:25:43with the news she'd been desperately hoping to hear.
0:25:43 > 0:25:50"Bingo! I've found your family." I was excited, yes, of course I was.
0:25:50 > 0:25:53I really have got a family. Oh, gosh!
0:25:53 > 0:25:56The sisters have already met once briefly.
0:25:56 > 0:25:58Tomorrow, they'll be reunited again,
0:25:58 > 0:26:01with two whole lifetimes to catch up on.
0:26:08 > 0:26:09In London, Mary Kitchin
0:26:09 > 0:26:14and her younger brother, Lenny, had been separated for over 30 years.
0:26:14 > 0:26:17Today, they will be reunited after being brought together
0:26:17 > 0:26:21by the family finders at the Salvation Army.
0:26:21 > 0:26:24I can't wait to see him.
0:26:24 > 0:26:28I'm nervous, but I'm not frightened...
0:26:28 > 0:26:32He's not going to be a complete stranger to me.
0:26:34 > 0:26:35We've found each other,
0:26:35 > 0:26:39but I haven't spoken to him verbally as yet.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42So, obviously, I know he's a Cockney, but I don't know
0:26:42 > 0:26:46if he'll understand me. Us Northerners, you know.
0:26:46 > 0:26:50The last time Mary made the journey to London to see Lenny,
0:26:50 > 0:26:53he was a teenager who barely acknowledged her.
0:26:53 > 0:26:57Today, she is hoping for a very different reception.
0:26:57 > 0:27:03Very nervous but excited. A nice nervousness.
0:27:03 > 0:27:06- She's shaking, aren't you? Shaking.- Yeah, I am.
0:27:06 > 0:27:08- You don't need to be nervous. - I know.
0:27:08 > 0:27:10You'll be all right.
0:27:10 > 0:27:12Just weird...
0:27:12 > 0:27:15being here and it's all going to happen.
0:27:18 > 0:27:21Lenny's also on his way into Central London,
0:27:21 > 0:27:23where they've agreed to meet.
0:27:24 > 0:27:28And he's brought his partner Dana along for support.
0:27:28 > 0:27:34- How are you feeling, babe? - Scared, frightened... - Do you feel sick?- ..apprehensive.
0:27:34 > 0:27:36Yeah, very sick.
0:27:36 > 0:27:37But that's nerves.
0:27:41 > 0:27:44- You going to cry?- I don't know.
0:27:45 > 0:27:49I don't know. I don't think, because of the man thing, innit?
0:27:49 > 0:27:53- I don't think I'll cry but... - It's a good thing, isn't it?
0:27:53 > 0:27:55Yeah. Of course, it's all good.
0:27:57 > 0:28:00I've sent Mary a message saying, "How are you feeling?"
0:28:00 > 0:28:03She's replied with, "OK. Can't wait." DANA LAUGHS
0:28:05 > 0:28:09Now it's coming closer, I'm not as nervous as I was...
0:28:09 > 0:28:10- Really?- ..funnily enough.
0:28:10 > 0:28:13Yeah, I'm a bit more calmer.
0:28:13 > 0:28:19- Are you feeling better?- No. - Is it getting worse?- Yeah.
0:28:19 > 0:28:21Because we've hit London now.
0:28:26 > 0:28:30Lenny is the first to arrive.
0:28:35 > 0:28:37And he faces an anxious wait.
0:28:41 > 0:28:44I can't believe how stressed out I am.
0:28:47 > 0:28:49Sick... Terri... Oh.
0:28:53 > 0:28:55I bet she cries.
0:28:57 > 0:29:02- You'll cry.- I don't think... No, I'm a man. I won't cry. No.
0:29:02 > 0:29:04No.
0:29:21 > 0:29:23LENNY SOBS
0:29:23 > 0:29:24Oh, stop.
0:29:27 > 0:29:29Found you at last.
0:29:37 > 0:29:40- Sorry. - No need to be.
0:29:42 > 0:29:44I can't... I can't...
0:29:49 > 0:29:50I can't...
0:29:53 > 0:29:56Oh... Dana.
0:30:00 > 0:30:03With a tearful Lenny lost for words, Mary decides to bring in
0:30:03 > 0:30:07her daughters, his nieces, to help break the ice.
0:30:07 > 0:30:09Hello, are you all right?
0:30:09 > 0:30:12Hello. How are you?
0:30:12 > 0:30:16All right. Oh, they're proper northerners. There we are.
0:30:16 > 0:30:19- You all right? Hiya. - They've chilled me out now.
0:30:28 > 0:30:32Without Elena in particular, none of this would ever have happened.
0:30:32 > 0:30:35- It's down to you, isn't it? It's all down to you.- It is.
0:30:35 > 0:30:38I just pushed her because she needed to do it.
0:30:38 > 0:30:40She wanted to do it for many, many years
0:30:40 > 0:30:43and she's always talked about you. So...I was like, "Right..."
0:30:43 > 0:30:46Yeah, everyone talks about me, don't they?
0:30:46 > 0:30:47THEY LAUGH
0:30:47 > 0:30:49Nothing bad, though, this is the thing.
0:30:49 > 0:30:51I was just like, "Right, that's it.
0:30:51 > 0:30:53"We're doing it, whether you like it or not."
0:30:53 > 0:30:56She made me sit down and fill it all out.
0:30:56 > 0:30:58The bits that we could fill out,
0:30:58 > 0:31:01- because there was lots that were really sketchy.- Yeah.
0:31:01 > 0:31:03I wouldn't even know where to start.
0:31:03 > 0:31:08All I know is Mary, Yorkshire, that's all I would have known.
0:31:08 > 0:31:12I'm just glad that I found my little brother after all these years,
0:31:12 > 0:31:16and I can actually say, I've got a little brother.
0:31:16 > 0:31:19- Now you're not the youngest. - Yeah, I'm not the youngest any more.
0:31:19 > 0:31:22I just wish I'd done it a long time ago now.
0:31:22 > 0:31:25New beginnings, this. New beginnings.
0:31:25 > 0:31:30- New start. We've got a lot of catching up to do.- Oh, yeah.
0:31:36 > 0:31:37As soon as I saw her...
0:31:39 > 0:31:42I was struck speechless
0:31:42 > 0:31:45and I couldn't stop crying.
0:31:45 > 0:31:47For him to have that reaction when he met me, I think
0:31:47 > 0:31:52was pure relief and gladness that he did actually meet me,
0:31:52 > 0:31:55so it was wonderful, it was a nice feeling.
0:31:55 > 0:31:59My mum is going to be a lot happier now because she didn't have that
0:31:59 > 0:32:01sense of not knowing. She knows now
0:32:01 > 0:32:04and she knows that Lenny feels the same way she feels.
0:32:04 > 0:32:08I feel like I've known him all my life.
0:32:08 > 0:32:12He's really easy to get on with.
0:32:12 > 0:32:15I'm just so pleased that it's all happened.
0:32:15 > 0:32:19Everything. It's like she's been there all my life
0:32:19 > 0:32:24and this is the start of Lenny and Mary's family.
0:32:26 > 0:32:29I'm going to suggest that he comes up to Huddersfield
0:32:29 > 0:32:34and we show him around and we're just going to be in touch loads.
0:32:42 > 0:32:45In Yorkshire, 81-year-old Linda Wright had been given up
0:32:45 > 0:32:49for adoption, but was told that her birth mother was an opera singer,
0:32:49 > 0:32:53which makes sense, as Linda is very musical herself.
0:32:53 > 0:32:55Keen to discover more and desperate to know
0:32:55 > 0:32:58if she had any other family out there,
0:32:58 > 0:33:01Linda asked genealogist Charlie Watson to help
0:33:01 > 0:33:04and he managed to track down her sister, Bridget,
0:33:04 > 0:33:06who remarkably is an opera singer.
0:33:06 > 0:33:10The two sisters have only met on one previous occasion.
0:33:10 > 0:33:14Today, Bridget is making the trip to Yorkshire to see Linda on home turf
0:33:14 > 0:33:16for the very first time.
0:33:16 > 0:33:22It's fantastic to have people that actually are of the same bloodline.
0:33:22 > 0:33:25I'm off to see Linda for the second time in my life, so there's lots to
0:33:25 > 0:33:30catch up on and feels as though there's loads to talk about still.
0:33:30 > 0:33:37I've been alone all my life except for my husband and my two sons.
0:33:37 > 0:33:39I never had any other family.
0:33:39 > 0:33:45When Linda was born, which is in 1934, times were very different.
0:33:45 > 0:33:49Women becoming pregnant outside wedlock was very, very much frowned on,
0:33:49 > 0:33:52and they basically had three choices -
0:33:52 > 0:33:55one was they could have an abortion, which would have been illegal
0:33:55 > 0:33:58and carried a lot of consequences,
0:33:58 > 0:34:02they could marry the father of the child, if they knew the father and
0:34:02 > 0:34:06if that marriage was wanted, or they could place the baby for adoption.
0:34:06 > 0:34:10It wasn't just her own reputation that a mother needed to
0:34:10 > 0:34:13take into account when making this decision.
0:34:13 > 0:34:17It was important that they maintained their standing in the local community.
0:34:17 > 0:34:21We know Linda's birth mother came from a very small community
0:34:21 > 0:34:23where she would have been known
0:34:23 > 0:34:26and her parents would have been well-known,
0:34:26 > 0:34:28and almost impossible to hide
0:34:28 > 0:34:31what would have been seen as an illegitimate birth.
0:34:33 > 0:34:36Adoption had only been made legal in Britain
0:34:36 > 0:34:38eight years prior to Linda's birth.
0:34:38 > 0:34:42The First World War left Britain in a position where thousands of babies
0:34:42 > 0:34:45had become orphaned because their fathers had died during the war.
0:34:45 > 0:34:49It put Britain in a position where they could no longer ignore
0:34:49 > 0:34:52the vast numbers of children born to single mothers
0:34:52 > 0:34:54and something had to be done.
0:34:54 > 0:34:58In response, the Adoption Act of 1926 was passed.
0:34:58 > 0:35:01The Adoption Act didn't really remove the stigma of unmarried
0:35:01 > 0:35:04mothers and children being born out of wedlock, but it was starting
0:35:04 > 0:35:09to provide an option for people who wanted to adopt a baby formally.
0:35:09 > 0:35:13Even after it was formalised, some mothers still
0:35:13 > 0:35:17opted for the relative discretion of private arrangements.
0:35:17 > 0:35:21I've come across cases in the 1930s and early 1940s where people were
0:35:21 > 0:35:23passed to other members of the family to look after.
0:35:23 > 0:35:28Adoption reached its peak towards the end of the swinging '60s.
0:35:28 > 0:35:31It was a time where there were double standards, if you like.
0:35:31 > 0:35:34There was still this shame of having a baby out of wedlock,
0:35:34 > 0:35:38but actually it was the swinging '60s, it was freedom, peace
0:35:38 > 0:35:42and love and so, lots more babies were being born out of wedlock.
0:35:42 > 0:35:47But by 1968, the figures started to decline.
0:35:47 > 0:35:49Women had other options available to them.
0:35:49 > 0:35:52One such was being the Abortion Act which was brought in,
0:35:52 > 0:35:55which meant that there was actually a feasible alternative to
0:35:55 > 0:35:59ending a pregnancy, and really, increased knowledge of
0:35:59 > 0:36:03contraception meant that there were, maybe, less cases.
0:36:03 > 0:36:05Since the last part of the 20th century,
0:36:05 > 0:36:08adoptions have continued to fall due to increased
0:36:08 > 0:36:12acceptance of single parenting and sex outside of marriage.
0:36:15 > 0:36:19In Yorkshire, Linda is now about to meet up with her sister, Bridget.
0:36:21 > 0:36:24Linda and Bridget have a lifetime to catch up on,
0:36:24 > 0:36:27and a whole host of unanswered questions to consider.
0:36:28 > 0:36:29Hello!
0:36:31 > 0:36:32- Hello.- Hello, Linda.
0:36:32 > 0:36:36- You've been left out here for ages. - We waited for ages!
0:36:36 > 0:36:37- Hello, darling.- Hello.
0:36:40 > 0:36:42Come and sit down.
0:36:42 > 0:36:45Bridget had brought along some photos of their mother,
0:36:45 > 0:36:48so Linda can finally get a sense of what she was really like.
0:36:48 > 0:36:50Have you seen that one?
0:36:52 > 0:36:56- That was Mum.- Really?- Yeah.- Oh.
0:36:56 > 0:36:59I don't know, I suppose she's in her early 40s there.
0:37:01 > 0:37:04- Hmm.- That's a younger one.
0:37:04 > 0:37:08- Probably when she's in her 20s. - Oh, that's nice, isn't it?
0:37:08 > 0:37:11Yeah, that's nice. See, she looks like you.
0:37:11 > 0:37:15I feel as if I look like that sometimes. A sort of...
0:37:15 > 0:37:18- You've got the same mouth, you see. - Yes, it is, it's the mouth.
0:37:18 > 0:37:21And the nose. We've both got that nose, yes.
0:37:21 > 0:37:26And Bridget has one more intriguing revelation for Linda.
0:37:26 > 0:37:28And you were going to be called Wendy.
0:37:28 > 0:37:31Given that Linda has always been fascinated with
0:37:31 > 0:37:34Wendy from Peter Pan, the news that her mother wanted to give her
0:37:34 > 0:37:38- that name is a remarkable coincidence.- You didn't know?
0:37:38 > 0:37:41No, no idea.
0:37:41 > 0:37:45- Well, this is the piece de resistance.- Yes.
0:37:45 > 0:37:49I think this is really lovely, yeah.
0:37:49 > 0:37:51Your big grin!
0:37:51 > 0:37:53At school, I was always told off for talking too much
0:37:53 > 0:37:55and laughing too much.
0:37:55 > 0:37:57- Oh, we're both the same, aren't we? - Exactly.
0:37:57 > 0:37:59And the similarities don't end there.
0:37:59 > 0:38:02Both sisters are musicians, and according to one story Linda
0:38:02 > 0:38:06was told as a child, it's because their mother was an opera singer.
0:38:06 > 0:38:12I had from my aunt the story that my foster mother
0:38:12 > 0:38:16and father, who were Vero and Irine, my father was a journalist.
0:38:16 > 0:38:21He was a journalist and he got me into all sorts of things.
0:38:21 > 0:38:22Fiddled it out.
0:38:22 > 0:38:26This may well be the story that Linda was told by her aunt, but her
0:38:26 > 0:38:29father had told her a very different version of events,
0:38:29 > 0:38:32and this opera singer story is certainly news to Bridget,
0:38:32 > 0:38:35- who grew up with their mum. - It's a mystery.
0:38:35 > 0:38:39I mean, obviously, Mum, somewhere in there, is a very, very strong
0:38:39 > 0:38:41musical connection, isn't there?
0:38:41 > 0:38:44Considering I've made my life in opera and music, so...
0:38:44 > 0:38:47But what I remember of Mum is, bless her,
0:38:47 > 0:38:50that she smoked up to 60 a day for a long,
0:38:50 > 0:38:53long time in her life, coughed and I never heard her sing ever.
0:38:55 > 0:38:57So, who was their mother really,
0:38:57 > 0:39:01and what was the truth behind Linda's adoption?
0:39:01 > 0:39:04Linda and Bridget have arranged to meet with Charlie,
0:39:04 > 0:39:06the genealogist who has led this search, in the hope
0:39:06 > 0:39:10he can get to the bottom of this mystery once and for all.
0:39:10 > 0:39:13- You must be Bridget.- That's right. - Very nice to meet you.
0:39:13 > 0:39:15Very nice to meet you.
0:39:15 > 0:39:19What Charlie wants to deal with first is the Barnardo's story
0:39:19 > 0:39:22that Linda had been told by her adoptive father.
0:39:22 > 0:39:25The adoption seems to have been a private one,
0:39:25 > 0:39:29because no agencies I've looked into have a record of it, or said they have a record of it,
0:39:29 > 0:39:34so I'm not sure whether Dr Barnardo's was ever a case in point.
0:39:34 > 0:39:35I don't think it happened.
0:39:35 > 0:39:38And then it was your adoptive mother's sister who said,
0:39:38 > 0:39:39actually, that's not true.
0:39:39 > 0:39:44That your adoptive parents had been working on this newspaper in London,
0:39:44 > 0:39:46seen this story about a young opera singer
0:39:46 > 0:39:50- and had come north to arrange the adoption.- Yes.
0:39:52 > 0:39:57Now, unfortunately the paper no longer exists and there is no
0:39:57 > 0:40:00archive of it. There's nothing in the British newspaper
0:40:00 > 0:40:03archive for the News Chronicle, so we can't check the paper.
0:40:03 > 0:40:06- That's amazing, isn't it? - Yeah, simply doesn't exist.
0:40:06 > 0:40:09Charlie has done some more digging around this story
0:40:09 > 0:40:10and may have made a breakthrough.
0:40:10 > 0:40:13We had a look to see if we could find a Dorothy Turner
0:40:13 > 0:40:18who was either on the stage, or involved in opera, in the Hull area
0:40:18 > 0:40:23and we couldn't find anything, except there is a reference to
0:40:23 > 0:40:30- a Dorothy Turner who was on stage in 1934, in a theatre, in Hull.- Right.
0:40:30 > 0:40:32She kept it secret from me, then, in that case.
0:40:32 > 0:40:35This was the theatre - unfortunately, no longer exists.
0:40:35 > 0:40:38This rather fantastic building.
0:40:38 > 0:40:41I don't know, Charlie. It's beyond me.
0:40:41 > 0:40:44I mean, I never got an inkling at all.
0:40:44 > 0:40:52Well, we also found a cutting from the local paper of that cast list.
0:40:52 > 0:40:58- I'm interested in your view of the middle picture there.- Oh, God.
0:40:58 > 0:41:00Have you blew it up any bigger?
0:41:00 > 0:41:05- Being a true genealogist, I brought my trusty magnifying glass.- Oh, God.
0:41:07 > 0:41:11- Do you think that middle...- What, the one next door to Charlie Chaplin?
0:41:11 > 0:41:18- ..that actress could be your mother? - God. The one with the long hair?
0:41:18 > 0:41:23- Yes.- I don't think so. Doesn't look like the right shape face to me.
0:41:25 > 0:41:28Bridget's not sure, but Linda was adopted 15 years
0:41:28 > 0:41:30before she was born, so it's possible
0:41:30 > 0:41:35Bridget may not have full details of this period of her mother's life.
0:41:35 > 0:41:38How do you feel about all this? Here you are sitting next to your sister.
0:41:38 > 0:41:41I was just trying to find the secret, really, of what happened
0:41:41 > 0:41:46- and I've wanted to find out where the music came from.- That's right.
0:41:46 > 0:41:51- Well, I'd like to know where the music came from!- Yes, the two of us.
0:41:51 > 0:41:53It seems that despite Charlie's detective work,
0:41:53 > 0:41:56the circumstances around Linda's adoption
0:41:56 > 0:42:00and their mother's musical past are destined to remain a mystery.
0:42:00 > 0:42:04But these two sisters are still happy to be together.
0:42:04 > 0:42:09Just feel very privileged actually to be your sister.
0:42:09 > 0:42:12That's the best way I can put it. Quite honestly, it touched me.
0:42:12 > 0:42:16- You daft bat!- I beg your pardon? We'll have a fight later on.
0:42:16 > 0:42:19However musical their mother really was,
0:42:19 > 0:42:23these two sisters are definitely singing from the same hymn sheet.
0:42:23 > 0:42:26You can't get away from it, there's a very sort of spooky
0:42:26 > 0:42:30- connection that we are both very musical.- Very strong.
0:42:30 > 0:42:32And I think we're, fundamentally, a little bit,
0:42:32 > 0:42:37- we're quite unlike in a lot of ways. - Yes. A good sense of humour.
0:42:37 > 0:42:41- We see the ridiculous very easily. - Yes, I think that's a saving grace.
0:42:41 > 0:42:44Absolutely, yes.
0:42:44 > 0:42:46Linda and Bridget may have missed the chance to perform together
0:42:46 > 0:42:50when they were young but today, they are bringing their musical
0:42:50 > 0:42:52talents together for the very first time.
0:43:01 > 0:43:06- I think it's a shame really that I didn't do this earlier.- A hug!
0:43:06 > 0:43:11Have a hug. A hug. I have to kneel down.
0:43:11 > 0:43:15Good lass. You're lovely.