0:00:00 > 0:00:01FAMILY FINDERS FKI T965S/02 BRD000000
0:00:01 > 0:00:04Families can be driven apart for all manner of reasons.
0:00:04 > 0:00:07I had no information at all about where my mum went.
0:00:07 > 0:00:09And when you do lose touch with your loved ones...
0:00:09 > 0:00:12You don't know who you are, where have you come from.
0:00:12 > 0:00:14..finding them can take a lifetime.
0:00:14 > 0:00:16I might have a brother that's
0:00:16 > 0:00:18still living here.
0:00:19 > 0:00:21Especially when they could be anywhere,
0:00:21 > 0:00:22at home or abroad.
0:00:22 > 0:00:26And that's where the Family Finders come in.
0:00:26 > 0:00:28From international organisations...
0:00:28 > 0:00:31Hi, it's the Salvation Army Family Tracing Service.
0:00:31 > 0:00:34..to genealogy detective agencies...
0:00:34 > 0:00:38For someone to say that it's changed their life, it makes coming to work,
0:00:38 > 0:00:40you 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 my sisters, but I have.
0:01:13 > 0:01:17And 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 > 0:01:23Since we've met, I feel part of a family again.
0:01:23 > 0:01:25You just completed my life for me.
0:01:31 > 0:01:34Many families get torn apart and it can take years of detective work to
0:01:34 > 0:01:36find out why.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39Often financial difficulties can lead to relatives being
0:01:39 > 0:01:42separated. Sometimes ill health gets in the way,
0:01:42 > 0:01:44and occasionally it's the
0:01:44 > 0:01:47sheer volume of offspring that can lead to desperate measures.
0:01:48 > 0:01:51Today, we follow two such cases.
0:01:51 > 0:01:55Tony Robinson who found out late in life that he had siblings he never
0:01:55 > 0:01:57knew existed.
0:01:57 > 0:01:59And then she dropped a bombshell on me.
0:01:59 > 0:02:01She said, "What about Ian?"
0:02:01 > 0:02:05and I might have used the words I said but along the lines of,
0:02:05 > 0:02:08"Who's Ian?" She said, "Well, the other one that we had adopted."
0:02:08 > 0:02:09I said, "What other one?"
0:02:09 > 0:02:11And Lorraine Hall who grew up
0:02:11 > 0:02:13believing she was a legitimate only child
0:02:13 > 0:02:17until the funeral of a family friend revealed the shocking truth.
0:02:17 > 0:02:20And I remember saying, "No, no."
0:02:20 > 0:02:22And she said, "Get in the car.
0:02:22 > 0:02:23She was your mother."
0:02:29 > 0:02:34Tony Robinson was born in 1953 and was brought up in Carshalton, Surrey
0:02:34 > 0:02:37by his parents, Shirley and Raymond Robinson.
0:02:39 > 0:02:43Growing up, there's meself, me sister Linda, me sister Carol,
0:02:43 > 0:02:47me sister Diane, me brother Michael and then me sister Marion.
0:02:47 > 0:02:50That was the family. I shared a bedroom with me brother Michael,
0:02:50 > 0:02:54bunk beds. And me four sisters lived in a room.
0:02:55 > 0:02:58A great upbringing, just lower class, not a lot of money.
0:02:58 > 0:03:01There were six of us living in a three-bedroom house.
0:03:01 > 0:03:05And whenever I could, I did paper rounds, milk rounds, bakers' rounds,
0:03:05 > 0:03:08butchers' rounds. Worked in shops just because you couldn't get pocket
0:03:08 > 0:03:11money. I just had to earn me own money.
0:03:11 > 0:03:12When he was 12,
0:03:12 > 0:03:16a childhood illness resulted in Tony being sent away to what was known as
0:03:16 > 0:03:20an open air school in the countryside to recuperate.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23I was asthmatic so I was sent away to this health school
0:03:23 > 0:03:25down in Guildford.
0:03:25 > 0:03:27And I was there for a couple of years.
0:03:27 > 0:03:31'65 to '67 and I was boarding there.
0:03:31 > 0:03:33You know, so, I had a great time down there, though.
0:03:35 > 0:03:38Originally developed for the treatment of children
0:03:38 > 0:03:42with tuberculosis, by the 1960s, open air schools
0:03:42 > 0:03:45were caring for children like Tony with a whole range of
0:03:45 > 0:03:47respiratory conditions.
0:03:47 > 0:03:51Before the Clean Air Act was revised in 1968,
0:03:51 > 0:03:54heavy smog was responsible for regular deaths
0:03:54 > 0:03:56from high levels of sulphur dioxide
0:03:56 > 0:04:00and those with chest or heart problems were particularly
0:04:00 > 0:04:04vulnerable. Many children were sent away from our cities to escape
0:04:04 > 0:04:06pollution. Fresh air,
0:04:06 > 0:04:11better nutrition and exercise made up the therapeutic regime.
0:04:12 > 0:04:15It was during the two years that Tony was boarding
0:04:15 > 0:04:16at the open air school
0:04:16 > 0:04:20that his parents had to make a heartbreaking decision.
0:04:20 > 0:04:25I can remember once being about 10 or 11, that sort of age,
0:04:25 > 0:04:28in the back garden. I can remember me mum and dad coming out to say,
0:04:28 > 0:04:30"We've had a boy named Stephen.
0:04:30 > 0:04:31"We've had to have him adopted."
0:04:31 > 0:04:34But at that age, I didn't know what adopted meant.
0:04:34 > 0:04:37I had no idea. And it was never discussed afterwards, ever.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40Till the day me dad died and me mum was upset about it.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43The fact that it was never brought up in conversation all those years
0:04:43 > 0:04:45later, it just, it just went out of your mind.
0:04:48 > 0:04:51Following the death of his parents decades later,
0:04:51 > 0:04:55a chance discovery set off an incredible chain of events.
0:04:55 > 0:04:57When me mum died it was down to me.
0:04:57 > 0:05:01So, I came down, spent a few days down here sorting out paperwork.
0:05:01 > 0:05:06And I came across this Christmas card and a photo
0:05:06 > 0:05:11and a letter from West Sussex Adoption Agency, so I thought,
0:05:11 > 0:05:14"Well, what's all this about?" When I saw the name Stephen,
0:05:14 > 0:05:16I put two and two together.
0:05:16 > 0:05:18I suddenly remembered who Stephen was.
0:05:18 > 0:05:23Just a flashback of being told about 10 or 11 that they had a boy named
0:05:23 > 0:05:26Stephen adopted. So that really set me thinking,
0:05:26 > 0:05:28"Oh, what's this all about?"
0:05:28 > 0:05:30And that was the chain of events for me...
0:05:31 > 0:05:36..going on this trail of trying to discover who, what, where, how,
0:05:36 > 0:05:38who Stephen was.
0:05:38 > 0:05:41Emboldened by a sense of responsibility,
0:05:41 > 0:05:46Tony made the decision to try to find his estranged, younger brother.
0:05:46 > 0:05:48At that time, all I knew was Stephen.
0:05:48 > 0:05:53You know, so there was a seventh sibling out there somewhere
0:05:53 > 0:05:55and I needed to find him to bring him into the fold.
0:05:55 > 0:05:58There were still six of us still around
0:05:58 > 0:06:02so we needed to find that seventh person.
0:06:02 > 0:06:04Tony's first move in tracking Stephen down
0:06:04 > 0:06:09was to contact the adoption agency listed on the paperwork.
0:06:09 > 0:06:12Well, the first thing I did was I rang West Sussex adoption.
0:06:12 > 0:06:15There was a phone number on there so I rang them, explained the scenario
0:06:15 > 0:06:17about me mum and all that.
0:06:17 > 0:06:21But they wouldn't give me any information because...
0:06:21 > 0:06:24They just wouldn't. You know, they wouldn't confirm it.
0:06:24 > 0:06:26They wouldn't deny it. I had a copy of a letter,
0:06:26 > 0:06:28that was all... They said, "Sorry,
0:06:28 > 0:06:31"we just cannot give that information away."
0:06:31 > 0:06:34Tony's attention now turned to the mysterious label
0:06:34 > 0:06:36on the back of one of the envelopes.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39It then got me back to this address that I found on the
0:06:39 > 0:06:42back of the Christmas card and there was no name.
0:06:42 > 0:06:44So I'm assuming it was Stephen.
0:06:45 > 0:06:47So what I did was,
0:06:47 > 0:06:50we wrote a letter saying who we were, what we're doing,
0:06:50 > 0:06:52why we're trying to do what we're doing
0:06:52 > 0:06:54and we sent it to that address and
0:06:54 > 0:06:57after about a month, we never got a reply back.
0:06:57 > 0:07:00And we thought, "Well, what can we do now?"
0:07:00 > 0:07:03The next step was to trawl through phone directories in an attempt to
0:07:03 > 0:07:06match a name to an address to find a contact number.
0:07:06 > 0:07:09We found addresses that we thought matched the address
0:07:09 > 0:07:11and wrote to them first and got no reply back
0:07:11 > 0:07:13so we then started looking for a phone number.
0:07:13 > 0:07:17We did find a phone number, rang it up and it wasn't...
0:07:17 > 0:07:20It was the right phone number but the wrong person.
0:07:22 > 0:07:25They didn't live there any more but they did have a number.
0:07:27 > 0:07:29I explained the story of what we're trying to do
0:07:29 > 0:07:32and because they're a bit hesitant, you know, it could be anybody.
0:07:32 > 0:07:35You know, she said, "Look, OK, so give us a couple of days."
0:07:35 > 0:07:37I gave her my number and, blow me, I got a phone call back.
0:07:37 > 0:07:42We spoke to Jenny, which was Stephen's ex-wife at that time,
0:07:42 > 0:07:46and she just went mental in the nicest possible way
0:07:46 > 0:07:48that you could think of.
0:07:48 > 0:07:51She was screaming and jumping up and down.
0:07:51 > 0:07:54She said, "Do you realise how long he's been looking for you?"
0:07:54 > 0:07:56I said, "I have no idea.
0:07:56 > 0:07:57"I've only just found out."
0:07:59 > 0:08:01You know, if it hadn't been...
0:08:01 > 0:08:03I had no idea how many times he tried to contact her.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06Excuse me. I'm just going to be emotional now.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09And it was just that moment, really.
0:08:09 > 0:08:11She said, "I'm going to have to ring him."
0:08:11 > 0:08:14Within the hour, Tony found himself on the phone
0:08:14 > 0:08:16to the brother he'd never known.
0:08:16 > 0:08:18And he said, "Hi, Tony. This is your brother, Stephen."
0:08:20 > 0:08:22And I just gave the phone to me wife.
0:08:22 > 0:08:25I just couldn't take it in for a few minutes.
0:08:25 > 0:08:28You know, she was chatting to him as if he'd known her all his life.
0:08:28 > 0:08:31You know, then I had to come back and compose meself and then we just
0:08:31 > 0:08:34spoke for hours and hours about all sorts of things.
0:08:34 > 0:08:37What struck me immediately was there was no animosity.
0:08:37 > 0:08:40He was so pleased to find his siblings, you know,
0:08:40 > 0:08:42he didn't know how many of us there were.
0:08:42 > 0:08:44When I told him he said, "What, how many?"
0:08:44 > 0:08:48You know, he had no idea there was another five of us on top of me.
0:08:48 > 0:08:49He had no idea.
0:08:50 > 0:08:54They wasted no time in setting up a meeting.
0:08:54 > 0:08:56Stephen lives in Horsham and I lived up in County Durham.
0:08:56 > 0:08:58We were a long way apart from each other,
0:08:58 > 0:09:00so it isn't very glamorous but we decided to meet
0:09:00 > 0:09:03at Peterborough services. When I pulled into the car park
0:09:03 > 0:09:05I had no idea what he was looking like, what he was wearing.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08And then I saw this lad sitting and he had the car door open
0:09:08 > 0:09:10and he was sitting, and I said, "There's Stephen."
0:09:10 > 0:09:12I just said, "There's Stephen."
0:09:12 > 0:09:14You know, and we met in the car park, believe it or not.
0:09:14 > 0:09:17Then sort of shook hands and said, "Hello, bruv" and all that.
0:09:17 > 0:09:19Then we said, "We're going to have a coffee",
0:09:19 > 0:09:22then we went inside and was there for hours and hours just going over,
0:09:22 > 0:09:25just chatting, really. It was a good day.
0:09:25 > 0:09:28I rang me wife up afterwards, my wife, Sharon, and I said,
0:09:28 > 0:09:31"I've had a fantastic afternoon," you know, you know,
0:09:31 > 0:09:34"there's a three-hour drive home but hey, it was worth it."
0:09:34 > 0:09:36Following an emotional reunion,
0:09:36 > 0:09:39Tony couldn't wait to tell his other siblings all about their long-lost
0:09:39 > 0:09:44brother who he'd finally managed to track down and meet at last, but the
0:09:44 > 0:09:45story didn't end there.
0:09:45 > 0:09:49Obviously, I spoke to all me sisters individually and all fantastic and
0:09:49 > 0:09:50over the moon about it.
0:09:50 > 0:09:52They couldn't believe it.
0:09:52 > 0:09:54It was such a short time that I found him and
0:09:54 > 0:09:57then I was speaking to me younger sister, Marion,
0:09:57 > 0:09:59and she was obviously elated and ecstatic
0:09:59 > 0:10:02and then she dropped a bombshell on me.
0:10:02 > 0:10:04She said, "Fantastic news."
0:10:04 > 0:10:06She said, "What about Ian?"
0:10:06 > 0:10:09And I might have used the words I said but along the lines of,
0:10:09 > 0:10:12"Who's Ian?" She said, "Well, the other one that we had adopted."
0:10:12 > 0:10:16I said, "What other one?" And she said, "You must've known?"
0:10:16 > 0:10:19I said, "No, I know nothing about Ian at all."
0:10:19 > 0:10:22I just didn't know. I knew nothing.
0:10:22 > 0:10:24Having just found one missing brother,
0:10:24 > 0:10:28Tony was about to start searching all over again.
0:10:28 > 0:10:32Not knowing he existed for all those years and then finding out he did
0:10:32 > 0:10:36exist, it's... Every emotion you could possibly think of is there.
0:10:36 > 0:10:37And more.
0:10:45 > 0:10:47Lorraine Hall was born in 1964
0:10:47 > 0:10:52and raised in Birmingham as the only child of Pat and Ray Edwards.
0:10:54 > 0:11:01I was brought up believing that Pat and Ray were my natural parents.
0:11:01 > 0:11:04I had no reason to doubt that.
0:11:04 > 0:11:09Growing up, Lorraine spent lots of time with a family friend, Sylvia,
0:11:09 > 0:11:11who lived nearby with her 11 children.
0:11:11 > 0:11:16Sylvia was known to me as Pat's friend.
0:11:16 > 0:11:18We used to go and have visits
0:11:18 > 0:11:21and I used to go and play with Sylvia's children.
0:11:22 > 0:11:26And Pat used to spend quite a bit of time with Sylvia.
0:11:27 > 0:11:29To me, they was good friends.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33And they was confidants as well.
0:11:33 > 0:11:34But when Lorraine was 15,
0:11:34 > 0:11:39Sylvia died and a huge family secret was dramatically unveiled at the
0:11:39 > 0:11:42funeral, attended by Lorraine and her parents.
0:11:44 > 0:11:47I remember being asked, when the children
0:11:47 > 0:11:51were getting into the main family car, to join them.
0:11:52 > 0:11:56And Pat came to me and she pointed and she directed me to get into the
0:11:56 > 0:11:59family front car and I said, "No.
0:11:59 > 0:12:00"No, I can't."
0:12:00 > 0:12:02And Pat was quite forceful.
0:12:02 > 0:12:07I remember her putting her hands on my shoulders and saying to me,
0:12:07 > 0:12:09"Come on, now, get in the car."
0:12:09 > 0:12:14And I remember standing up to Pat which I didn't do very often,
0:12:14 > 0:12:15but I remember saying, "No.
0:12:15 > 0:12:18"No." And she said, "Get in the car.
0:12:18 > 0:12:19"She was your mother."
0:12:21 > 0:12:26After 15 years of believing she was the only child of Pat and Ray,
0:12:26 > 0:12:28Lorraine was stunned by the shock revelation
0:12:28 > 0:12:32that Sylvia was, in fact, her biological mother.
0:12:32 > 0:12:34I remember being embarrassed.
0:12:34 > 0:12:38I remember being totally lost.
0:12:38 > 0:12:39I remember...
0:12:41 > 0:12:42..just putting my head down.
0:12:43 > 0:12:46I just remember holding my head down in shame.
0:12:48 > 0:12:52Not, not being able to breathe.
0:12:52 > 0:12:55Not being able to remember anything.
0:12:56 > 0:12:57In a heartbeat,
0:12:57 > 0:13:00Lorraine discovered not only that her mother
0:13:00 > 0:13:01wasn't who she thought she was,
0:13:01 > 0:13:04but that the childhood friends she'd grown up playing with were
0:13:04 > 0:13:07actually her brothers and sisters.
0:13:07 > 0:13:10Knowing that
0:13:10 > 0:13:14I am one of 12 children, and been brought up an only child...
0:13:17 > 0:13:19I, I...
0:13:21 > 0:13:23Words, sometimes...
0:13:27 > 0:13:30The truth behind why Lorraine was the only child
0:13:30 > 0:13:34not to be raised by her birth mother remained a mystery
0:13:34 > 0:13:36and as quickly as Lorraine had discovered
0:13:36 > 0:13:39she had siblings, she lost them again.
0:13:39 > 0:13:41Until her death at the age of 46,
0:13:41 > 0:13:4511 of Sylvia's 12 children had been in her care
0:13:45 > 0:13:49but following the funeral, the children were split up.
0:13:49 > 0:13:52The eldest left home, some went into care,
0:13:52 > 0:13:56and the youngest moved away from the area with their father.
0:13:56 > 0:13:59The biggest thing for me at the time,
0:13:59 > 0:14:03and it's something I struggled all my life with,
0:14:03 > 0:14:05was the untruths.
0:14:05 > 0:14:08Maybe Pat or Ray or both of them
0:14:08 > 0:14:11could have sat me down and told me the truth,
0:14:11 > 0:14:13that Sylvia was my birth mother.
0:14:14 > 0:14:17Everything I'd grown up to believe was a lie.
0:14:19 > 0:14:22Lorraine went on to leave home, get married
0:14:22 > 0:14:24and raise a family of her own.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27But questions about the whereabouts of her brothers and sisters and what
0:14:27 > 0:14:29had become of them plagued her.
0:14:29 > 0:14:31All my life...
0:14:32 > 0:14:37I was always wondering where my siblings were.
0:14:37 > 0:14:39Didn't know what country they was in,
0:14:39 > 0:14:41didn't know what city they was in.
0:14:41 > 0:14:48Hoping, longing one day to be able to walk down the street to see them.
0:14:50 > 0:14:53Lorraine began trawling genealogy websites for any trace
0:14:53 > 0:14:55of Sylvia's 11 children.
0:14:57 > 0:14:59I really felt that I,
0:14:59 > 0:15:04maybe I needed to put down on paper the family tree
0:15:04 > 0:15:10as I knew it because I felt that when my grandson was born,
0:15:10 > 0:15:13I needed maybe to do something
0:15:13 > 0:15:17so my daughter would have answers readily available.
0:15:20 > 0:15:22That many times it came up blank.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25I was searching and I still could not get nowhere
0:15:25 > 0:15:27and then this one day out of the blue...
0:15:29 > 0:15:33I had a match that popped up and it was a proper match
0:15:33 > 0:15:37and it matched the age, it matched the information
0:15:37 > 0:15:38I'd already discovered.
0:15:38 > 0:15:42It matched local location in Birmingham
0:15:42 > 0:15:46and I thought, maybe this could be it.
0:15:46 > 0:15:50But when Lorraine tried to access the details of the family tree,
0:15:50 > 0:15:54she found it was a locked, private profile and to be granted access,
0:15:54 > 0:15:59she would have to write to the administrator and introduce herself.
0:15:59 > 0:16:02I didn't know if anyone in my family knew I existed.
0:16:02 > 0:16:05I didn't know if they even knew that Sylvia had me.
0:16:07 > 0:16:08So it took me more,
0:16:08 > 0:16:13another couple of days and I composed a message
0:16:13 > 0:16:18saying that Sylvia was my mother.
0:16:18 > 0:16:21The administrator passed Lorraine's e-mail on
0:16:21 > 0:16:24and a week later came a reply.
0:16:24 > 0:16:28When I saw the name popped up that I had an e-mail,
0:16:28 > 0:16:30every emotion you could ever imagine.
0:16:31 > 0:16:35I was happy, I couldn't believe it.
0:16:35 > 0:16:39I was scared. For the worries and woes and rejection.
0:16:40 > 0:16:42Maybe they don't want to know.
0:16:42 > 0:16:44Maybe they don't want to be part of your life.
0:16:44 > 0:16:48All Lorraine could do now was to sit back and wait to find out if these
0:16:48 > 0:16:52really were the siblings she was so desperate to find.
0:16:52 > 0:16:54- Do you recognise that?- Yeah.
0:16:54 > 0:16:55- I don't.- It's Mum's purse.
0:16:55 > 0:16:56Mum's purse.
0:17:00 > 0:17:04In Surrey, Tony Robinson had successfully tracked down
0:17:04 > 0:17:07his brother, Stephen, who had been adopted as a baby
0:17:07 > 0:17:10but his sense of achievement was short-lived
0:17:10 > 0:17:13when his sister dropped a bombshell.
0:17:13 > 0:17:15While Tony had been away at boarding school,
0:17:15 > 0:17:19there had been another baby boy also adopted out of the family.
0:17:19 > 0:17:24My sisters assumed that I knew that Ian had been born.
0:17:24 > 0:17:27I was away. I was away from home. I knew nothing about it.
0:17:27 > 0:17:29They just assumed I knew and it was just never...like Stephen,
0:17:29 > 0:17:32it was never discussed. But I knew nothing.
0:17:33 > 0:17:36With the small amount of information his sisters had given him,
0:17:36 > 0:17:39Tony began looking for his second brother.
0:17:39 > 0:17:43His first port of call was the Family Records Centre.
0:17:43 > 0:17:47So I went through the records and found Ian Robinson
0:17:47 > 0:17:50on the 5th or the 6th of December 1967.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53So I found his birth certificate.
0:17:53 > 0:17:57Having uncovered his brother's full name and a date of birth,
0:17:57 > 0:18:00Tony's next step was to visit his local adoption agency
0:18:00 > 0:18:03to try and find a current contact detail for Ian.
0:18:04 > 0:18:06They said they would do what they could
0:18:06 > 0:18:08and they came back after a meeting
0:18:08 > 0:18:11and they said, "We've done some digging for you,
0:18:11 > 0:18:13"we've discovered he's changed his name.
0:18:13 > 0:18:16"But we're not allowed to tell you what his name is."
0:18:16 > 0:18:18So, I wasn't happy.
0:18:20 > 0:18:23And I said, "Well, how the hell am I going to find him?"
0:18:23 > 0:18:25He said, "It's down to him."
0:18:25 > 0:18:27"If he wants to find you, he'll find you."
0:18:27 > 0:18:30It looked like Tony's search had hit a brick wall.
0:18:31 > 0:18:36I was going through every emotion possible - elation, frustration.
0:18:36 > 0:18:38But little did Tony know
0:18:38 > 0:18:41he wasn't the only one who was looking for a lost brother.
0:18:41 > 0:18:44I was sitting on me laptop just using social media.
0:18:44 > 0:18:48It was about 11, 11:30 at night, just before going to bed,
0:18:48 > 0:18:51just catching up on things and I saw this message appear.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57And I read it, and I thought, "What's this all about?"
0:18:57 > 0:18:59It was a name that I never knew.
0:18:59 > 0:19:00Wasn't friends with anybody.
0:19:00 > 0:19:02And his name suddenly appeared.
0:19:02 > 0:19:06And it was saying along the lines of, "Hi, my name is Martin.
0:19:08 > 0:19:11"I've been told from an early age I've been adopted,
0:19:11 > 0:19:13"and my family name was Robinson.
0:19:13 > 0:19:15"My parents was this name and that name.
0:19:15 > 0:19:17"I've got my siblings with all the names."
0:19:17 > 0:19:20He said, "I'm just trying to find out if you're my older brother."
0:19:21 > 0:19:24It turned out that Ian had changed his name to Martin
0:19:24 > 0:19:25some years earlier.
0:19:27 > 0:19:29Tony had found his second missing brother
0:19:29 > 0:19:32or rather, his little brother had found him.
0:19:32 > 0:19:34A flurry of e-mails followed.
0:19:36 > 0:19:40It was emotional even though we were on the end of a phone, it was still,
0:19:40 > 0:19:43like, "I'm talking to me brother",
0:19:43 > 0:19:47you know, this is someone I know absolutely nothing about
0:19:47 > 0:19:50but it was my brother.
0:19:50 > 0:19:51You don't know what to say.
0:19:51 > 0:19:54You know, there's a million questions you want to ask
0:19:54 > 0:19:57but you don't have enough time to ask a million questions.
0:19:57 > 0:19:59There was something like a little bond straightaway
0:19:59 > 0:20:00between me and Tony.
0:20:03 > 0:20:06It was like we did actually, kind of, know each other
0:20:06 > 0:20:08whereas we hadn't spoken to each other.
0:20:08 > 0:20:12We didn't really know too much detail about each other.
0:20:12 > 0:20:14There was that little connection between us.
0:20:14 > 0:20:17And during the course of that week, I spoke to him
0:20:17 > 0:20:19every day for hours and hours,
0:20:19 > 0:20:21just talking about everything and nothing.
0:20:21 > 0:20:23Just to hear his voice.
0:20:24 > 0:20:27Martin had been adopted when he was seven months old.
0:20:27 > 0:20:30I always knew I was adopted from a very early age.
0:20:30 > 0:20:33I always knew that my name was Ian Robinson
0:20:33 > 0:20:36and I was the youngest of eight.
0:20:37 > 0:20:40And I originally came from the Carshalton area.
0:20:42 > 0:20:46That was all that I knew. But my mum never kept anything from me.
0:20:46 > 0:20:49I remember her saying that if you want to know anything, let me know.
0:20:49 > 0:20:54But obviously, at that time, I had a family and I didn't have the...
0:20:54 > 0:20:58any interest at that time for looking for the real family.
0:21:00 > 0:21:03Only really when me mum passed away that...
0:21:04 > 0:21:06..there was a...
0:21:06 > 0:21:08a stirring, shall we say.
0:21:08 > 0:21:10I think, because, out of respect,
0:21:10 > 0:21:14when my parents were still alive, they were my parents.
0:21:16 > 0:21:20But when his mum died she left him some paperwork and it contained some
0:21:20 > 0:21:21intriguing information.
0:21:23 > 0:21:27It's basically a history of my family
0:21:27 > 0:21:30that was given to my mum and dad when I was adopted.
0:21:30 > 0:21:35It tells me the years that me brothers and sisters were born in,
0:21:35 > 0:21:38the fact that there was three boys, four girls.
0:21:38 > 0:21:43It gave me a lot more detail than what I actually had.
0:21:43 > 0:21:46It also hints as to why I was adopted
0:21:46 > 0:21:50and it also explains in it as well that
0:21:50 > 0:21:53the next one above me, Stephen, was also adopted.
0:21:53 > 0:21:56It was a little bit of a shock to actually read it,
0:21:56 > 0:22:01to find out reasons why but it says in here,
0:22:01 > 0:22:04my mother feels the strain of coping with such a large family
0:22:04 > 0:22:05on limited income.
0:22:05 > 0:22:08So straightaway you can tell that it was financial.
0:22:08 > 0:22:11It explains that what happened with Stephen
0:22:11 > 0:22:14also happened with me for the same reasons.
0:22:14 > 0:22:17Martin decided to apply to the authorities
0:22:17 > 0:22:20for details of his birth family.
0:22:20 > 0:22:22Done it online and made the application.
0:22:23 > 0:22:29And put a request in for the adoption papers and family records.
0:22:29 > 0:22:32All in all, I think it took about eight months.
0:22:32 > 0:22:34After a lifetime of separation,
0:22:34 > 0:22:37and many months of searching for each other,
0:22:37 > 0:22:40the brothers got in touch and arranged to meet.
0:22:40 > 0:22:42The elation of seeing him for the first time...
0:22:43 > 0:22:44It was a hug.
0:22:45 > 0:22:47And I'm not normally a hugger.
0:22:47 > 0:22:48It was a hug, a few tears.
0:22:51 > 0:22:53Because it made the family complete.
0:22:53 > 0:22:58Tears were flowing from both sides and we got on great.
0:22:58 > 0:23:00We actually got on like
0:23:00 > 0:23:04we knew each other. We weren't complete strangers.
0:23:04 > 0:23:08We were laughing moments after we had stopped crying.
0:23:15 > 0:23:18Today, Martin, Ian and another of his new-found siblings,
0:23:18 > 0:23:20Diane, are meeting up.
0:23:21 > 0:23:25Their other adopted brother Stephen would have loved to have joined them
0:23:25 > 0:23:27but his daughter is about to have a baby any day.
0:23:31 > 0:23:34The first coincidence they've discovered
0:23:34 > 0:23:36is that Martin used to live on the same estate
0:23:36 > 0:23:38that his sister, Diane, still lives on today.
0:23:40 > 0:23:44I mean, I lived on the estate for about 12 years and to think that my
0:23:44 > 0:23:46sister's actually lived on the estate at the same time.
0:23:47 > 0:23:51It's so weird that we never actually bumped into each other.
0:23:52 > 0:23:55Then again, I wouldn't have known anything about them,
0:23:55 > 0:23:58so I wouldn't have known what they looked like
0:23:58 > 0:24:01or any sort of family resemblance, but
0:24:01 > 0:24:05it's nice to actually go back onto the estate and actually
0:24:05 > 0:24:06get a few memories back.
0:24:08 > 0:24:10- Are you nervous?- Yeah.- Are you?
0:24:14 > 0:24:18- Hiya, bro.- Hiya. - Come on in.- How are you?
0:24:19 > 0:24:23- Long time no see.- I know, it's good, isn't it, to see you again?
0:24:26 > 0:24:28- How you doing, young man? Nice to see you.- All right.
0:24:28 > 0:24:29Nice to see you again.
0:24:31 > 0:24:34With over 40 years of family life to catch up on,
0:24:34 > 0:24:37the siblings are keen to fill each other in
0:24:37 > 0:24:38on the time they were apart.
0:24:38 > 0:24:42And they're starting by swapping some treasured family snaps.
0:24:42 > 0:24:46Now that is the earliest one that I've actually got of myself.
0:24:46 > 0:24:48- Now...- Pick you out.
0:24:48 > 0:24:51..pick me out and that. Yeah, there's a football team at school.
0:24:51 > 0:24:53- It's that one.- Yeah.- You're the goalkeeper.
0:24:53 > 0:24:55- The goalkeeper.- Obviously runs in the family, then.
0:24:55 > 0:24:58I was a goalkeeper. Smallest player there, but I was a goalkeeper.
0:24:58 > 0:25:01Same here. I'm virtually the smallest one there.
0:25:01 > 0:25:04All right, now, these ones are the ones with the funny hairstyle.
0:25:04 > 0:25:07- Oh, go on, then.- Go on, shock us. - I can't wait.- Yeah.- Oh, my God.
0:25:07 > 0:25:12- I had a nice relaxing time in Austria.- Is that you?- Yeah.
0:25:12 > 0:25:16- He's posing.- Is that really you?- You can see it's him, yeah.
0:25:16 > 0:25:17You can tell he's a Robinson.
0:25:17 > 0:25:20- That there.- Oh, that's old. - It is.- They're really old.
0:25:20 > 0:25:22That is us all on holiday at Butlins.
0:25:22 > 0:25:24But that's Nan and grandad,
0:25:24 > 0:25:26and I don't even remember them being on holiday with us.
0:25:26 > 0:25:28- That's Dad's mum and dad.- All right.
0:25:28 > 0:25:31And, obviously, Dad must have taken the picture.
0:25:31 > 0:25:35We all had long hair and before we went away Dad made us all wear short
0:25:35 > 0:25:38- back and sides.- You know, the old pudding-basin.- Yeah, I remember.
0:25:38 > 0:25:42I cried my eyes out. I really did.
0:25:42 > 0:25:45That's Mum on her own. I assume it must be the same setting, is it?
0:25:45 > 0:25:47- Yeah.- That's Butlins, isn't it? Sitting on her...- Yeah.
0:25:47 > 0:25:50- Dad always does that pose, doesn't he?- Yeah, he's a bit of a poser.
0:25:50 > 0:25:51Yeah.
0:25:51 > 0:25:54That's the little 'un, that's her, sitting on one of the toy cars.
0:25:54 > 0:25:58- With Noddy.- Still can't drive, can you?- No.
0:26:00 > 0:26:03No idea where that would be. Would that be, like, a Christmas thing
0:26:03 > 0:26:04or something? One of those...
0:26:04 > 0:26:07- I would imagine. We used to do them, didn't we?- We used to
0:26:07 > 0:26:10- have big family gatherings and things.- Parties, things like that.
0:26:10 > 0:26:12Now that I'm actually seeing some of the pictures,
0:26:12 > 0:26:16I can actually get the feel of what it was like as a Robinson family.
0:26:16 > 0:26:21And I do actually regret not being part of it,
0:26:21 > 0:26:25but, obviously, that wasn't my choice at the time.
0:26:25 > 0:26:26But it's still all a blur to me
0:26:26 > 0:26:30because I just really can't remember that far back.
0:26:30 > 0:26:32And it must have been difficult for them.
0:26:32 > 0:26:35- Yeah.- To make that decision in the first place.
0:26:35 > 0:26:37There's so much that
0:26:37 > 0:26:39- I still don't know about.- Of course you don't.
0:26:39 > 0:26:43And obviously, not being involved, there's so much, like,
0:26:43 > 0:26:46history that you've got,
0:26:46 > 0:26:50but it's nice, it's really nice, to see the pictures.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53- I'm glad you're with us now. - Oh, yeah, definitely.
0:26:53 > 0:26:57And they're all looking forward to yet another new addition
0:26:57 > 0:26:58to the family.
0:26:58 > 0:27:01- I haven't heard from Stephen. He's not a grandad yet.- No?
0:27:01 > 0:27:03I'm still waiting. I said, it don't matter if it's one
0:27:03 > 0:27:05in the afternoon, or three in the morning,
0:27:05 > 0:27:07- you need to let me know straightaway.- Is he excited?
0:27:07 > 0:27:11Extremely. Yeah, he's like a cat on a hot tin roof at the moment.
0:27:11 > 0:27:13- Yeah.- He's really excited.
0:27:13 > 0:27:16Martin's keen to see how the estate has changed since he lived there
0:27:16 > 0:27:17in the '80s.
0:27:17 > 0:27:22And who better to show him around than long-time resident Diane.
0:27:22 > 0:27:25So how far down would it have gone, then? Right up to the end.
0:27:25 > 0:27:27Right to the very end. To this road here.
0:27:27 > 0:27:29- We've ended here...- Yeah.
0:27:29 > 0:27:31..and then got to where those houses are right down there.
0:27:31 > 0:27:34- Oh, blimey.- Right, got a picture of it, look.- Oh, wow.
0:27:34 > 0:27:37Obviously, this is where it is, this is the old building.
0:27:37 > 0:27:38The original building?
0:27:38 > 0:27:41- This is the original.- Can you see
0:27:41 > 0:27:44- your flat on there?- I reckon probably around there.
0:27:44 > 0:27:45- There.- Yeah.- Right.
0:27:45 > 0:27:47What a difference though, isn't it?
0:27:47 > 0:27:49No, because that wall there would be just up there.
0:27:49 > 0:27:53To look at it now you think, "Oh, my God. I lived there."
0:27:53 > 0:27:54Yeah, I know.
0:27:54 > 0:27:56- For 12 years.- For 12 years, yeah.
0:27:56 > 0:27:59- Yeah, I know.- I mean, I first come here, it was '88, I think,
0:27:59 > 0:28:01middle of '88.
0:28:01 > 0:28:04Bearing in mind you're only, like, literally, a two-minute walk away.
0:28:04 > 0:28:06Yeah, it's just funny how close we were.
0:28:06 > 0:28:09It's frightening, innit? It's very frightening.
0:28:09 > 0:28:11'Finding out that'
0:28:11 > 0:28:14I lived on the same estate as three of the sisters
0:28:14 > 0:28:17and with Diane as well. I was here for 12 years.
0:28:17 > 0:28:20She's here for, like, 30-odd years.
0:28:20 > 0:28:22To be so close and not even know about each other...
0:28:23 > 0:28:26..that was a really weird feeling.
0:28:26 > 0:28:28It's just changed so much, hasn't it?
0:28:28 > 0:28:31I know. I couldn't believe it when I first come down.
0:28:31 > 0:28:32'You can't put'
0:28:32 > 0:28:37how important it was to get the family back as a complete family.
0:28:37 > 0:28:39There's just no way of expressing that.
0:28:40 > 0:28:44Not knowing he existed for all those years and then finding out he did
0:28:44 > 0:28:48exist, and then, and now he's in the fold,
0:28:48 > 0:28:50it's difficult to put into words.
0:28:50 > 0:28:52It's...
0:28:52 > 0:28:55It's every emotion you could possibly think of is there.
0:28:55 > 0:28:57And more.
0:28:57 > 0:29:00This was actually something that I never expected was going to happen
0:29:00 > 0:29:06because I had my own family and so this was the last thing on my mind.
0:29:06 > 0:29:07But now it's happened,
0:29:07 > 0:29:10it's nice because they're so welcoming
0:29:10 > 0:29:12and I feel as though that I've been
0:29:12 > 0:29:15part of the family for a lot longer than I actually have.
0:29:15 > 0:29:19So, it's definitely something that's an added bonus
0:29:19 > 0:29:21and it's going to continue.
0:29:22 > 0:29:26Now Martin has come back into our lives, we will never let him go.
0:29:26 > 0:29:28He's part of our family.
0:29:29 > 0:29:30Always will be.
0:29:31 > 0:29:36It had to become my mission in life to somehow get us all together as a
0:29:36 > 0:29:38family. That was it.
0:29:38 > 0:29:43It just has to be. You know, and now it's happened, it's, well,
0:29:43 > 0:29:46we're just starting out again now and
0:29:46 > 0:29:49we just can't wait to keep it going.
0:29:56 > 0:30:00In Birmingham, Lorraine Hall was trying to track down siblings
0:30:00 > 0:30:02years after the shock discovery, at 15,
0:30:02 > 0:30:05that the woman she thought was a family friend
0:30:05 > 0:30:08was actually her biological mother.
0:30:08 > 0:30:11Missing out on possibly the life I could have had
0:30:11 > 0:30:15compared to the one that I did,
0:30:15 > 0:30:17not being at any weddings...
0:30:18 > 0:30:22..having 38, 39 years missed Christmases.
0:30:23 > 0:30:28It's all them moments that I lost, all them years where I felt alone.
0:30:30 > 0:30:33When a family finding website threw up a match,
0:30:33 > 0:30:36Lorraine contacted the genealogist involved.
0:30:36 > 0:30:39It turned out that he had been researching the family
0:30:39 > 0:30:43for his friend who lived 300 miles away in Scotland.
0:30:43 > 0:30:47Her name was Donna, and she was one of Sylvia's daughters.
0:30:47 > 0:30:51Lorraine had found one of the 11 siblings she'd been searching for.
0:30:51 > 0:30:55Very happy to send her an e-mail.
0:30:55 > 0:30:58And she took a couple of days to reply back.
0:30:58 > 0:31:01I think she was so, sort of, shocked.
0:31:01 > 0:31:04Donna was the youngest of Sylvia's children.
0:31:04 > 0:31:10I was born in 1975 in Birmingham, the last of well, at the time,
0:31:10 > 0:31:13there were only 11 children that my mum had.
0:31:13 > 0:31:16Knew about or knew of my half brothers and sisters
0:31:16 > 0:31:20cos two or three of them, sort of, lived with us, on and off,
0:31:20 > 0:31:22in the first sort of few years.
0:31:24 > 0:31:27After Sylvia died, Donna's father took her,
0:31:27 > 0:31:30her sister and her brother to live in Great Yarmouth
0:31:30 > 0:31:33and they lost touch with the rest of the family.
0:31:33 > 0:31:37I don't know what happened. We just lost touch and I think, you know,
0:31:37 > 0:31:40the Christmas cards eventually stopped,
0:31:40 > 0:31:42and that's sadly what happened.
0:31:42 > 0:31:44The communication line faded away.
0:31:45 > 0:31:47Then, years later,
0:31:47 > 0:31:51a health scare prompted Donna to pick up the search.
0:31:51 > 0:31:56I'd had breast cancer at 26 and
0:31:56 > 0:31:58we went to the family history clinic and, of course,
0:31:58 > 0:32:01they were interested to know, well, let's have a look at your,
0:32:01 > 0:32:05you know, maternal side and see if it's genetic from that.
0:32:06 > 0:32:11I then had to try and remember their details that would be nice to find
0:32:11 > 0:32:13and even to warn them.
0:32:13 > 0:32:18Certainly if the cancer was genetic from Mum's side.
0:32:18 > 0:32:20Donna's diagnosis now gave extra impetus
0:32:20 > 0:32:23to her search to trace her relatives.
0:32:23 > 0:32:28I can remember trawling through the Friends Reunited school
0:32:28 > 0:32:30list trying to sort of have a rough guess. OK, well,
0:32:30 > 0:32:32they would have gone to school.
0:32:32 > 0:32:35I know roughly where we lived so they would have gone to school
0:32:35 > 0:32:37around there. They, you know...
0:32:37 > 0:32:40but going through and then no names were obviously coming up.
0:32:41 > 0:32:43Struggling, Donna turned to a friend,
0:32:43 > 0:32:46an amateur genealogist for help and he began to build
0:32:46 > 0:32:49an online family tree for her.
0:32:50 > 0:32:53My friend had put on one of the forums
0:32:53 > 0:32:57looking for information about my mum and her husband.
0:32:57 > 0:32:59Lorraine had seen that.
0:32:59 > 0:33:02I think her heart must have skipped a beat and she went,
0:33:02 > 0:33:03"That's my mum."
0:33:05 > 0:33:09Lorraine and Donna were soon exchanging a flood of e-mails.
0:33:09 > 0:33:13"Sorry it's taken a few days to reply,
0:33:13 > 0:33:16"to be honest, I did not know where to start.
0:33:16 > 0:33:18"I suppose I've been in shock.
0:33:18 > 0:33:22"Having this contact has always been my secret ambition.
0:33:22 > 0:33:23"And a dream.
0:33:23 > 0:33:27"And I longed deep down but I thought it would never happen.
0:33:27 > 0:33:30"I knew that you'd all moved away
0:33:30 > 0:33:36"but I was not sure who with, and where to.
0:33:36 > 0:33:38"No-one told me. And to be honest,
0:33:38 > 0:33:41"I've never known where to start looking.
0:33:41 > 0:33:45"I'm so looking forward to hearing back from you. Thank you."
0:33:48 > 0:33:51The sisters arrange to meet.
0:33:51 > 0:33:54So we met up eventually at...
0:33:54 > 0:33:56after Christmas in Chesterfield.
0:34:00 > 0:34:03I got there. I was on the steps early.
0:34:03 > 0:34:06I'm always late, but for that I was early.
0:34:06 > 0:34:08I was standing there. I was looking around.
0:34:08 > 0:34:10Couldn't see no one.
0:34:10 > 0:34:16Everyone that was walking by, I was hoping, praying it was them.
0:34:16 > 0:34:19And then all of a sudden, I saw this little person...
0:34:21 > 0:34:25..and straight away, looking into her eyes, I could see it was Donna.
0:34:25 > 0:34:27It was like meeting a very old friend for the fir...
0:34:27 > 0:34:30you know, again after a number of years
0:34:30 > 0:34:31when you haven't got to see them.
0:34:31 > 0:34:36I just remember walking round with this silly grin on my face watching
0:34:36 > 0:34:39every movement, watching her walking around.
0:34:41 > 0:34:44Lorraine and I are almost so similar, you know,
0:34:44 > 0:34:48in our outlook and the way that we view the world,
0:34:48 > 0:34:50it's quite frightening,
0:34:50 > 0:34:54at the same time to, you know, and that's why you think, God,
0:34:54 > 0:34:56it is weird.
0:34:58 > 0:35:01But the story didn't end there.
0:35:01 > 0:35:04Donna's research was homing in on another of the siblings.
0:35:04 > 0:35:06An older sister called Belinda.
0:35:08 > 0:35:12I think I might have found Belinda through finding her ex-husband's
0:35:12 > 0:35:13account first.
0:35:13 > 0:35:17It's a bit convoluted way round it but there, again,
0:35:17 > 0:35:20then looking and going,
0:35:20 > 0:35:23"Is that them?" And then,
0:35:23 > 0:35:27you go back and have a look at the family photos
0:35:27 > 0:35:29and think, "Yeah, it is."
0:35:29 > 0:35:31Donna sent a message and waited for a reply.
0:35:31 > 0:35:35I sent a message back straightaway, "Yes, it's me."
0:35:35 > 0:35:37It's Belinda.
0:35:37 > 0:35:39Yeah, it's me.
0:35:39 > 0:35:41So, I thought, "God, Donna's found me."
0:35:41 > 0:35:44How bizarre is that?
0:35:46 > 0:35:50Donna passed Belinda's details onto Lorraine and once in touch,
0:35:50 > 0:35:52they quickly made an astonishing discovery.
0:35:55 > 0:35:57I couldn't believe it.
0:35:57 > 0:36:02Belinda and me had been living less than a mile apart since I had moved
0:36:02 > 0:36:06back to Birmingham three years previously.
0:36:06 > 0:36:08Maybe we had walked past each other on the street.
0:36:08 > 0:36:11Maybe we had been in the same supermarket queue.
0:36:14 > 0:36:16Belinda was born in 1961.
0:36:17 > 0:36:18Sylvia's sixth child.
0:36:20 > 0:36:24Living at home was a bit of an ordeal.
0:36:24 > 0:36:26I was mainly left to look after the children.
0:36:27 > 0:36:31Get them up in the morning, get them ready for school.
0:36:33 > 0:36:36Eventually, stress of home life proved too much for Belinda
0:36:36 > 0:36:41and she moved out at 14, leaving her half sister, baby Donna behind.
0:36:44 > 0:36:47The day it all kicked off and
0:36:47 > 0:36:55I ran away from home and Donna was there and we had an afternoon where
0:36:55 > 0:36:56Donna was just sat on my lap,
0:36:56 > 0:37:00didn't leave me alone and then when I had to go...
0:37:01 > 0:37:03..she wouldn't let go.
0:37:03 > 0:37:06She screamed and screamed and screamed.
0:37:06 > 0:37:08And that was heartbreaking to leave.
0:37:08 > 0:37:12I really didn't want to leave her but I thought, "I've got to go now."
0:37:12 > 0:37:15After Sylvia's death, when the family dispersed,
0:37:15 > 0:37:17Belinda lost touch with all the siblings
0:37:17 > 0:37:20until the moment Donna tracked her down but it was Lorraine
0:37:20 > 0:37:23who was the first to actually meet her older sister.
0:37:23 > 0:37:26She said, "Shall we meet? Can we meet? Can we meet?"
0:37:26 > 0:37:29I said, "Yeah, yeah, fine. No problem."
0:37:29 > 0:37:31I saw her standing there and I thought...
0:37:33 > 0:37:35The emotions, it was, like, whoa.
0:37:35 > 0:37:37Wow, that's my sister.
0:37:37 > 0:37:42So I broke into a run and we had a massive hug and we were crying and,
0:37:42 > 0:37:44like, "Oh, my God."
0:37:44 > 0:37:47I just fell into her arms.
0:37:47 > 0:37:50I think we stood there for about five, ten minutes, just hugging.
0:37:51 > 0:37:53It had been so long.
0:37:53 > 0:37:56It had been over 40-odd years since I'd seen Belinda.
0:37:57 > 0:38:00And there's so many coincidences
0:38:00 > 0:38:02with Lorraine.
0:38:02 > 0:38:04She only lives down the road from me.
0:38:04 > 0:38:08We'd been so close and yet so far.
0:38:13 > 0:38:16Today is a special day.
0:38:16 > 0:38:18Separated for decades, Donna is on her way
0:38:18 > 0:38:22to meet the older sisters she's missed out on for so many years.
0:38:22 > 0:38:24This morning, we're actually heading to Belinda's house,
0:38:24 > 0:38:26which is the first time I've
0:38:26 > 0:38:30been there, actually, so to meet her and Lorraine.
0:38:30 > 0:38:33So quite excited about that, actually.
0:38:35 > 0:38:38I think last time was a bit too, a bit too short, really,
0:38:38 > 0:38:39to have a proper catch-up
0:38:39 > 0:38:41so it'll be nice to have a bit longer with them.
0:38:41 > 0:38:43It's been a long time coming.
0:38:43 > 0:38:44Very long time.
0:38:47 > 0:38:49She'll be here in a minute.
0:38:49 > 0:38:50I know.
0:38:54 > 0:38:58I had a secret ambition that one day I'd walk into a room and...
0:38:59 > 0:39:00..my siblings would be there.
0:39:00 > 0:39:02I always dreamed of that.
0:39:02 > 0:39:07Never realising and never thinking it would ever happen.
0:39:07 > 0:39:08And here I am.
0:39:11 > 0:39:12- Hello.- Hello.
0:39:15 > 0:39:16- Hiya.- Hiya.
0:39:22 > 0:39:25Growing up in different households meant that the sisters missed out on
0:39:25 > 0:39:30each other's childhoods so today they've brought along some photos.
0:39:30 > 0:39:32That's me.
0:39:32 > 0:39:35So you do look like me there, don't you?
0:39:35 > 0:39:38- Oh, wow.- Oh, look.
0:39:39 > 0:39:43And Donna has something that holds sentimental value for all of them.
0:39:43 > 0:39:47I've got one other thing that I've bought down that I thought would be
0:39:47 > 0:39:48interesting to show you.
0:39:48 > 0:39:53- What's that?- Do you recognise that?
0:39:53 > 0:39:54- Yeah.- I don't.
0:39:54 > 0:39:55It was Mum's purse.
0:39:55 > 0:39:59- Mum's purse.- I've had it for years.
0:40:00 > 0:40:02Along with the purse, Donna's brought along
0:40:02 > 0:40:05their mother's favourite pieces of jewellery which she inherited.
0:40:06 > 0:40:11Wow. I haven't seen that in absolutely years.
0:40:12 > 0:40:14How long has it been since you've seen these, then?
0:40:14 > 0:40:17Obviously must be 35 years or more.
0:40:17 > 0:40:19More than that. More than that.
0:40:19 > 0:40:21Do you want any of them?
0:40:21 > 0:40:24- Could I have that?- Of course you can.
0:40:24 > 0:40:26- You're more than welcome to it. - Thank you.
0:40:26 > 0:40:29You'll actually have something of Mum's.
0:40:30 > 0:40:32Thank you for that. I will treasure that.
0:40:33 > 0:40:37I will. It's the only thing I've got of my mum's.
0:40:37 > 0:40:39- Have you not got anything?- No.
0:40:39 > 0:40:43Nothing. That is really nice, to have something of my mum.
0:40:46 > 0:40:49It's just so nice that you're both here.
0:40:50 > 0:40:51It's lovely to see you again.
0:40:54 > 0:40:55Yeah. It's perfect.
0:40:55 > 0:40:56Perfect.
0:40:58 > 0:41:01The sisters have planned a trip to the local crematorium where their
0:41:01 > 0:41:04mother's funeral was held all those years ago.
0:41:04 > 0:41:08Here, Sylvia's name has been entered into the book of remembrance.
0:41:09 > 0:41:11- Almost there.- Almost there.
0:41:29 > 0:41:31- Are you OK?- Yeah, yeah, it's just sad, isn't it?
0:41:33 > 0:41:34It is sad.
0:41:39 > 0:41:43The three of us here today has meant so much.
0:41:44 > 0:41:49It's kind of closure, in a way, for me.
0:41:50 > 0:41:53It's... I think today's closure.
0:41:53 > 0:41:56- What I needed.- Closure and reopening the next chapter.
0:41:59 > 0:42:05All three sisters are now in regular contact and for the first time,
0:42:05 > 0:42:07Lorraine has the family she's always craved.
0:42:09 > 0:42:12It's been fantastic having them back, as I say, though, you know,
0:42:12 > 0:42:17I wouldn't have it any other way and, you know, we've still got 30,
0:42:17 > 0:42:1840 years to make up for.
0:42:18 > 0:42:23Today has been such an emotional journey.
0:42:23 > 0:42:26It's been something
0:42:26 > 0:42:32I've waited a very long time for and to share it today with my sisters...
0:42:34 > 0:42:37I think it will change me.
0:42:40 > 0:42:43The three of us back together was absolutely wonderful.
0:42:43 > 0:42:44I thoroughly...
0:42:44 > 0:42:47It's been a pleasure to see them again.
0:42:47 > 0:42:49And to enjoy each other's company.
0:42:51 > 0:42:52I can't wait for the next time.