0:00:02 > 0:00:04Families can be driven apart for all manner of reasons.
0:00:04 > 0:00:07Oh, I had no information at all about where my mum went.
0:00:07 > 0:00:10And when you do lose touch with your loved ones...
0:00:10 > 0:00:12You don't know who you are, where you've come from.
0:00:12 > 0:00:15..finding them can take a lifetime...
0:00:15 > 0:00:18I might have a brother that's still living here.
0:00:18 > 0:00:23..especially when they could be anywhere, at home or abroad.
0:00:23 > 0:00:26And that's where the Family Finders come in.
0:00:26 > 0:00:28From international organisations...
0:00:28 > 0:00:32Hi, it's The Salvation Army Family Tracing Service.
0:00:32 > 0:00:34..to genealogy detective agencies...
0:00:34 > 0:00:37For someone to say that it's changed their life,
0:00:37 > 0:00:40it makes coming to work, you know, really, really special.
0:00:40 > 0:00:42..and dedicated one-man bands...
0:00:42 > 0:00:46It's a matter of how much effort you really want to put into it,
0:00:46 > 0:00:48how badly you want to solve the problem.
0:00:48 > 0:00:52..they hunt through history to bring families back together again.
0:00:52 > 0:00:55Finding new family is wonderful.
0:00:55 > 0:00:59In this series, we follow the work of the Family Finders.
0:00:59 > 0:01:04Suddenly, you get one spark of breakthrough and there they are.
0:01:04 > 0:01:06Learning the tricks they use
0:01:06 > 0:01:08to track missing relatives through time...
0:01:08 > 0:01:13I didn't think I'd ever find sisters, but I have.
0:01:13 > 0:01:17..and meeting the people whose lives they change along the way.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20I've been waiting to meet John my whole life.
0:01:20 > 0:01:22Since we've met, I feel part of a family again.
0:01:24 > 0:01:26You've just completed my life for me.
0:01:31 > 0:01:33In the search for long-lost relatives,
0:01:33 > 0:01:38if finding a distant family member can be an extraordinary moment,
0:01:38 > 0:01:40then finding a sibling can be a momentous event.
0:01:42 > 0:01:45Across the UK, there are hundreds of organisations who specialise
0:01:45 > 0:01:50in bringing brothers and sisters who have lost touch back together.
0:01:50 > 0:01:53But many people decide to turn family finder on their own.
0:01:53 > 0:01:56Today, we follow two stories of sisters who started out
0:01:56 > 0:01:59by doing it for themselves.
0:01:59 > 0:02:02First, we meet Jacqueline, whose quest to find out about her
0:02:02 > 0:02:05birth mother uncovered a sibling she never knew she had.
0:02:05 > 0:02:09Suddenly, there was someone in my life...
0:02:10 > 0:02:14..who I could identify with, really.
0:02:14 > 0:02:15I cried.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19And it was my sister.
0:02:19 > 0:02:23And we follow the story of Teresa and Tracey as they search
0:02:23 > 0:02:26for the sister they haven't seen for 40 years.
0:02:26 > 0:02:29- I've got butterflies in my stomach. - Have you?- What about you?
0:02:29 > 0:02:32Uh, I've got a massive moth, I think.
0:02:32 > 0:02:34Oh, this is getting almost unbearable.
0:02:36 > 0:02:40Actress Jacqueline Clarke has spent a career playing out the fictional
0:02:40 > 0:02:44dramas of other people's lives on both stage and screen.
0:02:45 > 0:02:49But the true story of Jacqueline's own family life has also taken
0:02:49 > 0:02:51several dramatic turns.
0:02:51 > 0:02:55She was born in 1942 and grew up in south-west London.
0:02:55 > 0:03:00I remember my mother always, because she was a pianist,
0:03:00 > 0:03:03playing in the morning, which was glorious,
0:03:03 > 0:03:05so I was brought up with a lot of music.
0:03:05 > 0:03:08Not that I understood much about classical.
0:03:08 > 0:03:12And I remember going down to the local sweet shop with my father
0:03:12 > 0:03:16because we had coupons in those days, it's just after the war.
0:03:17 > 0:03:20While Jacqueline was still a young child, her mother revealed
0:03:20 > 0:03:23something that was to change her world forever.
0:03:23 > 0:03:28I was nine when I was told and she called me in from the garden.
0:03:28 > 0:03:30She said, "Sit down, darling, I want to tell you something.
0:03:30 > 0:03:34"It's something important. Your father didn't want to tell you,
0:03:34 > 0:03:36"but I think it's important that you know."
0:03:36 > 0:03:40And then she said, "Do you know Daddy and I adopted you?"
0:03:40 > 0:03:42"Your mother was a young girl
0:03:42 > 0:03:45"and she couldn't keep you, darling, and we went and chose you,
0:03:45 > 0:03:49"you're very special and we love you very much." All that went on.
0:03:49 > 0:03:52And I said, "So, do you mean I don't belong to you?"
0:03:53 > 0:03:57And she said, "Well, you do belong to us, darling, of course, you do."
0:03:57 > 0:04:01I went to the bottom of the garden and sobbed.
0:04:07 > 0:04:08I was...
0:04:12 > 0:04:17..so disappointed that they weren't my real mummy and daddy.
0:04:19 > 0:04:23And I thought, "OK, it's all right, you know, it'll be fine."
0:04:23 > 0:04:28And I thought, "I'm not going to talk to them about it,"
0:04:28 > 0:04:32because I know my mother found it so difficult to tell me
0:04:32 > 0:04:36because Father really didn't want to tell me.
0:04:36 > 0:04:40And I thought, "OK, it'll be all right."
0:04:40 > 0:04:45OK, then got myself together and decided, that's it, I'll just go in.
0:04:45 > 0:04:47I went in and had tea and it was never spoken about.
0:04:49 > 0:04:52Jacqueline's parents never mentioned her history again,
0:04:52 > 0:04:54and she put it to the back of her mind.
0:04:57 > 0:05:02During my teenage years, during growing up, getting married,
0:05:02 > 0:05:07it never crossed my brain about even thinking about finding out
0:05:07 > 0:05:09about my birth family at all.
0:05:09 > 0:05:15It was only after that my father died that I sort of thought,
0:05:15 > 0:05:18"Ooh, I might want to know about it," but I wouldn't have done
0:05:18 > 0:05:20because Mother was still alive.
0:05:20 > 0:05:25When she died five years later, then I thought, "Hmm."
0:05:26 > 0:05:28After the death of her adoptive parents,
0:05:28 > 0:05:31Jacqueline decided to search for her biological mother.
0:05:32 > 0:05:35She employed a professional family finder
0:05:35 > 0:05:37and, eight months later, received a call.
0:05:37 > 0:05:39My genealogist said,
0:05:39 > 0:05:43"Are you sitting down and have you someone with you?"
0:05:43 > 0:05:45I thought, "Well, why do I need that?"
0:05:45 > 0:05:48So I didn't sit down and I didn't have anybody with me
0:05:48 > 0:05:52and I rang and I was told,
0:05:52 > 0:05:54did I know I had a sister?
0:06:03 > 0:06:0730 miles away in Reading, siblings Tracey and Teresa knew
0:06:07 > 0:06:09nothing about an older sister
0:06:09 > 0:06:12until a knock on the door one day in 1974.
0:06:13 > 0:06:15Our parents, they'd gone out shopping
0:06:15 > 0:06:18and I can remember before they went, our mum said,
0:06:18 > 0:06:20"If anyone knocks on the door, don't answer the door."
0:06:20 > 0:06:23And lo and behold, there was a knock on the door
0:06:23 > 0:06:26and this couple at the doorstep, and a lady with dark hair,
0:06:26 > 0:06:31that's all I can remember and they asked, "Is your mum and dad in?"
0:06:31 > 0:06:33It was like, "No. Sorry, Mummy's not back.
0:06:33 > 0:06:34"They'll be back in half an hour."
0:06:34 > 0:06:37And then my mum and dad came back from the shops,
0:06:37 > 0:06:40they greeted them as if they knew each other.
0:06:40 > 0:06:43I can remember feeling as a little child thinking,
0:06:43 > 0:06:45"How come they know them? I don't know them.
0:06:45 > 0:06:48"I've never seen them before. Who's that?"
0:06:48 > 0:06:51It wasn't until some months later that the girls learnt
0:06:51 > 0:06:54the true identity of the mysterious lady called Lesley
0:06:54 > 0:06:57who had turned up at their door.
0:06:57 > 0:06:59Our dad sat us down and said,
0:06:59 > 0:07:05"Actually, Lesley is your sister." He was married before.
0:07:05 > 0:07:09- So, that was the first... - That was the first we knew.- Yeah.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12Teresa and Tracey began to build a relationship with their
0:07:12 > 0:07:1517-year-old big sister, Lesley.
0:07:15 > 0:07:20It was quite exciting to know that we had another sister.
0:07:20 > 0:07:23I used to love going round there and staying overnight.
0:07:25 > 0:07:28We remember going to a function.
0:07:28 > 0:07:31- We are assuming it was her wedding that we attended.- Hm.
0:07:32 > 0:07:35But Lesley didn't stay in their lives for long.
0:07:35 > 0:07:40After Tracey and Teresa's parents moved house, they lost contact.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43As the years went by, Teresa and Tracey grew up
0:07:43 > 0:07:46and started families of their own, but thoughts of their
0:07:46 > 0:07:49long-lost sister were never far from their mind.
0:07:49 > 0:07:52We've always wondered where Lesley was,
0:07:52 > 0:07:55always wanted to know how she was and where she was.
0:07:55 > 0:07:59So ten years ago, after taking up genealogy as a hobby,
0:07:59 > 0:08:02Teresa decided to look for Lesley.
0:08:02 > 0:08:06Teresa started with the two things she knew about their older sister.
0:08:06 > 0:08:10First, her name at birth, Lesley Probert.
0:08:10 > 0:08:13Secondly, because Teresa and Tracey thought they remembered being
0:08:13 > 0:08:17at her wedding, they assumed Lesley had married.
0:08:17 > 0:08:20I found her birth and I found her birth certificate,
0:08:20 > 0:08:22but I was trying to find her marriage.
0:08:22 > 0:08:26And we were pretty sure it was around 1974. I tried everything.
0:08:26 > 0:08:31I thought maybe she'd reverted back to her mum's maiden name
0:08:31 > 0:08:34or anything like that but no.
0:08:34 > 0:08:37- We just drew a blank. - We just drew a blank, yeah.
0:08:38 > 0:08:42Then in October 2015, something happened that was to make
0:08:42 > 0:08:45their quest to find their sister all the more urgent.
0:08:45 > 0:08:49Brian, the father they shared with Lesley, died.
0:08:49 > 0:08:53I felt that she deserved to know that her dad had passed away,
0:08:53 > 0:08:57whether she had a relationship with him or not.
0:08:57 > 0:08:58You know...
0:08:58 > 0:09:01I think you've got to know these things, haven't you?
0:09:03 > 0:09:06Desperate to find their sister, it was then that Tracey and Teresa
0:09:06 > 0:09:10turned to a professional family finding company.
0:09:10 > 0:09:14But would the professionals have any more luck in tracing Lesley
0:09:14 > 0:09:15than Teresa and Tracey?
0:09:15 > 0:09:19All this waiting and finally...it's going to happen, isn't it?
0:09:19 > 0:09:21Oh, my God!
0:09:26 > 0:09:30Television and theatre actress Jacqueline Clarke hadn't been
0:09:30 > 0:09:32looking for siblings when she started delving into the
0:09:32 > 0:09:37circumstances surrounding her adoption, but now it looked like
0:09:37 > 0:09:40she had uncovered a sister she never knew she had.
0:09:40 > 0:09:44I didn't cry, strangely enough, which I thought I might blub,
0:09:44 > 0:09:48but I didn't and I thought, "Wow!"
0:09:48 > 0:09:52But because that sister was an unknown being,
0:09:52 > 0:09:54I didn't even think what she might look like,
0:09:54 > 0:09:56I didn't think anything about it.
0:09:56 > 0:09:57I just thought, "Oh, this is wonderful,"
0:09:57 > 0:09:59cos I'd always wanted a sister.
0:09:59 > 0:10:04And I thought, "Oh, this is another adventure and I've
0:10:04 > 0:10:06"got to follow this one up."
0:10:06 > 0:10:09The next stage was to make contact.
0:10:09 > 0:10:12The genealogist wrote a letter to the woman she suspected
0:10:12 > 0:10:15to be Jacqueline's sister.
0:10:15 > 0:10:2070 miles away that letter landed on the mat of Sylvia Bowman.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23When I opened it, that was a shock.
0:10:23 > 0:10:26It was from an adoption agency
0:10:26 > 0:10:29questioning if I could kindly help
0:10:29 > 0:10:33because they were seeking some
0:10:33 > 0:10:38relatives from a person named Valerie.
0:10:38 > 0:10:39When I saw that name...
0:10:41 > 0:10:42Well, I did, I cried.
0:10:44 > 0:10:45And it was my sister.
0:10:47 > 0:10:48MOUTHS
0:10:49 > 0:10:51Sorry.
0:10:58 > 0:11:00And this lady asked me...
0:11:02 > 0:11:04..if I wanted to find her.
0:11:06 > 0:11:09Anyway, yes, I did. She had given me a date.
0:11:12 > 0:11:15I couldn't wait for two o'clock.
0:11:15 > 0:11:21Then suddenly, the phone goes and it's two o'clock, dead on two
0:11:21 > 0:11:25and I pick it up and I hear, "Could I speak to Mrs Gosney, please?"
0:11:25 > 0:11:28And I went, "Hello, Sister."
0:11:28 > 0:11:30She went, "Oh, I don't believe it!"
0:11:31 > 0:11:36Jacqueline had found her sister and now they had made contact,
0:11:36 > 0:11:39the sisters could start filling in the blanks about just what
0:11:39 > 0:11:41had happened 70 years ago.
0:11:43 > 0:11:46Sylvia was born two years before Jacqueline.
0:11:46 > 0:11:48She was adopted at the age of four.
0:11:48 > 0:11:55Being told I was adopted was because of my friend, close friend,
0:11:55 > 0:11:57she was adopted too.
0:11:57 > 0:12:02And so, I remember talking about her and saying to my mother that she
0:12:02 > 0:12:08was adopted and I probably wasn't aware what it meant.
0:12:08 > 0:12:14So then Mum chose to tell me that I was similar to her,
0:12:14 > 0:12:19that I was adopted, they cared for me.
0:12:19 > 0:12:24Now after 70 years apart, the two sisters were back in touch.
0:12:24 > 0:12:27They wasted no time in meeting up.
0:12:27 > 0:12:31We were going up the stairs and my daughter as we just got to the
0:12:31 > 0:12:33top of the stairs said, "Mummy, she's here."
0:12:33 > 0:12:38Fell into each other's arms, that was it. Just spontaneously.
0:12:39 > 0:12:41I can't believe it.
0:12:42 > 0:12:44We hugged and we cried.
0:12:45 > 0:12:50And then we went for a drink and we just stayed there for hours...
0:12:51 > 0:12:53..just talking and laughing.
0:12:54 > 0:12:59And she is such a live wire. She's lovely. And it just clicked.
0:12:59 > 0:13:02You're never quite sure how long you've got to look at each other
0:13:02 > 0:13:04cos I thought, "Oh, that's what you look like."
0:13:04 > 0:13:08I was really chuffed. She looked great.
0:13:08 > 0:13:12And we chatted from 11.30 to 3.45.
0:13:13 > 0:13:15It's as if I'd known her for years.
0:13:17 > 0:13:23No airs and graces, it was just so natural
0:13:23 > 0:13:24and so lovely.
0:13:26 > 0:13:31The newly reunited sisters still have lots to catch up on.
0:13:31 > 0:13:33Today, they are meeting up again to find out more about
0:13:33 > 0:13:35the years they spent apart.
0:13:35 > 0:13:42I have never seen photographs of Jacq's album and her life
0:13:42 > 0:13:45and I've also brought a few of mine.
0:13:45 > 0:13:48So, yes, it should be a giggle.
0:13:55 > 0:13:57SHE GIGGLES
0:13:57 > 0:14:02- Hello! Come in.- Thank you! - Sweetie, what you got? Ooh!
0:14:05 > 0:14:08- Love you to bits! Come in, come in. - Thank you.- Come sit down.
0:14:10 > 0:14:13Right, I want you to really understand what I was like
0:14:13 > 0:14:17when I was first adopted, OK? Here we go.
0:14:17 > 0:14:20- Oh, wow! - SYLVIA LAUGHS
0:14:20 > 0:14:23I'm just worried about my mouth being opened, but perhaps I was...
0:14:23 > 0:14:27- Well, that's not... That's not old, is it?- No.
0:14:27 > 0:14:32- It's never been closed since, has it?- How lovely is that?
0:14:32 > 0:14:35But, look, you've got to see this, which is hilarious.
0:14:35 > 0:14:39That's what I'm really like now, though. Have you got one like that?
0:14:39 > 0:14:42- A little bit older, I would say.- Ah!
0:14:42 > 0:14:45That's lovely. I do look quite sweet, do I not?
0:14:45 > 0:14:47- Yes.- Apparently I was a very...
0:14:47 > 0:14:49One changes as they get older, don't they?
0:14:49 > 0:14:53- That was me at school as a prefect. - I was one as well.- Were you?- Yes.
0:14:53 > 0:14:55- How long for?- Three years.
0:14:55 > 0:14:58- This is in Weybridge.- Is that you? - Yes.
0:14:58 > 0:15:00You've always remained a corker.
0:15:00 > 0:15:04- Gosh, you were pretty, darling. - I like that I "was".- And still are.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07Somebody said to me, "You used to be quite attractive."
0:15:07 > 0:15:10They said that to me other day. I said, "Thank you." Anyway...
0:15:10 > 0:15:13- But the real ones.- Ooh.- Yes.
0:15:13 > 0:15:18- And that's you there by the sea. Where did you go?- Pagham.- Yeah.
0:15:18 > 0:15:21You ought to see the sort of caravan we stayed in.
0:15:21 > 0:15:23- You stayed in a caravan? - SYLVIA LAUGHS
0:15:23 > 0:15:26- They're real old-fashioned, though, today.- A little round one.- Yeah.
0:15:26 > 0:15:30- That was my mum.- That's your mum? Oh, that's your mum.
0:15:30 > 0:15:32That's Tess, the dog. That's...
0:15:32 > 0:15:35- Is that your mother?- It is.
0:15:35 > 0:15:37- Ironing and she's got a fag in the mouth.- I know.
0:15:37 > 0:15:39My mother used to smoke, but she gave up.
0:15:39 > 0:15:42No, Mum used to smoke a lot.
0:15:42 > 0:15:46- Love the knickers. Look at that.- No, that was a knitted bathing costume.
0:15:46 > 0:15:49Every time I went into the water, it stretched!
0:15:51 > 0:15:55- Brilliant!- I know. It was yellow and brown. I felt like a bumblebee.
0:15:55 > 0:15:59Not a good colour. How awful.
0:16:01 > 0:16:05Finally, the sisters have one last piece of their family puzzle
0:16:05 > 0:16:07to put into place today.
0:16:07 > 0:16:09They're going to see the house where their mother lived
0:16:09 > 0:16:12when they were both born.
0:16:12 > 0:16:16That's where we used to live all those years and years ago.
0:16:16 > 0:16:20- I don't remember a thing. - You don't remember anything.- No.
0:16:20 > 0:16:21Well, there you go, Mum.
0:16:23 > 0:16:24We're back.
0:16:25 > 0:16:27- Little did you think we would be. - Yeah.
0:16:27 > 0:16:33Yes, I was actually born there, so that's a full circle now.
0:16:33 > 0:16:35Wow, all these years later. 74, in fact.
0:16:36 > 0:16:38Yes.
0:16:38 > 0:16:45I find finding Jacq's a whole new life,
0:16:45 > 0:16:48a whole new venture for me and my family.
0:16:50 > 0:16:52She is great.
0:16:52 > 0:16:56Ooh, it has been a long journey, but it's been remarkable having met
0:16:56 > 0:17:01my sister and I think we both needed to be here together today
0:17:01 > 0:17:06and I think that will make it even more of a cemented thing,
0:17:06 > 0:17:08that we actually know this is the place we both were
0:17:08 > 0:17:10when we were very small.
0:17:10 > 0:17:14Incessantly we say it's great to have found each other, don't we?
0:17:18 > 0:17:22Yes. Ooh, I'm so lucky, it's great.
0:17:22 > 0:17:23We're both lucky.
0:17:24 > 0:17:26And the fact that we get on so well.
0:17:28 > 0:17:29Yeah, we do, don't we?
0:17:29 > 0:17:32We laugh a lot, we chat a lot, we're everything...
0:17:32 > 0:17:34And I just know we can always be together
0:17:34 > 0:17:37and confide in each other and be there for each other.
0:17:37 > 0:17:39Yeah. Always.
0:17:40 > 0:17:42- Yes, we're proud.- It's good.
0:17:44 > 0:17:45Enough.
0:17:48 > 0:17:50In you go, Sis.
0:17:57 > 0:18:01In Reading, Tracey and Teresa's search for their long lost
0:18:01 > 0:18:04half-sister Lesley had hit a brick wall.
0:18:04 > 0:18:05Very frustrating because I got
0:18:05 > 0:18:08folders galore, certificates galore, but the one person
0:18:08 > 0:18:11I was really trying to find, I couldn't find.
0:18:13 > 0:18:15After the death of their shared father,
0:18:15 > 0:18:18they made one final attempt to find her
0:18:18 > 0:18:22this time with the help of a professional family finding company.
0:18:22 > 0:18:26There wasn't a match for Lesley with the surname that she was born with.
0:18:26 > 0:18:30We then started to look at her mother and what she'd done
0:18:30 > 0:18:33after the separation from Lesley's father
0:18:33 > 0:18:36and found that she'd remarried in the 1960s and saw that
0:18:36 > 0:18:39her surname had changed.
0:18:39 > 0:18:42The researchers discovered that Lesley had officially adopted
0:18:42 > 0:18:44her stepfather's surname.
0:18:44 > 0:18:48This is why Teresa and Tracey hadn't been able to find her.
0:18:48 > 0:18:50So, although this was a fairly short trace,
0:18:50 > 0:18:53we did find an awful lot of information and there was
0:18:53 > 0:18:55a lot to get through before we were then able to go away
0:18:55 > 0:18:58and trace her to her current address.
0:18:58 > 0:19:01The best part of our job is being able to phone our clients
0:19:01 > 0:19:04and tell them that we've been successful in the search.
0:19:04 > 0:19:07So it's wonderful for us to be able to do it because
0:19:07 > 0:19:11we know how much it means to the people that come to us.
0:19:11 > 0:19:14It was absolutely amazing because I spoke to her in the morning and
0:19:14 > 0:19:19by the afternoon, she had found out what Lesley had changed her
0:19:19 > 0:19:24name to and tracked her down and, yeah, found her within 24 hours.
0:19:24 > 0:19:26It was just...you know, amazing.
0:19:26 > 0:19:29- You phoned me, I was in the high street.- Yes.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32And I let out a big scream in the middle of the high street.
0:19:35 > 0:19:39The family finding company contacted the Lesley they had found
0:19:39 > 0:19:42to confirm she was the right person.
0:19:42 > 0:19:46When I spoke to the lady on the phone, she said,
0:19:46 > 0:19:50"Do you know this Lesley Probert?" I said, "Yeah, it's me."
0:19:50 > 0:19:55"Do you know a Teresa and Tracey?" I said, "Yeah, they're my sisters."
0:19:55 > 0:19:59And she said, "Thank God we found you."
0:19:59 > 0:20:03And I thought they must've been looking for me.
0:20:03 > 0:20:06I don't know how long they'd been looking.
0:20:06 > 0:20:10It was just... It was amazing. to think that she actually...
0:20:10 > 0:20:14Well, right from that we knew she'd probably wanted to be in touch.
0:20:14 > 0:20:18After making contact through the family finding company,
0:20:18 > 0:20:21now the sisters could be put in touch directly.
0:20:21 > 0:20:23I said, "Yeah, I do want to be in contact, yeah,"
0:20:23 > 0:20:29so I gave her my e-mail address and it's just been constant.
0:20:29 > 0:20:33We sent an e-mail just to sort of say hi.
0:20:33 > 0:20:37We even worried about what to put in the subject line, actually.
0:20:37 > 0:20:39"What shall we put, what shall we put?"
0:20:39 > 0:20:41- And we just put...- It's Teresa and Tracey, sort of thing.
0:20:41 > 0:20:44- I think we were so more worried about putting her off, weren't we? - Yeah.
0:20:44 > 0:20:46For the last two weeks, Teresa and Tracey
0:20:46 > 0:20:49have only been in touch with Lesley by e-mail.
0:20:49 > 0:20:53Much of their older sister's early life is still a mystery.
0:20:54 > 0:20:58Lesley's parents, Brian and Rita, had married in 1954.
0:20:58 > 0:21:02Two years later, Lesley arrived, but her parents split up
0:21:02 > 0:21:03while she was still a toddler.
0:21:03 > 0:21:06I can't remember them being together...
0:21:08 > 0:21:12..cos I think I was only about two when they split up.
0:21:12 > 0:21:16But I do remember going to my father's house where
0:21:16 > 0:21:18he lived with my nan and grandad.
0:21:20 > 0:21:24Years ago, parents didn't divorce too often
0:21:24 > 0:21:26and so I was sort of an outcast.
0:21:26 > 0:21:30"Ooh, where's your dad, then? Why don't you live with your dad?"
0:21:30 > 0:21:33And then I was bullied at school because of my surname.
0:21:33 > 0:21:38So the kids used to say Probert the robot.
0:21:38 > 0:21:42My mum remarried when I was six so my mum said,
0:21:42 > 0:21:45"Do you want to change your name by deed poll?"
0:21:45 > 0:21:50Think about it and she explained to me what's going on to do that.
0:21:50 > 0:21:52And I said, "Yes."
0:21:52 > 0:21:57From then on, everything was in the name of Cross.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02Lesley's birth father, Brian, had also remarried
0:22:02 > 0:22:05and had Teresa and Tracey.
0:22:05 > 0:22:07Although the two families lived near each other, there was no
0:22:07 > 0:22:10contact until 1974.
0:22:10 > 0:22:18I was 17. I knew by this time that he had remarried and got children.
0:22:18 > 0:22:21I think I just got up one morning and thought, "I'm going to go
0:22:21 > 0:22:25"and see if they still live in Sunningdale Avenue."
0:22:25 > 0:22:29I was intrigued to meet them.
0:22:30 > 0:22:35Um, I think that's what made me go and knock on the door, really.
0:22:35 > 0:22:37And I can remember Tracey answering the door.
0:22:37 > 0:22:39She was only little and I thought,
0:22:39 > 0:22:41"God, it it's like looking in a mirror."
0:22:41 > 0:22:44I thought, "Yeah, I've definitely got the right house."
0:22:44 > 0:22:46It's a little mini me standing there.
0:22:48 > 0:22:50I was getting married that year.
0:22:50 > 0:22:54I just really wanted them to be a part of it.
0:22:55 > 0:22:59But her two half-sisters were soon to disappear from Lesley's life.
0:23:00 > 0:23:05For a couple of years, they were part of my life and then,
0:23:05 > 0:23:08I don't know, all of a sudden, they just moved.
0:23:08 > 0:23:10I never heard from him again.
0:23:11 > 0:23:17I just put it down that he didn't want me in their lives, really,
0:23:17 > 0:23:21so that's another reason why I didn't look for them.
0:23:21 > 0:23:23I didn't really want to be rejected.
0:23:24 > 0:23:28The sisters found each other just two weeks ago.
0:23:28 > 0:23:30They still haven't met yet.
0:23:30 > 0:23:32Tomorrow, they will see each other for the first time
0:23:32 > 0:23:35since they lost touch all those years ago.
0:23:35 > 0:23:39It's been a whole mixture of emotions all the way along,
0:23:39 > 0:23:41but I think now that we're getting closer and closer
0:23:41 > 0:23:44to meeting her, it's just excitement.
0:23:44 > 0:23:48To meet Lesley, it's going to mean the world. I really can't wait.
0:23:48 > 0:23:50It will be fantastic.
0:23:50 > 0:23:53I've always wanted more family, to be honest with you,
0:23:53 > 0:23:56and this might be the chance.
0:23:56 > 0:23:59I don't think I'm going to sleep properly tonight knowing that
0:23:59 > 0:24:01they're going to be here.
0:24:01 > 0:24:04It's hours away now and in two and a half weeks,
0:24:04 > 0:24:09it's just gone crazy and now it's down to hours.
0:24:09 > 0:24:11Absolute... I'm... Oh!
0:24:11 > 0:24:14I'm bursting. I'm bursting!
0:24:22 > 0:24:26- The big day's here now.- Yeah. I can't wait to meet her. No.
0:24:26 > 0:24:28- I wonder what she looks like. - I know!- Will she look like us?
0:24:28 > 0:24:30I wonder if she's as nervous as we are.
0:24:32 > 0:24:35All this waiting and finally, it's going to happen, isn't it?
0:24:37 > 0:24:41It's almost a lifetime...we've lost.
0:24:41 > 0:24:44All those years when we could've been...
0:24:45 > 0:24:49..we could've been really close all those years.
0:24:49 > 0:24:52- I've got butterflies in my stomach. - Have you?- What about you?
0:24:52 > 0:24:54I've got a massive moth, I think.
0:24:57 > 0:24:59Oh, this is getting almost unbearable.
0:25:02 > 0:25:06That's the road. That's the name of the road?
0:25:06 > 0:25:09- What, Lesley's?- Yeah.- Oh, my gosh!
0:25:11 > 0:25:13Oh, my God.
0:25:18 > 0:25:23After being separated for most of their lives, now the three sisters
0:25:23 > 0:25:25can finally be reunited.
0:25:25 > 0:25:26Oh, my God.
0:25:30 > 0:25:32ALL THREE SOB AND LAUGH
0:25:38 > 0:25:42- I can't believe it's been so long. So long.- 40 years!- I know.
0:25:42 > 0:25:44Where does the time go, huh?
0:25:44 > 0:25:48- This is the strangest thing, isn't it?- Yeah.- I know, it is.
0:25:48 > 0:25:53- Do we look anything like we did?- No. - No!- No!- Good, good.
0:25:53 > 0:25:55No, not a bit.
0:25:55 > 0:25:59- It's really nice to see you, it really is.- Yeah, it really is.
0:26:00 > 0:26:03Now they are back together, Teresa, Tracey and Lesley
0:26:03 > 0:26:06can start to fill in the blanks of the last four decades
0:26:06 > 0:26:09and solve some of the family mysteries.
0:26:09 > 0:26:13- Did you go through school as Lesley Probert?- No.- Oh!
0:26:13 > 0:26:18- I was getting bullied at school because of my surname.- Oh, right.
0:26:18 > 0:26:23- Until we all became...- And that's why I couldn't find you on Ancestry.
0:26:26 > 0:26:28They have years to catch up on.
0:26:28 > 0:26:31And there's one photo that has special significance for them all.
0:26:34 > 0:26:36Pictures already.
0:26:36 > 0:26:38- Oh, there we are!- You've got that horr...that dress on.
0:26:38 > 0:26:40No, you loved that dress.
0:26:40 > 0:26:42It was long.
0:26:42 > 0:26:46- Wow.- You can just see your head.- You can see my little head popping out.
0:26:46 > 0:26:48So, it was your wedding day.
0:26:48 > 0:26:52And look at me in that yellow jacket, wow.
0:26:53 > 0:26:55Tracey, I'm so glad you put your head forward like that.
0:26:57 > 0:27:00While they reminisce about the years passed, after nearly half
0:27:00 > 0:27:06a century apart, the sisters can now look forward to a future together.
0:27:07 > 0:27:12It's been brilliant and I really feel like I know Lesley already
0:27:12 > 0:27:17even though it's just been today. And, no, I'll never forget it.
0:27:17 > 0:27:18It's been wonderful.
0:27:20 > 0:27:22I've only met her a few hours now,
0:27:22 > 0:27:23but I feel like I've known her all my life
0:27:23 > 0:27:25and we've got a lot of catching up to do.
0:27:25 > 0:27:27And I feel that we've missed out,
0:27:27 > 0:27:29I really do, but now's the time to make up.
0:27:31 > 0:27:37To be in contact with them is just the best. It's lovely.
0:27:37 > 0:27:39I'm not an only child any more.
0:27:40 > 0:27:43I wish it had happened sooner.
0:27:43 > 0:27:48I do wish it had happened sooner, but it's happened now and it's...
0:27:50 > 0:27:54That's going to be us. We're family now. That's it.