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 Kathleen 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 > 0:00:23Especially when they could be anywhere, at home or abroad.
0:00:25 > 0:00:28And that's where the family finders come in.
0:00:28 > 0:00:31Hi, it's the Salvation Army Family Tracing Service.
0:00:31 > 0:00:34From international organisations...
0:00:34 > 0:00:37There's never been a day when we'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 do the searches that other people can't get
0:00:47 > 0:00:49because it makes me feel good.
0:00:49 > 0:00:54They hunt through history to 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 > 0:01:06Learning the tricks they use to track the missing relatives through time.
0:01:06 > 0:01:09I'm 68 years of age, she's 75 years of age
0:01:09 > 0:01:10and we're just starting off.
0:01:10 > 0:01:14And meeting the people whose lives they change along the way.
0:01:14 > 0:01:18- 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 > 0:01:26That was the start of finding my family.
0:01:32 > 0:01:37Scattered amongst the UK population of just over 64 million people
0:01:37 > 0:01:39are many long-lost loved ones.
0:01:39 > 0:01:42And for those family members desperate to find them,
0:01:42 > 0:01:46it can feel like an impossible task.
0:01:46 > 0:01:50But around the country are bands of dedicated searchers who make
0:01:50 > 0:01:53it their quest to help reunite families,
0:01:53 > 0:01:55even when the odds are stacked against them.
0:01:58 > 0:02:01And for some of these family finders, the harder the case
0:02:01 > 0:02:04and the greater the challenge, the better.
0:02:05 > 0:02:09I thought this search was the most difficult search I'd ever done.
0:02:09 > 0:02:12So, professionally, from my point of view,
0:02:12 > 0:02:17we were in heaven with it, really. It was fantastic.
0:02:17 > 0:02:20Fraser Kinnie runs a family finding agency in Hartlepool.
0:02:20 > 0:02:24And the thrill of the chase is what gets him out of bed in the morning.
0:02:26 > 0:02:29Christina had been looking for her sisters for many, many years
0:02:29 > 0:02:33but I did feel that if anybody could do it, I felt I could do it.
0:02:39 > 0:02:43Christina Boston lives in Stockton-on-Tees in County Durham.
0:02:43 > 0:02:47She was born in Middlesbrough in 1971.
0:02:47 > 0:02:51Christina spent the first 18 months of her life with her
0:02:51 > 0:02:53birth mother, but was then taken into care
0:02:53 > 0:02:57until she was adopted by new parents, Pam and Brian.
0:02:59 > 0:03:01Really good happy times with the family.
0:03:01 > 0:03:05Absolutely brilliant parents, you couldn't ask for a nicer family.
0:03:05 > 0:03:08And they also fostered other children as well,
0:03:08 > 0:03:11so I obviously had a big family to grow up with as well.
0:03:14 > 0:03:18I didn't really know much about my birth mother.
0:03:18 > 0:03:23Only from bits of what Pam and Brian had told me.
0:03:23 > 0:03:24When she was nine,
0:03:24 > 0:03:28Christina got wind of a letter which her birth mother had left for her.
0:03:30 > 0:03:35My friend in the street at the time overhead her mum and my mum
0:03:35 > 0:03:39talking about this letter that Brenda had written to me
0:03:39 > 0:03:43and it was put in my file, my adoption file.
0:03:43 > 0:03:47She told me about this letter and I can remember
0:03:47 > 0:03:52asking my mum for this letter and wanted to know what was in it.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55And when I asked she said, "No problem, I'll give you it."
0:03:55 > 0:03:58She gave me it straight away and it was just a little note,
0:03:58 > 0:04:01I can't remember what was in it word for word, it was something like,
0:04:01 > 0:04:04"I love you, I didn't want to give you up," I think something like that.
0:04:04 > 0:04:07But it was just very short, very sweet
0:04:07 > 0:04:09and it just came from the heart.
0:04:10 > 0:04:14The sentiment of the letter stayed with Christina over the years.
0:04:14 > 0:04:17But it wasn't until she was 19 that her first husband
0:04:17 > 0:04:21took it upon himself to look for her birth mum.
0:04:21 > 0:04:23It actually had her address on the corner,
0:04:23 > 0:04:28where she lived years ago, and he just happened to go up to that house
0:04:28 > 0:04:30and asked the neighbour where she was living.
0:04:30 > 0:04:32So he took me there to this neighbour's house
0:04:32 > 0:04:36and she looked at me and she went, "You're Brenda's daughter, aren't you?"
0:04:37 > 0:04:41The neighbour didn't just know where Christina's mum was living,
0:04:41 > 0:04:44she knew where she was at that very moment.
0:04:47 > 0:04:49And she took me to her.
0:04:49 > 0:04:52She was actually in bingo in Stockton High Street.
0:04:54 > 0:04:56And I can remember to this day, on the intercom they said,
0:04:56 > 0:04:59"Can a Brenda Lillystone
0:04:59 > 0:05:02"go to the reception, your daughter's waiting."
0:05:02 > 0:05:04And she just came out.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07She just came outside and we just looked at each other.
0:05:07 > 0:05:11It was just... It wasn't like you see on the telly and you hug,
0:05:11 > 0:05:14we just looked and stared at each other for a minute or two
0:05:14 > 0:05:18and then just sort of hugged each other and that was it.
0:05:18 > 0:05:20I just couldn't believe that all them years
0:05:20 > 0:05:23that I'd been living in Stockton, she lived round the corner.
0:05:23 > 0:05:28I said I'd probably past her hundreds of times on the street.
0:05:28 > 0:05:32Christina and Brenda wasted no time in getting to know each other.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37Really, we didn't act like mother and daughter, obviously,
0:05:37 > 0:05:40because you can't get 20-odd years back.
0:05:40 > 0:05:43And it wasn't long before Christina made another discovery that
0:05:43 > 0:05:45would shape the rest of her life.
0:05:45 > 0:05:47It turned out she had two sisters.
0:05:49 > 0:05:53When I first met Brenda, she told me that there were twin girls called,
0:05:53 > 0:05:59they had strange names, Rosetta and Priscilla Lillystone.
0:05:59 > 0:06:02But Brenda revealed she'd also had to give up Rosetta and Priscilla
0:06:02 > 0:06:05as a result of mental health problems.
0:06:05 > 0:06:09She didn't want to give us up, but because of the situation,
0:06:09 > 0:06:12she obviously couldn't cope with us at the time and she gave us
0:06:12 > 0:06:16the best option in life - for us, not for her.
0:06:16 > 0:06:21But she gave us the best option she could give us by giving us up.
0:06:21 > 0:06:24Rosetta and Priscilla were the last children Brenda was allowed
0:06:24 > 0:06:28to have before the state intervened.
0:06:28 > 0:06:32Because of her health they made her get sterilised.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35It was sad, she couldn't remember a lot and obviously
0:06:35 > 0:06:40because the other girls were taken away at a young age, that was
0:06:40 > 0:06:42something that, it destroyed her at the end.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45It finished her off, I suppose.
0:06:45 > 0:06:48Christina resolved to track down her twin sisters -
0:06:48 > 0:06:51as much for Brenda's sake as for her own.
0:06:51 > 0:06:55Every time I went round to Brenda's she always
0:06:55 > 0:06:59talked about my sisters, that she didn't want to give us up
0:06:59 > 0:07:02and she always hoped that she would see them all one day.
0:07:02 > 0:07:05That was her dream, a bit like mine,
0:07:05 > 0:07:08that's all I ever wanted was to find my sisters.
0:07:08 > 0:07:13Christina did all she could to find the twins and fulfil her mum's dream.
0:07:13 > 0:07:18But the relationship with her birth mother ended as suddenly as it began.
0:07:18 > 0:07:25She passed away and I went to the funeral and...
0:07:25 > 0:07:2747 years old.
0:07:27 > 0:07:28Her life was gone like that.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34I'm glad that I did get to meet her, very glad
0:07:34 > 0:07:39to meet my birth mother because it's something you can never get back.
0:07:39 > 0:07:42I didn't get a childhood with her but I did get to see
0:07:42 > 0:07:44her before she passed away and it means a lot to me.
0:07:47 > 0:07:49After Brenda's death from a heart condition,
0:07:49 > 0:07:52Christina tried to carry on with her life.
0:07:52 > 0:07:56But as the years passed, her desire to find her sisters remained.
0:07:56 > 0:07:58And when she was in her 30s,
0:07:58 > 0:08:01she decided to ask her adoptive mum Pam for help.
0:08:02 > 0:08:09I've always felt that when we adopted you that when you wanted
0:08:09 > 0:08:12to find your family...
0:08:12 > 0:08:18Obviously, there was a little bit of...maybe jealousy...
0:08:18 > 0:08:20On Brenda's side, yeah.
0:08:20 > 0:08:23Yeah, I wasn't too happy you'd found her
0:08:23 > 0:08:27but I felt you had your right to know them if you wanted to.
0:08:27 > 0:08:30It's not at all common for an adoptive parent to help
0:08:30 > 0:08:32in the search for a birth family,
0:08:32 > 0:08:37but Pam put any misgivings to one side for the sake of her daughter.
0:08:37 > 0:08:40She helped Christina sift through her adoption papers,
0:08:40 > 0:08:44searching for any clues about her twin sisters.
0:08:44 > 0:08:48"Christine's mother is expecting twins in about six weeks' time."
0:08:48 > 0:08:52It says there she was going into the hospital for eight weeks until after the birth.
0:08:52 > 0:08:55- Well, I suppose if you're having twins...- Oh, right.
0:08:55 > 0:08:57This is very cold, almost.
0:08:59 > 0:09:04It's just as it is, I suppose, but it doesn't mention feelings.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08Pam took it upon herself to solve the case,
0:09:08 > 0:09:11researching adoption records, trawling websites
0:09:11 > 0:09:13and doing everything she could think of to try
0:09:13 > 0:09:16and find the elusive Rosetta and Priscilla.
0:09:17 > 0:09:20I literally went on adoption sites
0:09:20 > 0:09:23and left quite a few messages all over the place.
0:09:26 > 0:09:29For years, Pam and Christina hoped to hear from the girls
0:09:29 > 0:09:31or for a lead of any kind,
0:09:31 > 0:09:35but every avenue led to another dead end.
0:09:35 > 0:09:40- We knew nothing, really.- No.- We were just searching and searching.
0:09:40 > 0:09:41I think I got to the point with the twins
0:09:41 > 0:09:44that I thought maybe they'd left the country or...
0:09:44 > 0:09:47Because they were just not there.
0:09:47 > 0:09:50- We couldn't find them.- Yeah.
0:09:50 > 0:09:52And Pam wasn't alone in her search.
0:09:52 > 0:09:56The case became famous amongst amateur family finders,
0:09:56 > 0:09:58but despite their best efforts,
0:09:58 > 0:10:01Rosetta and Priscilla were no closer to being found.
0:10:02 > 0:10:06Until Fraser Kinney decided to get involved.
0:10:08 > 0:10:12I'd known about this search for the twins for a long time.
0:10:13 > 0:10:17Probably four, five years, I'd seen their posts on social media
0:10:17 > 0:10:21and search websites and it always kind of interested me.
0:10:21 > 0:10:26In 1972, more than 40,000 children were adopted.
0:10:26 > 0:10:32Due to the Summer of Love in 1969, the late '60s, early '70s,
0:10:32 > 0:10:36the task is actually twice as hard as it would have been,
0:10:36 > 0:10:40because the registers are twice the size they would have been.
0:10:40 > 0:10:42Because people were having too much fun.
0:10:42 > 0:10:46The problem was, just like all the amateur enthusiasts,
0:10:46 > 0:10:49he couldn't find Rosetta and Priscilla.
0:10:49 > 0:10:52Most people who looked at this search were struggling
0:10:52 > 0:10:56because they were looking for the names Rosetta and Priscilla.
0:10:56 > 0:10:59And that's when Fraser had an idea.
0:10:59 > 0:11:02What if the names were the problem all along?
0:11:02 > 0:11:05He decided to test his theory.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08The difficulty in this search was that we didn't know
0:11:08 > 0:11:10what their new names were.
0:11:10 > 0:11:13But now, without even the names to go on,
0:11:13 > 0:11:17Fraser really was looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack.
0:11:17 > 0:11:21We had to refer back to the adoption register for 1972.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24There was only one thing for it.
0:11:24 > 0:11:26Fraser began the laborious task of trawling through
0:11:26 > 0:11:30an entire year's worth of adoption records.
0:11:31 > 0:11:35What we're really looking for, are two people with the same surname
0:11:35 > 0:11:39whose adoption numbers are in sequence.
0:11:39 > 0:11:45And then what we basically had to do was go through all of these,
0:11:45 > 0:11:47working out who all the twins were.
0:11:48 > 0:11:53I was then checking up on our system to see what their dates of birth were,
0:11:53 > 0:11:59to see if it was the 20th July, 1972, which we knew was the twins' date of birth.
0:11:59 > 0:12:04We found this page here and their date of births corresponded,
0:12:04 > 0:12:08so we knew there was a good chance these were the girls.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11Fraser had found two possible names.
0:12:11 > 0:12:14But would they be Christina's twin sisters?
0:12:14 > 0:12:18And if they were, how would they react to being found?
0:12:25 > 0:12:27As well as professionals like Fraser,
0:12:27 > 0:12:30the UK is home to thousands of amateur genealogists,
0:12:30 > 0:12:32who like nothing better
0:12:32 > 0:12:36than helping put other people back in touch with their lost family.
0:12:36 > 0:12:40One such enthusiast is Wendy Thompson, who by her own admission,
0:12:40 > 0:12:45is addicted to the thrill of uncovering family mysteries.
0:12:45 > 0:12:48It just became an obsession, from day one.
0:12:48 > 0:12:52I would work all day, I'd then get back on the computer again.
0:12:52 > 0:12:54At bedtime I'd be lying in bed thinking,
0:12:54 > 0:12:58"Now, who could I find was related to who..."
0:12:58 > 0:13:01And, "Where can I check the records for that..."
0:13:01 > 0:13:04And, "Is there anywhere else I could look..."
0:13:04 > 0:13:08And it just became an absolute obsession, it really did.
0:13:08 > 0:13:13But little did Wendy realise when digging into one particular case,
0:13:13 > 0:13:17that she would make an unexpected discovery about her own family.
0:13:19 > 0:13:24Adrian Searle is 61 and lives in Wootton Bridge on the Isle of Wight.
0:13:26 > 0:13:30I was born in London and then, in the very late '50s, early '60s,
0:13:30 > 0:13:34we all moved out to a place called Billericay in Essex.
0:13:34 > 0:13:38The family enjoyed a comfortable new life in the Essex countryside,
0:13:38 > 0:13:43but when Adrian was still just a boy, tragedy struck.
0:13:43 > 0:13:45And life would never be the same again.
0:13:45 > 0:13:47I was about ten or 11,
0:13:47 > 0:13:52and we were taking a day trip over to France,
0:13:52 > 0:13:56and we'd just got off the ferry and my mother was taken ill,
0:13:56 > 0:13:59and she just collapsed on the floor.
0:13:59 > 0:14:04I rushed into a chemist with my schoolboy French,
0:14:04 > 0:14:07trying to get some seasick tablets, I thought she was seasick.
0:14:07 > 0:14:10And there was nothing there.
0:14:10 > 0:14:13So we got a taxi, we took her to the harbour doctor.
0:14:13 > 0:14:19He immediately got an ambulance and we drove to Calais Hospital.
0:14:19 > 0:14:23And I remember it now. That was four o'clock and at twenty-past four,
0:14:23 > 0:14:26my dad came out, his hair was standing on end,
0:14:26 > 0:14:30he was white as a sheet, and he just said, "She's dead, son."
0:14:31 > 0:14:35She'd died within 20 minutes.
0:14:35 > 0:14:39And that was just horrendous. Horrendous.
0:14:39 > 0:14:43It took me years to even speak about that without getting upset.
0:14:45 > 0:14:50We were absolutely devastated. You know, obviously. She was only 48.
0:14:52 > 0:14:56Widowed, his father was now left to raise Adrian and his brothers.
0:14:56 > 0:14:59No mean feat for a man on his own in the '60s.
0:14:59 > 0:15:04My dad used to work six days a week to keep us together.
0:15:04 > 0:15:09I can remember going to school in... holes in my shoe,
0:15:09 > 0:15:14with cardboard to cover up the holes, because he couldn't afford shoes.
0:15:14 > 0:15:19Because, obviously, single-parent, three boys to look after, you know.
0:15:19 > 0:15:21He struggled.
0:15:21 > 0:15:25Despite his father's best efforts, the grief that followed
0:15:25 > 0:15:30his mother's death had a grave impact on all their relationships.
0:15:30 > 0:15:32It kind of destroyed the family.
0:15:32 > 0:15:36We never really got on and we just drifted apart.
0:15:36 > 0:15:39His father later remarried but relations
0:15:39 > 0:15:42between him and his son only worsened.
0:15:42 > 0:15:46And when Adrian was a teenager, things came to a head.
0:15:46 > 0:15:51I'd started work, actually, I'd only been at work a week, and I cut
0:15:51 > 0:15:54my thumb really bad, I've still got the scar there,
0:15:54 > 0:15:56and I needed stitches in it.
0:15:56 > 0:16:00I went home, obviously, because I was only 15.
0:16:00 > 0:16:03His father's reaction was less than sympathetic.
0:16:03 > 0:16:05He said, "You've got a choice".
0:16:05 > 0:16:08He said, "You can either work and help your stepmother around the house,
0:16:08 > 0:16:10"or you can get out."
0:16:10 > 0:16:13Well, that's like red rag to a bull to me.
0:16:13 > 0:16:16So I just packed my suitcase and that was it, I went.
0:16:16 > 0:16:18Still a child, Adrian left home.
0:16:19 > 0:16:24I was on my own from 15 and I went in the catering trade,
0:16:24 > 0:16:26travelled around most of the country.
0:16:26 > 0:16:31My father and I never spoke for 15 years.
0:16:31 > 0:16:35Decades later, Adrian and his father resolved their differences.
0:16:35 > 0:16:38But his dad died in 1998.
0:16:40 > 0:16:45After his death, Adrian's relationship with his brothers fell apart.
0:16:45 > 0:16:47I know nothing about them now.
0:16:47 > 0:16:51I can't see us ever getting back together again, never.
0:16:51 > 0:16:54With his father and brothers now gone from his life,
0:16:54 > 0:16:57Adrian felt a profound sense of loss.
0:16:57 > 0:17:02His dad's death highlighted how little Adrian knew about his life.
0:17:02 > 0:17:06He yearned to feel closer to him in the only way now possible -
0:17:06 > 0:17:08through researching his past.
0:17:11 > 0:17:14I was interested about HIS father.
0:17:14 > 0:17:17All through the time I knew my dad,
0:17:17 > 0:17:21he never once mentioned his father and I thought, he must have had one.
0:17:22 > 0:17:27I just presumed that his father had died during the First World War
0:17:27 > 0:17:29and he didn't really know his dad.
0:17:29 > 0:17:33Adrian had only the bare minimum to get him started.
0:17:33 > 0:17:37All I had to go on was my father's full name,
0:17:37 > 0:17:41and my grandmother's Christian name.
0:17:41 > 0:17:45After some detective work, he found a record of his grandad,
0:17:45 > 0:17:47but this discovery was bittersweet.
0:17:47 > 0:17:50He died in 1971.
0:17:50 > 0:17:54And by 1971, I was 19.
0:17:54 > 0:17:59He was still alive when I was a teenager. That was a total shock.
0:17:59 > 0:18:00Total shock.
0:18:00 > 0:18:05I felt cheated that I never got to even know my grandfather.
0:18:05 > 0:18:09This upsetting revelation begged the question,
0:18:09 > 0:18:13why had his father hidden Grandfather Searle from him?
0:18:13 > 0:18:17But little did Adrian know his quest to find out more
0:18:17 > 0:18:21was about to throw up an even more remarkable discovery.
0:18:29 > 0:18:32Christina Boston and her adoptive mum, Pam,
0:18:32 > 0:18:36had spent ten fruitless years searching for Christina's
0:18:36 > 0:18:39younger twin sisters, Priscilla and Rosetta.
0:18:42 > 0:18:45My birth mother couldn't care for us herself.
0:18:45 > 0:18:48She didn't want to give us up, but, because of the situation,
0:18:48 > 0:18:51she obviously couldn't cope with us at the time.
0:18:51 > 0:18:56Among amateur family finders, the case had become famous for its difficulty,
0:18:56 > 0:18:58and had left everyone flummoxed.
0:18:58 > 0:19:02Until a professional, Fraser Kinney, took it on.
0:19:04 > 0:19:07I'd known about the search for the twins for a long time,
0:19:07 > 0:19:09and it always kind of interested me.
0:19:09 > 0:19:14He tracked down a potential match, but instead of Priscilla and Rosetta,
0:19:14 > 0:19:19these twins had the rather less exotic names of Rachel and Sarah.
0:19:20 > 0:19:22When we got to this page and we saw Sarah and Rachel's name
0:19:22 > 0:19:26and we knew their dates of birth were the dates we were looking for,
0:19:26 > 0:19:30all of a sudden, we'd gone from 40,000 names, down to two.
0:19:30 > 0:19:33And they, we thought, were the two names we were looking for.
0:19:33 > 0:19:38So what we then had to do, was find out who they were and where they are today.
0:19:42 > 0:19:47With the hard part done, Fraser made quick work of locating the twins.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50And 300 miles away in Southampton,
0:19:50 > 0:19:54Sarah and Rachel were about to get the shock of their lives.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57- Give us a squeeze, then!- Oh! - Get off me, you're wet.
0:19:57 > 0:20:03About six months ago, we had a very strange phone call from
0:20:03 > 0:20:08a man called Fraser, looking for me and Rachel.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11And I said, "Yes, that's me",
0:20:11 > 0:20:15and he says, "Do you know that your sister
0:20:15 > 0:20:21"has been searching for you for ten years or something like this?"
0:20:21 > 0:20:24And I'm like, "My God." Straight away, it was very strange.
0:20:24 > 0:20:29I got very emotional, very quickly, right, and I'm...
0:20:29 > 0:20:32I started crying, sitting on the bed and I'm like...
0:20:32 > 0:20:34SHE MAKES STUTTERING SOUND
0:20:34 > 0:20:35Like a gibbering wreck!
0:20:35 > 0:20:39My partner then thinks, "Oh, I'm going to have to phone Rachel now,
0:20:39 > 0:20:40"straight away, and tell her."
0:20:40 > 0:20:46- I was on the bus.- Oh, and it was... Oh, it was absolutely mad. Completely mad.
0:20:46 > 0:20:48- It was mad. - SHE LAUGHS
0:20:50 > 0:20:54Rachel and Sarah Garbutt were born within minutes of each other.
0:20:56 > 0:21:02We were fostered pretty much from when our mother gave birth,
0:21:02 > 0:21:04and then after the age of about one,
0:21:04 > 0:21:09we got officially adopted by our parents now.
0:21:09 > 0:21:12Obviously, we were lucky, I think, that we were kept together,
0:21:12 > 0:21:15because it could have been very different.
0:21:15 > 0:21:18- And, yeah, our childhood was quite a happy one, wasn't it?- It was.
0:21:18 > 0:21:21- It was very, very good, yeah, we... - We moved about a lot.
0:21:21 > 0:21:26Always, you know, doing clubs and you know, always together.
0:21:26 > 0:21:30- We'd fight a lot as well, though. - Oh, we did. We did have our moments.
0:21:30 > 0:21:33I've stuck a pencil up her nose and made her nose bleed.
0:21:33 > 0:21:34SARAH LAUGHS
0:21:34 > 0:21:37She's had my head down the side of the sofa,
0:21:37 > 0:21:40punching me in the head and... SARAH LAUGHS
0:21:40 > 0:21:42Oh, yeah, we've been through it.
0:21:42 > 0:21:45- We are close though.- Yeah.
0:21:45 > 0:21:47As children, they took the news
0:21:47 > 0:21:49that they were adopted in their stride.
0:21:49 > 0:21:54Where we was younger, we was about seven, or thereabouts,
0:21:54 > 0:21:58she told us that we was adopted, explained in a way, you know, like,
0:21:58 > 0:22:02"Well, you were chosen, you were special, we chose you", you know.
0:22:02 > 0:22:06And said our natural mother had been ill,
0:22:06 > 0:22:10this is why we was looked after by them.
0:22:10 > 0:22:14- At the time, it probably went over the head.- Yeah.
0:22:14 > 0:22:16Too much information.
0:22:16 > 0:22:20You haven't got no stress in life, you just think, "OK, that's cool",
0:22:20 > 0:22:24and you just move on and you carry on with life as you know it.
0:22:24 > 0:22:25And that's what we knew.
0:22:25 > 0:22:29It wasn't until they were older and Sarah had children of her own
0:22:29 > 0:22:32that the twins felt ready to find their birth mother,
0:22:32 > 0:22:34and ordered up the adoption papers.
0:22:34 > 0:22:3912 years ago, when I got my adoption stuff through in the post,
0:22:39 > 0:22:45I discovered that we were named other names when we were born.
0:22:45 > 0:22:52So Rachel was born first, she was born Priscilla Lillystone.
0:22:52 > 0:22:57I was born second, and I was called Rosetta Lillystone,
0:22:57 > 0:23:01and our mum's name was Brenda Lillystone.
0:23:01 > 0:23:07And it was really strange finding out you were born another different name.
0:23:07 > 0:23:10Eager to find their birth mother,
0:23:10 > 0:23:13Rachel turned to a colleague at work for help.
0:23:13 > 0:23:17There was a lady that used to do family tree sort of work.
0:23:17 > 0:23:22So I gave her what I knew, which was her name and her date of birth.
0:23:22 > 0:23:23And that was it.
0:23:23 > 0:23:26So I kept seeing her and she kept looking at me and never said anything,
0:23:26 > 0:23:28and I kept leaving it and leaving it,
0:23:28 > 0:23:30and then I thought, I'm going to ask her.
0:23:30 > 0:23:33So I approached and said, "Have you found out anything?"
0:23:33 > 0:23:35And she sort of looked at me a bit sheepish,
0:23:35 > 0:23:38and I thought, mmm. I said, "She's dead, isn't she?"
0:23:38 > 0:23:42And she said, "Yeah, she died like, ten years ago, or something."
0:23:42 > 0:23:45So I think she's been dead about 20 years.
0:23:45 > 0:23:48So that was all a bit of a shock, because I thought, well,
0:23:48 > 0:23:52she was only young, but if she had lots of health issues and what not, you know...
0:23:52 > 0:23:55We never got to meet our natural mum.
0:23:55 > 0:23:58When we tried to do the trace, she'd already passed.
0:23:58 > 0:24:03So, unfortunately, for us, it was left too late.
0:24:03 > 0:24:06The twins had sadly missed out on the chance of
0:24:06 > 0:24:09ever getting to know their birth mother.
0:24:09 > 0:24:10But now they'd been put in touch
0:24:10 > 0:24:13with a sister they never knew they had.
0:24:13 > 0:24:18Fraser rung me out of the blue. A very excitable man, he was.
0:24:18 > 0:24:22Garbled all a load of stuff, and all I heard was, "I've found your twin sisters."
0:24:22 > 0:24:24And after that, I didn't care what else he said.
0:24:24 > 0:24:26I was that shocked, because it was out of the blue.
0:24:26 > 0:24:28For me, it was a good buzz,
0:24:28 > 0:24:31never mind them. Because obviously the search is all about them,
0:24:31 > 0:24:35but from a professional point of view, we were excited because we
0:24:35 > 0:24:40had pulled off something that we felt was a really, really hard search.
0:24:40 > 0:24:45The three sisters had found each other after a lifetime apart.
0:24:45 > 0:24:50Making contact for the first time could have been a nerve-racking experience,
0:24:50 > 0:24:52but it turned out to be anything but.
0:24:52 > 0:24:55When I spoke to my sister, Sarah, for the first time,
0:24:55 > 0:24:57it was like we'd known each other for years.
0:24:57 > 0:25:00Like we'd been sisters for years.
0:25:00 > 0:25:03She said, "Yeah, I'm sat here, tears coming down my face and sort of...
0:25:03 > 0:25:05- SHE MAKES STUTTERING SOUND - ..a bit jittery.
0:25:05 > 0:25:07But, oh, it was brilliant.
0:25:07 > 0:25:09It's like you're in a dream, really.
0:25:09 > 0:25:12It was absolutely brilliant. I think we were just both in shock,
0:25:12 > 0:25:14we just never shut up.
0:25:14 > 0:25:15I think she's as mad as we are.
0:25:15 > 0:25:18She talks as much as we do.
0:25:18 > 0:25:22Oh, God, yeah, we could out-talk each other quite easily.
0:25:22 > 0:25:24Obviously, she's got the very strong northern accent,
0:25:24 > 0:25:27which we don't have, but...
0:25:27 > 0:25:30Oh, it's brilliant. It really is. It is.
0:25:30 > 0:25:33It's like it's sort of...
0:25:33 > 0:25:37It's made our family unit that much bigger, hasn't it?
0:25:37 > 0:25:38Yeah, yeah.
0:25:38 > 0:25:42Christina's met her younger sisters on a handful of occasions,
0:25:42 > 0:25:46but there's someone extremely important the twins are yet to meet.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49Today, Christina's introducing Rachel and Sarah
0:25:49 > 0:25:53to her adoptive mum, Pam, for the very first time.
0:25:53 > 0:25:56I think I'm feeling more nervous now than I was when I first met them.
0:25:56 > 0:25:58- I don't know...- It's cos we're getting close,
0:25:58 > 0:26:00we're going to meet them any minute.
0:26:00 > 0:26:04Christina and Pam have travelled 300 miles from their home
0:26:04 > 0:26:07in Stockton-on-Tees to the south coast.
0:26:07 > 0:26:10And Pam's excited at what the day has in store.
0:26:10 > 0:26:13It's almost like...I'm extending my family.
0:26:13 > 0:26:18- They're your sisters, but because you're my daughter...- Mm-hm.
0:26:18 > 0:26:21- ..they're like my daughters in a... - Yeah.- But, I don't know.
0:26:21 > 0:26:24It's a strange... It's like just accepting them as part of our family.
0:26:27 > 0:26:31But first, Pam leaves her adopted daughter Christina to meet
0:26:31 > 0:26:35- her younger sisters on her own. - All right, I'll see you later, Mam.
0:26:35 > 0:26:37- All right, bye.- Bye. - Go and have a nice time.
0:26:37 > 0:26:39- I'll see you later.- Right, bye, Mam.
0:26:40 > 0:26:44The twins can't wait to get back together with the older sister
0:26:44 > 0:26:45they never knew they had.
0:26:45 > 0:26:49We are the most excited ever in the whole wide world
0:26:49 > 0:26:52to see our sister Christina again.
0:26:52 > 0:26:55Yeah, and also to meet her mum.
0:26:55 > 0:26:58- It's, like, well exciting. - We feel like jitterbugs.
0:26:58 > 0:27:00- Jitterbugs.- All, sort of, jittery.
0:27:00 > 0:27:03If she starts crying, I know I will, and I can't be doing that.
0:27:05 > 0:27:08After so many years apart,
0:27:08 > 0:27:11face-to-face contact with their older sister is precious.
0:27:13 > 0:27:14Hi!
0:27:16 > 0:27:19Oh, how you doing?
0:27:19 > 0:27:21- All right?- How you doing?- Brilliant.
0:27:22 > 0:27:24- Hey, you.- Brilliant.
0:27:24 > 0:27:27LAUGHTER
0:27:27 > 0:27:29- I'm crying already.- I know.
0:27:29 > 0:27:30- Oh...- Yeah.
0:27:32 > 0:27:34The sisters have already marked their new relationships
0:27:34 > 0:27:37with sister rings.
0:27:37 > 0:27:40- You've got your ring on. I've got mine on.- Yes.
0:27:40 > 0:27:44'When I got the sister ring off them, it made me feel like a sister.'
0:27:44 > 0:27:49It means so much to me, because it's all I ever wanted to do.
0:27:49 > 0:27:51As the twins never got to meet their birth mother,
0:27:51 > 0:27:54Christina's brought some treasured photos along
0:27:54 > 0:27:56to show Rachel and Sarah what she looked like.
0:27:56 > 0:27:59- That's... That's Brenda, and that's...- Oh, my goodness.
0:27:59 > 0:28:03..her husband Bob. That's their wedding day.
0:28:03 > 0:28:05- Wow.- That's the one... You can keep that one.
0:28:05 > 0:28:08- That's a copy of that one. - Oh, she looks amazing,
0:28:08 > 0:28:09- doesn't she?- That's...
0:28:09 > 0:28:13- That's Brenda. - She looks quite short, doesn't she?
0:28:13 > 0:28:14Unless he was tall.
0:28:14 > 0:28:16- He is, yeah.- Bob's tall, yeah.
0:28:16 > 0:28:19- Wow, that's mad, isn't it?- Mmm.
0:28:23 > 0:28:26All three sisters were taken into care,
0:28:26 > 0:28:31partly as a result of mental health issues suffered by their mum Brenda,
0:28:31 > 0:28:36who later underwent sterilisation at the hands of the state.
0:28:36 > 0:28:38The way in which the state deals with those suffering with
0:28:38 > 0:28:41mental health problems has changed beyond recognition
0:28:41 > 0:28:46over the past century, and although the early '70s,
0:28:46 > 0:28:49when Christina's mother was unwell, marked a time of reform,
0:28:49 > 0:28:53social attitudes were far from what they are today,
0:28:53 > 0:28:57and patients would have had fewer choices and less rights.
0:28:57 > 0:28:59Up until the 1960s,
0:28:59 > 0:29:04asylum-based care was the main model of psychiatric treatment.
0:29:04 > 0:29:08The number of patients in asylums peaked in the mid-1950s,
0:29:08 > 0:29:11at around 150,000.
0:29:11 > 0:29:14The 1959 Mental Health Act abolished
0:29:14 > 0:29:17the distinction between psychiatric and other hospitals,
0:29:17 > 0:29:21and encouraged the development of community care,
0:29:21 > 0:29:24and through the 1960s, advances in psychiatry
0:29:24 > 0:29:28and drug treatment put a greater emphasis on human rights.
0:29:29 > 0:29:34But mental health remains a factor in many cases of separated families.
0:29:36 > 0:29:39Photos of Brenda Lillystone are rare,
0:29:39 > 0:29:42and these are the only ones that Christina has.
0:29:42 > 0:29:45- She didn't take a lot of photographs. - No?- Oh, right.- No, no.
0:29:45 > 0:29:48And like I said, I cried my eyes out cos I didn't...
0:29:48 > 0:29:49When I met her, I thought,
0:29:49 > 0:29:53- "I've got more time to spend with her and take photographs."- Yeah.- Yeah.
0:29:53 > 0:29:56- She died, so I never got a chance to get a photograph of her.- Oh...
0:29:56 > 0:29:59- Look at that.- She looks quite like you, though, I think.
0:29:59 > 0:30:01I think there's a look a bit about both of you, I do.
0:30:01 > 0:30:03- Yeah.- A little bit.
0:30:03 > 0:30:06What sort of conversations did you have with her when you met?
0:30:06 > 0:30:09- It wasn't a mother-daughter relationship...- Yeah.
0:30:09 > 0:30:12- It was just like talking as a friend would.- Like a friend, yeah.
0:30:12 > 0:30:14But I think that what I knew at the time...
0:30:14 > 0:30:17If I'd knew she was going to pass, I would have obviously gone
0:30:17 > 0:30:19- into greater detail... - Yeah, of course.
0:30:19 > 0:30:22..but it was just a friend, really, cos I never called her....
0:30:22 > 0:30:25- never called her Mum.- Never called her Mum.- No, couldn't do that.
0:30:25 > 0:30:29Although Rachel and Sarah never got the chance to meet their mother,
0:30:29 > 0:30:33Christina's photos provide some sense of connection.
0:30:33 > 0:30:34I think you look like her.
0:30:34 > 0:30:36- Yeah, probably there is. - There's a bit, isn't there?
0:30:36 > 0:30:39- You think?- There is a resemblance. - I do, yeah, I do.
0:30:39 > 0:30:42Think there's a little bit there.
0:30:42 > 0:30:44It was her dream to meet us all. It just wasn't meant to be.
0:30:44 > 0:30:46Oh, bless her.
0:30:46 > 0:30:47Quite sad, really.
0:30:47 > 0:30:49- It is.- Mmm.- Yeah.
0:30:50 > 0:30:55But there's another very important person in Christina's life that she
0:30:55 > 0:30:59can't wait to introduce to her new-found sisters -
0:30:59 > 0:31:01her adoptive mum Pam,
0:31:01 > 0:31:04without whose help, they would never have been reunited.
0:31:05 > 0:31:06Ah!
0:31:06 > 0:31:08Oh, you go... You go first.
0:31:09 > 0:31:12LAUGHTER
0:31:14 > 0:31:16- Hello.- Hiya, darling. How are you?
0:31:16 > 0:31:18- Thanks for coming.- Oh, God.
0:31:19 > 0:31:21Thanks for coming, Pam.
0:31:21 > 0:31:24- Oh.- It's really lovely to see you. - Oh, it's great.
0:31:24 > 0:31:26You're a star.
0:31:26 > 0:31:28I feel like a star.
0:31:34 > 0:31:38- We brought you a little gift each. - Oh...
0:31:38 > 0:31:39Just a little token gift.
0:31:41 > 0:31:44- Not going to make me cry again, are you?- Yes, probably.
0:31:45 > 0:31:49- Oh... Oh, that's gorgeous. - It's nice, isn't it?
0:31:49 > 0:31:52Cos they know I like owls. That's beautiful. Thank you, thanks for it.
0:31:52 > 0:31:54- Christine buys crystal, yeah. - That's OK.
0:31:54 > 0:31:55I do. That's lovely, that.
0:31:55 > 0:31:57- Oh, lovely. - It'll go with my other owls.
0:31:57 > 0:31:59I thought, well, we couldn't come empty-handed.
0:31:59 > 0:32:01I am...not really...
0:32:01 > 0:32:04Pam deserves a little gift, cos of all the help that you gave.
0:32:04 > 0:32:06At the end of the day, well, if we could have bought you a medal,
0:32:06 > 0:32:08- we would have bought you one, Pam. - Don't bother.
0:32:08 > 0:32:11It's the end of the search, isn't it?
0:32:11 > 0:32:13It's...
0:32:13 > 0:32:14It's just...
0:32:14 > 0:32:17Well, what they call closure, I suppose, isn't it?
0:32:17 > 0:32:18It is, it is.
0:32:18 > 0:32:21And I was imagining you to be about six, two little girls...
0:32:21 > 0:32:23- Yeah.- Aw, bless...
0:32:25 > 0:32:27It's just been the most wonderful experience, I think,
0:32:27 > 0:32:30- so far of my whole entire life. - It's been like a whirlwind.
0:32:30 > 0:32:33- Like a whirlwind.- It has, cos it's all happened so quickly.
0:32:33 > 0:32:37Cos that was Brenda's dream, to see all her daughters together,
0:32:37 > 0:32:39and unfortunately it didn't happen,
0:32:39 > 0:32:43but she's up there looking down, and I hope that she's happy up there,
0:32:43 > 0:32:46now that we've all met up and we're all together.
0:32:57 > 0:33:00If you're researching your own family,
0:33:00 > 0:33:03be prepared that there may come a point when you hit a wall,
0:33:03 > 0:33:06and it seems you can't go any further.
0:33:06 > 0:33:08Take a step away from your search,
0:33:08 > 0:33:11and give yourself time to approach it with fresh eyes.
0:33:11 > 0:33:14If you can't find the person you're looking for,
0:33:14 > 0:33:18you might switch tack, and look for a relative instead -
0:33:18 > 0:33:20perhaps someone with a more distinctive name
0:33:20 > 0:33:22who could lead you to your target.
0:33:22 > 0:33:26It's worth going back to resources you've searched before.
0:33:26 > 0:33:30Websites such as ancestry.com have new documents added to them
0:33:30 > 0:33:32all the time.
0:33:32 > 0:33:35And of course, it can pay dividends to seek help from other
0:33:35 > 0:33:38amateur family-finders online.
0:33:38 > 0:33:41After all, many heads are very often better than one.
0:33:49 > 0:33:52Following his father's death, 61-year-old Adrian Searle
0:33:52 > 0:33:55was compelled to find out more about his dad's life.
0:33:56 > 0:34:01All through the time I knew my dad, he never once mentioned his father,
0:34:01 > 0:34:03and I thought, "He must have had one."
0:34:03 > 0:34:06Adrian was shocked to discover that he'd had a grandfather
0:34:06 > 0:34:08who he'd never met.
0:34:09 > 0:34:13Once I found my grandfather, I could find where he was born,
0:34:13 > 0:34:17but I couldn't find anything previous.
0:34:17 > 0:34:20So he was a dead end, I couldn't go any further.
0:34:20 > 0:34:22I just thought, "Well, you know,
0:34:22 > 0:34:24"I'm going to need a little help here."
0:34:24 > 0:34:28Desperate to get to the bottom of this family mystery,
0:34:28 > 0:34:31he made a plea on an online forum.
0:34:31 > 0:34:34I put a notice on the... on the message board,
0:34:34 > 0:34:37and up popped this person called Wendy Thompson.
0:34:39 > 0:34:43Adrian's post was picked up by genealogy fanatic Wendy Thompson,
0:34:43 > 0:34:47who was online updating her own ever-growing family tree,
0:34:47 > 0:34:51and keeping an eye out for other people she could help.
0:34:52 > 0:34:57My tree is huge. We've got thousands of people on it.
0:34:57 > 0:35:00Wendy caught the family-finding bug
0:35:00 > 0:35:03after helping a colleague track down his birth mother.
0:35:03 > 0:35:06He knew her name, and he knew roughly how old she was,
0:35:06 > 0:35:12and, erm, eventually, after much searching, I found her.
0:35:12 > 0:35:13And he was so excited,
0:35:13 > 0:35:18and it was just one of the greatest things that I've ever done.
0:35:18 > 0:35:22Ever since, Wendy's kept an eye out for other people she can help.
0:35:22 > 0:35:27Adrian's post caught her attention, and some initial digging revealed
0:35:27 > 0:35:31some uncanny parallels between her life and Adrian's.
0:35:33 > 0:35:37Wendy lives on the Sussex coast with her husband Colin.
0:35:37 > 0:35:39I was born in Birmingham,
0:35:39 > 0:35:43but we moved down to Brighton when I was 12.
0:35:43 > 0:35:46I was a war baby, and I didn't meet my father
0:35:46 > 0:35:49until I was just coming up to three.
0:35:50 > 0:35:53And until I got married, when I was 21,
0:35:53 > 0:35:55we really didn't get on that well,
0:35:55 > 0:35:58but after I got married, everything changed and, erm,
0:35:58 > 0:36:00we became good friends in the end.
0:36:00 > 0:36:03Despite being close to her father, like Adrian,
0:36:03 > 0:36:06her grandfather's life was shrouded in secrecy.
0:36:06 > 0:36:11I didn't know anything about my grandfather.
0:36:11 > 0:36:14Erm, my father rarely spoke about him,
0:36:14 > 0:36:17and yet, he was still alive when I was alive,
0:36:17 > 0:36:20and I never knew about any of my father's family
0:36:20 > 0:36:22apart from his mother.
0:36:22 > 0:36:26And again, just like Adrian, it was the death of Wendy's parents
0:36:26 > 0:36:30which ignited her preoccupation with the past.
0:36:30 > 0:36:35I got into genealogy when my parents died, 11 years ago.
0:36:35 > 0:36:38It just became such an obsession.
0:36:38 > 0:36:42Now, Wendy's obsession appeared to be taking her in an unexpected
0:36:42 > 0:36:45direction, because it wasn't just Adrian's life story that
0:36:45 > 0:36:48struck a chord, it was his surname.
0:36:48 > 0:36:50I thought, "Oh, I recognise that name,"
0:36:50 > 0:36:56and it was also a Searle, so that sort of got my interest.
0:36:57 > 0:37:00Searle was also Wendy's maiden name,
0:37:00 > 0:37:03and she began to suspect that she may have stumbled across
0:37:03 > 0:37:06a member of her own family,
0:37:06 > 0:37:10but to be sure, she needed more information.
0:37:10 > 0:37:13At the end of her e-mail, she said, "Who was your dad?"
0:37:14 > 0:37:17And obviously, I wrote back, and said Eric Albert William.
0:37:17 > 0:37:20So I went into the tree and found that, yes,
0:37:20 > 0:37:23it was the same person, same dates and everything,
0:37:23 > 0:37:28so I got back to him and said, "I think you and I are related."
0:37:28 > 0:37:34It turned out that Grandfather and her grandfather were brothers.
0:37:34 > 0:37:36And it was just really exciting.
0:37:36 > 0:37:39I'd said, "I think you're my second cousin."
0:37:39 > 0:37:41For Adrian, the discovery of a living relative
0:37:41 > 0:37:43was more than he'd bargained for
0:37:43 > 0:37:47when he'd embarked on this search into the past.
0:37:47 > 0:37:51To find that Wendy was actually related to me
0:37:51 > 0:37:53was totally awe-inspiring.
0:37:53 > 0:37:55It took me days for it to sink in.
0:37:55 > 0:37:56It was just...
0:37:57 > 0:37:59It was just a fantastic feeling.
0:38:02 > 0:38:05Adrian's wasted no time getting to know Wendy.
0:38:05 > 0:38:08Today, he's making the journey to the mainland from his home
0:38:08 > 0:38:12on the Isle of Wight to see her for only the third time.
0:38:12 > 0:38:16I've missed Wendy for 50-odd years,
0:38:16 > 0:38:19and I'll never get them back,
0:38:19 > 0:38:22so the more I can see Wendy, the better it'll be.
0:38:22 > 0:38:26Adrian immediately felt a strong bond with his new relative.
0:38:26 > 0:38:27She may only be his second cousin,
0:38:27 > 0:38:31but Wendy means far more to him than that would imply.
0:38:31 > 0:38:34I look upon her as a sister,
0:38:34 > 0:38:36and making the journey to see my...
0:38:36 > 0:38:40my sister again, very emotional.
0:38:40 > 0:38:42Very emotional.
0:38:42 > 0:38:44I never had a brother, and always wanted one.
0:38:44 > 0:38:46And then, yes, he is my...
0:38:46 > 0:38:50- He is my adopted brother.- Brilliant.
0:38:50 > 0:38:53It's hard to believe that this pair almost didn't meet.
0:38:54 > 0:38:58The first journey, I came over,
0:38:58 > 0:39:03and I was told to look for a woman in a white puffa jacket,
0:39:03 > 0:39:05and when I got to the train station,
0:39:05 > 0:39:08there was no woman in a white puffa jacket.
0:39:08 > 0:39:12When I met him, I knew who it was immediately,
0:39:12 > 0:39:15cos there were tears streaming down his face.
0:39:17 > 0:39:19And we hugged each other, and he said,
0:39:19 > 0:39:21"You're not wearing your puffa jacket." And I said,
0:39:21 > 0:39:25"No." I said, "Sorry about that, but I decided not to, in case
0:39:25 > 0:39:28"I didn't like the look of you, and then I could pretend you weren't...
0:39:28 > 0:39:29"I wasn't me."
0:39:31 > 0:39:34The two cousins have arranged to meet on the clifftops
0:39:34 > 0:39:37near Wendy's Brighton home.
0:39:37 > 0:39:40- Waiting for somebody special?- Hello.
0:39:40 > 0:39:42Today, Wendy and Adrian are on a mission.
0:39:42 > 0:39:44How are you doing?
0:39:48 > 0:39:50They've each been doing some more research,
0:39:50 > 0:39:53keen to get to the bottom of why there was such secrecy
0:39:53 > 0:39:57surrounding both their grandfathers' lives.
0:39:57 > 0:39:59Wendy's grandad's name was Victor,
0:39:59 > 0:40:03while Adrian's grandfather was Albert, or Harry to his friends.
0:40:03 > 0:40:06- Now, that's Harry.- Ah.
0:40:06 > 0:40:09He's quite like...quite like Victor.
0:40:09 > 0:40:11Same shaped faces, and everything.
0:40:11 > 0:40:14- Chunky.- He has, he's got the same cheekbones.
0:40:14 > 0:40:16- They were brothers, were they? - Yeah.- So...
0:40:16 > 0:40:19We shouldn't be surprised that they look alike.
0:40:19 > 0:40:21- Yes, the resemblance is there.- Yes.
0:40:21 > 0:40:24Wendy's been researching Albert's past,
0:40:24 > 0:40:27and has uncovered an extremely colourful life story.
0:40:27 > 0:40:30Goodness, you have been busy.
0:40:30 > 0:40:33And I've got here that your grandfather was a violinist,
0:40:33 > 0:40:35played in an orchestra...
0:40:35 > 0:40:38Albert was part of an orchestra who provided the soundtrack to the
0:40:38 > 0:40:43silent movies of the era, but it was a career with a short shelf life.
0:40:43 > 0:40:46The talkies came in in the late '20s.
0:40:46 > 0:40:48Yes, so he'd have been put out of work.
0:40:48 > 0:40:51- Probably been redundant.- Yes.
0:40:51 > 0:40:54Wendy thinks this fall from grace could explain why
0:40:54 > 0:40:56he was never spoken about.
0:40:56 > 0:40:59If he did have bad luck in his life,
0:40:59 > 0:41:03maybe he was ostracised from his family.
0:41:03 > 0:41:07And Adrian also has new information suggesting Albert may have
0:41:07 > 0:41:11brought shame on the family, but for a different reason entirely.
0:41:11 > 0:41:14I'm just wondering if he was ostracised because he left
0:41:14 > 0:41:19my grandmother, and my father didn't know anything about his father.
0:41:19 > 0:41:22- Divorce was so frowned upon, wasn't it?- Hmm...
0:41:22 > 0:41:25- Well, you didn't divorce in them days, did you?- No, you didn't.
0:41:25 > 0:41:27No, you just didn't. You didn't even leave.
0:41:27 > 0:41:29And if you did divorce, you...
0:41:29 > 0:41:31- Well, your name was black, wasn't it?- Oh, yeah.- Yeah.
0:41:31 > 0:41:36And so, that might explain why my father never talked about his father.
0:41:36 > 0:41:38Yes.
0:41:38 > 0:41:40- Cos he probably didn't know him.- No.
0:41:40 > 0:41:44But what of Wendy's grandfather, Albert's brother Victor?
0:41:44 > 0:41:46Wendy may have got to the bottom of why he, too,
0:41:46 > 0:41:48was shrouded in mystery.
0:41:48 > 0:41:50Victor was injured in the war.
0:41:50 > 0:41:52He lost an arm.
0:41:52 > 0:41:54Victor was suffering from shellshock,
0:41:54 > 0:41:57a common condition for serving soldiers at that time.
0:41:58 > 0:42:03He ended up mentally ill because of the war.
0:42:03 > 0:42:07He was in a hut, and they were captured and shot,
0:42:07 > 0:42:11and he never really recovered.
0:42:11 > 0:42:15It was an era in which mental health was poorly understood,
0:42:15 > 0:42:18and any issues could sometimes be swept under the carpet
0:42:18 > 0:42:20by embarrassed families.
0:42:20 > 0:42:24- That was a terrible time. - Dreadful, dreadful.
0:42:26 > 0:42:30Whatever the reason, the most important thing is that right here,
0:42:30 > 0:42:34right now, two lost cousins have found each other
0:42:34 > 0:42:37and are revelling in their new-found friendship.
0:42:37 > 0:42:40Meeting Adrian again has just been great,
0:42:40 > 0:42:45and we've just caught up as if we saw each other last week, you know.
0:42:45 > 0:42:47It's been very good. Enjoyed it, very much.
0:42:49 > 0:42:51Fabulous experience, absolutely fabulous.
0:42:51 > 0:42:54Been lovely catching up with Wendy. Marvellous.
0:42:54 > 0:42:56It's been great being with him,
0:42:56 > 0:43:01and I really do think that it would have been nicer to have known him
0:43:01 > 0:43:05a lot longer, so that I could have had a brother a lot longer.
0:43:05 > 0:43:09He's just one of the family, now, so, you know, he'll always be here.