0:00:02 > 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 > 0:00:10And 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 > 0:00:19I might have a brother that's still living here.
0:00:19 > 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 do 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 that one spark of breakthrough and there they are.
0:01:04 > 0:01:06..learning the tricks they use
0:01:06 > 0:01:08to track missing relatives through time...
0:01:08 > 0:01:13No, I didn't think I would 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 > 0:01:23Since we've met, I feel part of a family again.
0:01:24 > 0:01:26You just completed my life for me.
0:01:31 > 0:01:34Every year, thousands of people in the UK
0:01:34 > 0:01:36begin looking for long-lost family members.
0:01:38 > 0:01:41No two searches are ever quite the same.
0:01:41 > 0:01:44Sometimes, a search will throw up unexpected results
0:01:44 > 0:01:47and often, it takes something unexpected to happen
0:01:47 > 0:01:50in order for a search to succeed.
0:01:50 > 0:01:52Today, we follow a hunt for long-lost siblings
0:01:52 > 0:01:53that had all but failed
0:01:53 > 0:01:56until a chance conversation changed everything.
0:01:56 > 0:01:58She said, "Tess, I need to talk to you."
0:01:58 > 0:02:00And I thought, "Whatever has happened?"
0:02:00 > 0:02:04She said, "I think I know your half-sister."
0:02:04 > 0:02:05And we meet the man who,
0:02:05 > 0:02:07while searching for records of his mother,
0:02:07 > 0:02:11discovered something that would change his life forever.
0:02:11 > 0:02:14I stood behind him and I just tapped him on the shoulder
0:02:14 > 0:02:17and I said to him, "Where have you been all my life?"
0:02:19 > 0:02:22Tessa Dulman and her sister, Jan, live in the West Country.
0:02:24 > 0:02:26Along with their brother, Cecil,
0:02:26 > 0:02:28they were raised in Bath and Somerset
0:02:28 > 0:02:33by William Hart, a violinist, and their mother, Paulina.
0:02:33 > 0:02:36Well, I was born in 1940, the beginning of the war.
0:02:36 > 0:02:40- Tess was born...- 1945.- 1945.
0:02:41 > 0:02:44They grew up in a warm and loving household,
0:02:44 > 0:02:47but their contented childhood was shattered
0:02:47 > 0:02:51when their beloved father's health suddenly deteriorated.
0:02:51 > 0:02:55When I was about nine, he got very ill, I remember.
0:02:55 > 0:02:59- One day, we drove him to Frenchay Hospital.- I was...
0:02:59 > 0:03:0415, I think, and that was a shock because he was at home
0:03:04 > 0:03:06and then three days later, he was dead.
0:03:06 > 0:03:10Terribly sad when Daddy died and I can remember it, you know,
0:03:10 > 0:03:13vividly. And Mummy really had to work very hard after that.
0:03:13 > 0:03:18She was a secretary and I think times were quite tough
0:03:18 > 0:03:20and she was extremely good to us.
0:03:22 > 0:03:25The sudden death of their father from cancer rocked
0:03:25 > 0:03:28the sisters' lives and there was more shocking news to come.
0:03:30 > 0:03:34A good friend of mine said to me, like a bombshell,
0:03:34 > 0:03:37"Did you know your mum and dad were divorced?"
0:03:37 > 0:03:38And I said, "That's rubbish."
0:03:38 > 0:03:40She said, "No, they were. They were divorced."
0:03:40 > 0:03:43I found it strange that they were divorced
0:03:43 > 0:03:45but living together in the same house.
0:03:45 > 0:03:48But I accepted it cos you do accept things.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51But that wasn't the only revelation about their father
0:03:51 > 0:03:53that came to light.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56My mother said to me, "You actually have a half-brother
0:03:56 > 0:04:00"and sister, twins," which I was completely amazed.
0:04:01 > 0:04:05It sort of stuck in my mind and it was really never mentioned again.
0:04:06 > 0:04:08Tessa and Jan's parents were still living
0:04:08 > 0:04:11together despite being divorced.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14At the same time, their father was having a relationship with
0:04:14 > 0:04:17a fellow musician called Rosemary.
0:04:17 > 0:04:20She was to bear him a twin son and daughter,
0:04:20 > 0:04:24babies he would never meet due to his untimely death.
0:04:26 > 0:04:28It came to my mind a lot about my half-brother and sister,
0:04:28 > 0:04:31but with my mother, obviously still alive, there was
0:04:31 > 0:04:36no way I would want to, you know, go any further.
0:04:36 > 0:04:40But some years later, after their brother had emigrated to America
0:04:40 > 0:04:44and their mother had died, the sisters decided to do some digging.
0:04:46 > 0:04:48We were looking in phone books...
0:04:48 > 0:04:51I looked in the phone book and I thought, "Well, that's ridiculous.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54"It's highly unlikely they are down here."
0:04:54 > 0:04:57After a brief but unsuccessful search,
0:04:57 > 0:05:00the sisters stopped looking for the twins.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04But somebody else had got the bit between their teeth.
0:05:04 > 0:05:08Tess' husband, Alan, was intrigued by the family history
0:05:08 > 0:05:12and decided to carry out some secret research of his own.
0:05:12 > 0:05:17I knew that they weren't born before he died
0:05:17 > 0:05:22and I knew that he had died in December 1954.
0:05:22 > 0:05:26So, initially, I kind of had an nine-month window in 1955
0:05:26 > 0:05:28that they were going to be born sometime.
0:05:28 > 0:05:31Alan began his search at the local register office.
0:05:32 > 0:05:34I knew they were twins.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37There weren't that many twins born in that period in Bath.
0:05:37 > 0:05:41Their mother, we knew lived in the Larkhall area of Bath,
0:05:41 > 0:05:43so I found them quite quickly.
0:05:44 > 0:05:46After this breakthrough,
0:05:46 > 0:05:49Alan brought his secret search out into the open.
0:05:50 > 0:05:53He broke the news to Tessa and Jan that he had found
0:05:53 > 0:05:56a record of his half-brother and sister's births.
0:05:57 > 0:06:01And then we saw the names, so that made it really quite real then.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04We thought, "Oh, my God." But then we didn't know
0:06:04 > 0:06:06where they were or anything about it, did we?
0:06:06 > 0:06:07Could have been anywhere.
0:06:07 > 0:06:11The twins' birth certificates revealed their full names.
0:06:11 > 0:06:17Christopher William Theodore Hart and Jennifer Diane Hart,
0:06:17 > 0:06:21which meant Alan could move his search right up to the present day.
0:06:21 > 0:06:24I thought, "Well, the best route to find them would really be
0:06:24 > 0:06:26"to look for Christopher,"
0:06:26 > 0:06:29because, hopefully, his surname will still be Hart.
0:06:30 > 0:06:34Then I went on the electoral register and got the postcode
0:06:34 > 0:06:37and I said to Tess, "Well, I could probably get the address,
0:06:37 > 0:06:40"but what do we do? Knock on the door and say,
0:06:40 > 0:06:43" 'Hello, Chris. I'm your half-sister.' " You can't do that.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46Because you don't know whether they know anything about us.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49The postcode they found was in Bristol,
0:06:49 > 0:06:52just a few miles away from where Alan and Tessa live.
0:06:52 > 0:06:56However, the sisters couldn't decide how to go about making
0:06:56 > 0:06:57the next move.
0:06:57 > 0:07:02But could fate be about to take that decision out of their hands?
0:07:02 > 0:07:05- Who would have thought this would have happened?- Yeah, I know.
0:07:05 > 0:07:06It is so bizarre, isn't it?
0:07:06 > 0:07:08CRYING
0:07:14 > 0:07:16For most people, having family around us
0:07:16 > 0:07:18is something we take for granted,
0:07:18 > 0:07:22but for some, growing up completely alone is a reality.
0:07:22 > 0:07:2778-year-old Fred O'Donnell has lived in Bradford for 52 years.
0:07:27 > 0:07:30Here, he has raised his own happy family,
0:07:30 > 0:07:33including daughters Theresa and Patricia.
0:07:33 > 0:07:37But the story of his own upbringing couldn't be more different.
0:07:38 > 0:07:40It began in Ireland in the 1940s.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43My dad, at the age of 15 months, was taken
0:07:43 > 0:07:45to Eccles Street Orphanage by his grandmother.
0:07:45 > 0:07:49They held him there for a few weeks till they found a foster parent
0:07:49 > 0:07:53and then he was boarded out to four different people
0:07:53 > 0:07:55over four years.
0:07:55 > 0:07:59And the last one wasn't looking after him correctly.
0:07:59 > 0:08:02And that's when he was found on the streets of Dublin
0:08:02 > 0:08:04and taken to the court
0:08:04 > 0:08:08and charged with receiving alms, which is basically begging.
0:08:08 > 0:08:12Judge said, "I will sentence you to eight years.
0:08:12 > 0:08:15"That's your sentence for begging."
0:08:15 > 0:08:19At the age of eight, Fred was sent Artane Industrial School,
0:08:19 > 0:08:22which housed boys up to the age of 14,
0:08:22 > 0:08:25often sent there for minor offences.
0:08:25 > 0:08:27It was run by a Roman Catholic congregation called
0:08:27 > 0:08:29the Christian Brothers.
0:08:29 > 0:08:32800 or 900 children there and, you know,
0:08:32 > 0:08:35various different ages, but very strict.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38Bed early and up early in the morning.
0:08:38 > 0:08:41And hail, rain or snow, 6.30 in the morning.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44- And you still get up at 6.30 in the morning.- I do, yeah.
0:08:44 > 0:08:45- Hm.- Hm.
0:08:45 > 0:08:49The school operated from 1870 to 1969
0:08:49 > 0:08:52and was notorious for its tough regime.
0:08:52 > 0:08:56You got a number and my number was 12198
0:08:56 > 0:08:58and I've always told that to my children,
0:08:58 > 0:09:01but, you know, they never believed me
0:09:01 > 0:09:05until some paperwork came through and I saw it on there, 12198.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08It's like being in an army or in a jail.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11And that number will stick to me to the rest of my days.
0:09:11 > 0:09:15- 12198.- You were known as 12198, not Fred.
0:09:15 > 0:09:20Yeah. 12198. They didn't call you by your name, you were a number.
0:09:20 > 0:09:24In 2009, an investigation launched by the Irish government
0:09:24 > 0:09:26published the Ryan report.
0:09:26 > 0:09:30It revealed accounts of systematic neglect and abuse
0:09:30 > 0:09:32within schools like Artane.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35Christian Brothers were hard in them days, very hard.
0:09:35 > 0:09:39You didn't really think anything about life, you just...carry on.
0:09:40 > 0:09:42That's the way life is.
0:09:46 > 0:09:48And carry on Fred did,
0:09:48 > 0:09:52until, at the age of 16, he was allowed to leave the institution
0:09:52 > 0:09:55and make his own way in the world.
0:09:55 > 0:09:58Leaving the school was the best days of my life.
0:09:58 > 0:10:01Glad to get out of it after eight years.
0:10:01 > 0:10:04Fred worked on a farm in Ireland for a few years
0:10:04 > 0:10:06then emigrated to England.
0:10:06 > 0:10:11In 1963, settled in Bradford,
0:10:11 > 0:10:13had a family
0:10:13 > 0:10:18and they are grown-up, they have children of their own.
0:10:18 > 0:10:23I felt very happy because I didn't know any of my own parents,
0:10:23 > 0:10:27which was nice to have a family of your own.
0:10:27 > 0:10:31Everything worked out as happy as I wanted it.
0:10:31 > 0:10:33But there was always something missing.
0:10:33 > 0:10:36Fred wanted to know more about his mother.
0:10:36 > 0:10:41And his daughter Theresa was more than happy to help.
0:10:41 > 0:10:43The reason why I started doing all this is
0:10:43 > 0:10:45my dad is a very shy person.
0:10:45 > 0:10:48He's not, obviously, computer literate with things
0:10:48 > 0:10:50and I really wanted it for my dad.
0:10:50 > 0:10:53The first thing she did was apply for his birth certificate.
0:10:53 > 0:10:56Born Pelletstown, County Dublin.
0:10:56 > 0:10:59And it says my mother's name,
0:10:59 > 0:11:01which was Julia O'Donnell
0:11:01 > 0:11:04and father's name not stated.
0:11:04 > 0:11:07Probably because she was outside of wedlock, I don't know.
0:11:08 > 0:11:10They had Fred's mother's name,
0:11:10 > 0:11:14but when Theresa tried to trace Julia O'Donnell, she drew a blank
0:11:14 > 0:11:17until a chance encounter gave her a hot new lead.
0:11:17 > 0:11:21In April 2013,
0:11:21 > 0:11:24I went into hospital to have an operation
0:11:24 > 0:11:28and the porter was an Irish man. And, as you do, you get talking.
0:11:28 > 0:11:29He was asking about my dad
0:11:29 > 0:11:33and I explained that he was in Artane Industrial School,
0:11:33 > 0:11:36born in a mother-and-baby home.
0:11:36 > 0:11:39And he gave me some groups on social networking sites
0:11:39 > 0:11:41to get in touch with.
0:11:41 > 0:11:45I did that and a lady got in touch with me
0:11:45 > 0:11:48and she has helped us tremendously.
0:11:48 > 0:11:52Got loads of documents and then actually found out through
0:11:52 > 0:11:57the Magdalene Research Project that my nan was in a Magdalene laundry.
0:11:58 > 0:12:02In 1942, while Fred was put into the orphanage,
0:12:02 > 0:12:05his mum, Julia, was sent to a Catholic-run institution
0:12:05 > 0:12:07for so-called fallen women -
0:12:07 > 0:12:10a Magdalene laundry.
0:12:10 > 0:12:13These notorious homes were widespread in Ireland
0:12:13 > 0:12:16from the 18th to the late 20th centuries.
0:12:16 > 0:12:20An estimated 30,000 women were confined in them.
0:12:20 > 0:12:24They did laundry for the prisons,
0:12:24 > 0:12:28and all the laundry was done by hand, no machines.
0:12:28 > 0:12:32Were there from crack of dawn, late at night and even
0:12:32 > 0:12:38when they were heavily pregnant, they were still in the laundries.
0:12:38 > 0:12:41Until the day they gave birth, they were in the laundry,
0:12:41 > 0:12:43washing by hand.
0:12:44 > 0:12:47They never got paid for doing these jobs.
0:12:47 > 0:12:50Some of the women were so institutionalised
0:12:50 > 0:12:54that they remained doing hard labour in the laundries all their lives.
0:12:54 > 0:12:58And Julia's death certificate revealed she was one of them.
0:12:58 > 0:13:03She was in there from an early age and never came out of it.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06Just because she had had a baby, was unmarried.
0:13:08 > 0:13:13It just doesn't seem feasible that there are places like this.
0:13:13 > 0:13:17The last Magdalene laundry closed in 1996
0:13:17 > 0:13:18and that's not that long ago.
0:13:20 > 0:13:25The research also revealed a final resting place for Fred's mother.
0:13:26 > 0:13:33When I went to see the grave for the very first time, it was sad.
0:13:33 > 0:13:35We let my dad go on his own
0:13:35 > 0:13:39and he put his hand on top of the grave and said, "Hello, Mum."
0:13:40 > 0:13:44And that was just it, me and my sister just broke down.
0:13:44 > 0:13:50Just to see my dad visiting his mum for the first time, heartbreaking.
0:13:50 > 0:13:53You don't want to see your parents go through that at all.
0:13:53 > 0:13:57- You don't want to wish anybody to go through that, really.- No.
0:13:58 > 0:14:02The headstone was inscribed with the name Frances O'Donnell,
0:14:02 > 0:14:05which explained why Fred's mum had been so difficult to trace.
0:14:06 > 0:14:08When she was in the Magdalene home,
0:14:08 > 0:14:11they changed her name from Julia to Frances.
0:14:11 > 0:14:14And that could never be taken off the headstone.
0:14:17 > 0:14:20That's what they did with the ladies of the laundries,
0:14:20 > 0:14:23when they went in, they stripped them of their identities,
0:14:23 > 0:14:27of all the past life. That's their punishment.
0:14:27 > 0:14:31"You're not that same person now. You are in our charge."
0:14:31 > 0:14:34Very emotional. Very sad.
0:14:34 > 0:14:38I didn't think I would ever see the day that I would see the grave,
0:14:38 > 0:14:40you know?
0:14:40 > 0:14:43But I had a few tears.
0:14:43 > 0:14:48Fred, at last, had some answers about what had happened in his early
0:14:48 > 0:14:53years, but the research had thrown up another incredible revelation.
0:14:53 > 0:14:55A bit shocked to find out there's another
0:14:55 > 0:14:58member of the O'Donnell family somewhere lurking around.
0:14:58 > 0:15:02Fred's quest to find his family wasn't over yet.
0:15:02 > 0:15:04I've been searching for three years,
0:15:04 > 0:15:06just can't believe how it's come to this.
0:15:10 > 0:15:14Unlike Fred, sisters Tessa and Jan have known
0:15:14 > 0:15:17they had half-siblings, but they knew very little else about them.
0:15:19 > 0:15:22Their search had revealed their names, Jennifer and Christopher.
0:15:22 > 0:15:26They had even turned up a possible address for their half-brother
0:15:26 > 0:15:28just a few miles away in Bristol.
0:15:29 > 0:15:33There the search had stalled as the sisters couldn't decide how
0:15:33 > 0:15:36or even if they should make contact.
0:15:36 > 0:15:38You can't do that because you don't know
0:15:38 > 0:15:40whether they know anything about us.
0:15:40 > 0:15:43That was until Tessa received a bolt from the blue.
0:15:43 > 0:15:47I had a phone call from a really close friend of mine, Jane,
0:15:47 > 0:15:49and she said, "Tess, I'm going to take you to lunch.
0:15:49 > 0:15:51"I need to talk to." So we went out to lunch,
0:15:51 > 0:15:54she said, "Now, take it easy. Take a sip of wine." She said,
0:15:54 > 0:15:56"I think I know your half-sister."
0:15:56 > 0:16:01And I just stared at her and I said, "Well, what do you mean?"
0:16:01 > 0:16:05And she said, "Well, look, I've known you for 30 years
0:16:05 > 0:16:10"and I've know Jenny, not so well, but I've known her for 20 years."
0:16:11 > 0:16:14Jenny and Tessa that not only had a mutual friend,
0:16:14 > 0:16:16they also shared a maiden name, Hart.
0:16:17 > 0:16:21So, she said, "I was at a garden party." I think Jane said,
0:16:21 > 0:16:24"Oh, is Hart a Bath name?" And Jenny said, "Well, I don't know.
0:16:24 > 0:16:26"I think so. Why do you ask?"
0:16:26 > 0:16:29And she said, "Because my great friend is Tess Hart."
0:16:29 > 0:16:32And she said Jenny did a double take.
0:16:32 > 0:16:34She said she will never forget Jenny's face.
0:16:34 > 0:16:37And she said, "I was driving home and I was thinking,
0:16:37 > 0:16:39" 'Why was Jenny looking at me like that?' "
0:16:39 > 0:16:41And she said, "I suddenly thought, 'Oh, my God, I think
0:16:41 > 0:16:44" 'somewhere along the line, Tessa said she had a half-sister.' "
0:16:44 > 0:16:47And she thought, "Well, it couldn't possibly be Jenny.
0:16:47 > 0:16:49"Because Tessa said they were twins."
0:16:49 > 0:16:51She said, "By the time I got home,
0:16:51 > 0:16:54"I thought, 'My God, she's got a twin brother!'"
0:16:54 > 0:16:57Jenny did indeed have a twin brother called Christopher
0:16:57 > 0:16:58who lived in Bristol.
0:17:00 > 0:17:02They too were aware that they had long-lost siblings
0:17:02 > 0:17:06who, after that chance conversation at a garden party,
0:17:06 > 0:17:09no longer seemed quite so lost.
0:17:09 > 0:17:11The penny dropped and I thought,
0:17:11 > 0:17:13"Wow, this is more than coincidence."
0:17:13 > 0:17:16And I was so excited, but I didn't let on,
0:17:16 > 0:17:19but inside, I was just bubbling over.
0:17:19 > 0:17:22So, I phoned Jan and said, "You are never going to believe this."
0:17:22 > 0:17:24And Jan said, "Well, it may not be her."
0:17:24 > 0:17:26And I phoned my brother and he said,
0:17:26 > 0:17:29"That's too much of a coincidence."
0:17:30 > 0:17:33There was only one way to make sure.
0:17:33 > 0:17:37Their mutual friend arranged a meeting between Jenny and Tessa.
0:17:37 > 0:17:41I was watching from the conservatory and I saw this car pull up
0:17:41 > 0:17:45and this lady get out and I felt so emotional. I thought,
0:17:45 > 0:17:47"She looks like my father."
0:17:47 > 0:17:51So, of course, I was shaking, absolutely shaking.
0:17:51 > 0:17:54I went round with a picture of our father...
0:17:56 > 0:17:59..and knocked on the door and Tessa answered...
0:17:59 > 0:18:02We sat down and she got her handbag
0:18:02 > 0:18:03and she took a photograph out
0:18:03 > 0:18:08and said, "This was my daddy who died before I was born."
0:18:08 > 0:18:11And she handed it to me and it was my father.
0:18:11 > 0:18:16So you can imagine what actually went on. Terrible scene.
0:18:16 > 0:18:19And she burst into tears and then I burst into tears.
0:18:19 > 0:18:21It was just tears all the way.
0:18:21 > 0:18:23We just were hugging each other
0:18:23 > 0:18:24and just couldn't believe it.
0:18:24 > 0:18:2860 years ago, Jenny and Chris's mother, Rosemary, had
0:18:28 > 0:18:30met their father, William,
0:18:30 > 0:18:33fallen in love and fallen pregnant with twins.
0:18:33 > 0:18:36They didn't know she was having twins,
0:18:36 > 0:18:38so I came first and then they said,
0:18:38 > 0:18:40- "Oh, my God, there's another one." - Yeah.
0:18:40 > 0:18:42And then Christopher came later.
0:18:44 > 0:18:48But their father would never get to see his youngest children.
0:18:48 > 0:18:51Our father died before we were born, about three months,
0:18:51 > 0:18:55so we were primarily brought up by my mother and my grandmother.
0:18:56 > 0:19:01To find that you're a widow and you have twins,
0:19:01 > 0:19:03you have no money,
0:19:03 > 0:19:07you must be feeling displaced and you've lost the person you love.
0:19:07 > 0:19:10What kind of future can you actually look forward to?
0:19:10 > 0:19:13Their mother worked a string of jobs to support them,
0:19:13 > 0:19:15but money was tight.
0:19:15 > 0:19:18Our mother was struggling.
0:19:18 > 0:19:20Each day was really difficult, she had to take any
0:19:20 > 0:19:22jobs that she could find.
0:19:22 > 0:19:28She worked in the builder's yard as a receptionist at one point. She...
0:19:28 > 0:19:32..made curtains and did upholstery at home.
0:19:32 > 0:19:35Actually, she worked in the betting office at one time.
0:19:36 > 0:19:41Despite working hard, Rosemary struggled to make ends meet.
0:19:41 > 0:19:46My very first memory was actually Mum having to sell
0:19:46 > 0:19:51the violins and the cellos in order to support us.
0:19:51 > 0:19:54She was always concerned that even if
0:19:54 > 0:19:57we didn't have any of the materialistic things, that we were
0:19:57 > 0:20:00sort of going to be well-rounded and loved and sort of...
0:20:00 > 0:20:01and looked after.
0:20:02 > 0:20:05However, growing up in a single-parent family
0:20:05 > 0:20:09in the 1950s and '60s was undoubtedly tough.
0:20:09 > 0:20:11I certainly felt the stigma.
0:20:11 > 0:20:14My grandmother sometimes would take us to school
0:20:14 > 0:20:17and I didn't like being taken...
0:20:17 > 0:20:19I wanted to have a father to take me to school.
0:20:20 > 0:20:23- I was bullied a lot.- Yeah.
0:20:23 > 0:20:28Erm...because we didn't have a father.
0:20:29 > 0:20:33Because we couldn't afford to go on school trips and things like that
0:20:33 > 0:20:37and because we had a grandmother living with us.
0:20:37 > 0:20:40School life wasn't particularly pleasant for me, I must say.
0:20:41 > 0:20:44Rosemary was determined that Chris and Jenny
0:20:44 > 0:20:46would never forget their father, William.
0:20:46 > 0:20:51It's very sad to know that we...
0:20:51 > 0:20:54you know, our father had died of course and we never knew him
0:20:54 > 0:20:59but our mother did keep his spirit alive...
0:21:00 > 0:21:04..by taking us to places where they used to go.
0:21:04 > 0:21:06Showing us photographs.
0:21:06 > 0:21:09They both played the violin together
0:21:09 > 0:21:13and that's how they were...first met or introduced.
0:21:13 > 0:21:17Music wasn't in our lives until we were five
0:21:17 > 0:21:23and Mum explained that that was a grieving process for her.
0:21:23 > 0:21:27So we didn't really...
0:21:28 > 0:21:31..know more about that until much later.
0:21:31 > 0:21:36Then when she started to come out of the grief...
0:21:37 > 0:21:42..it was very special and music was just in our lives all the time then.
0:21:43 > 0:21:47Their mother spent years mourning the memory of their father
0:21:47 > 0:21:52but she had always been honest with her children about his other family.
0:21:52 > 0:21:56Our mother explained that we had another brother and two sisters
0:21:56 > 0:22:00but she didn't know a huge amount as to where they lived
0:22:00 > 0:22:02or what they were doing.
0:22:02 > 0:22:06The only information I ever knew
0:22:06 > 0:22:10was that there was a possibility that all three lived in America.
0:22:12 > 0:22:16I remember that there was a Theresa and a Janice and a Cecil
0:22:16 > 0:22:17but we didn't know where.
0:22:17 > 0:22:21And of course in the '50s they didn't talk about it really.
0:22:21 > 0:22:25I don't think she knew too much anyway about his previous marriage.
0:22:25 > 0:22:30I think she would have struggled trying to give us a larger picture.
0:22:30 > 0:22:35And also, I didn't want to feel as if I was being disloyal towards her
0:22:35 > 0:22:40by wanting to know more about my other brothers and sisters.
0:22:40 > 0:22:42So...
0:22:42 > 0:22:45It only really happened in our adult life that Jenny and I
0:22:45 > 0:22:48would start to talk about it and go, "I wonder where they are?"
0:22:48 > 0:22:52It intrigued me, I must say. It really did.
0:22:52 > 0:22:54I was fascinated and it was like a jigsaw puzzle.
0:22:54 > 0:22:56There were a lot of missing pieces.
0:22:57 > 0:23:01Now, thanks to a passing comment at a garden party,
0:23:01 > 0:23:04the 60-year-old family jigsaw has finally been completed.
0:23:05 > 0:23:08And after Tessa and Jenny's initial meeting,
0:23:08 > 0:23:12all four of them got together for the first time.
0:23:12 > 0:23:17Tessa and I organised meeting in Bath with Janice, with Jan,
0:23:17 > 0:23:19and Chris.
0:23:19 > 0:23:24We met in Bath and that was quite an experience too,
0:23:24 > 0:23:25to see our other sister.
0:23:25 > 0:23:29It's just so strange to think that is my half sister.
0:23:29 > 0:23:31I never dreamt that this would happen.
0:23:31 > 0:23:34Never dreamt that we'd meet them, quite honestly.
0:23:34 > 0:23:37And they've been so warm and so welcoming.
0:23:37 > 0:23:40We were shouting and screaming and whooping, you know.
0:23:40 > 0:23:43- Jenny was overwhelmed for months. - Yes, I was.
0:23:43 > 0:23:46I'm far more of a cooler customer.
0:23:46 > 0:23:47And he was gobsmacked.
0:23:47 > 0:23:50I think he took a long time to get to grips with it all.
0:23:50 > 0:23:51- Yeah.- And the funny thing was,
0:23:51 > 0:23:54the three of us were in identical clothes.
0:23:54 > 0:23:57- White trousers, white sandals and floral tops.- Floral tops.
0:24:01 > 0:24:03A year after finding each other,
0:24:03 > 0:24:06today marks another very significant occasion
0:24:06 > 0:24:08for the four half-siblings.
0:24:08 > 0:24:10They are meeting to make a special visit
0:24:10 > 0:24:12to the grave of the father they all share.
0:24:14 > 0:24:17It'll be the first time they have all been there together
0:24:17 > 0:24:20and for Jenny, it will be her first visit ever.
0:24:21 > 0:24:25I think Mum didn't take me because she knew I'd get upset
0:24:25 > 0:24:30and get emotional and then we'd both be very emotional.
0:24:31 > 0:24:33Who would have thought this would have happened?
0:24:33 > 0:24:35- It's so bizarre, isn't it?- I know.
0:24:35 > 0:24:38So this time, well, 18 months ago...
0:24:38 > 0:24:41- We didn't know them. - ..it just wasn't going on, was it?
0:24:41 > 0:24:44Today, I'm really excited.
0:24:44 > 0:24:47It's been a while since I've seen the two sisters.
0:24:47 > 0:24:50I think the last time, the only time, I went to my father's grave
0:24:50 > 0:24:55was when I was in my late teens and so it's been a long time.
0:24:55 > 0:24:59I'm very excited about meeting up with the girls again.
0:25:04 > 0:25:06Hello!
0:25:08 > 0:25:09Oh, gosh!
0:25:12 > 0:25:14- Lovely to see you.- And you.
0:25:14 > 0:25:17- You look really well. - And you, of course.
0:25:17 > 0:25:19But before they visit their father's grave,
0:25:19 > 0:25:23there's time to exchange some very special family memories.
0:25:23 > 0:25:28Jenny's brought a gift that their father once gave to her mother.
0:25:28 > 0:25:30I've brought something to show you. I hadn't shown you before
0:25:30 > 0:25:34because I felt it was a little bit on the sensitive side.
0:25:34 > 0:25:37But I thought you'd love to see them, so...
0:25:37 > 0:25:39Oh, my goodness.
0:25:39 > 0:25:40So there's that little one.
0:25:40 > 0:25:42Oh, that's quite beautiful, isn't it?
0:25:43 > 0:25:45And those are our daddy's words.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49- JAN:- Oh, that's his writing OK, isn't it? "Always love you."
0:25:49 > 0:25:51"Magic is in your soul."
0:25:51 > 0:25:54"In your soul." "You are the loveliest of all."
0:25:54 > 0:25:57- Oh, Daddy.- It's very sad.
0:26:00 > 0:26:04- Right, we have got a few photographs here.- OK.
0:26:04 > 0:26:06We have...
0:26:06 > 0:26:09That's our dear mother with Cecil there.
0:26:09 > 0:26:11Oh, she's beautiful.
0:26:11 > 0:26:13That definitely looks like me.
0:26:13 > 0:26:17There's Daddy...and Mummy.
0:26:17 > 0:26:18Gosh, look at him.
0:26:18 > 0:26:20He's got a lot more weight on him there
0:26:20 > 0:26:22than some of the pictures we've got, I think.
0:26:22 > 0:26:25- You've got later ones, you say? - Yeah.
0:26:30 > 0:26:33The first time we saw him together, eh?
0:26:33 > 0:26:34Yes.
0:26:41 > 0:26:42And there's Daddy.
0:26:50 > 0:26:52- JAN:- Are you all right?
0:26:58 > 0:26:59- OK?- Yeah.
0:27:07 > 0:27:09Oh, Dad.
0:27:09 > 0:27:11It's quite sad, isn't it, Jan?
0:27:18 > 0:27:21SNIFFLING
0:27:21 > 0:27:23- JENNY SOBS - Come here.
0:27:31 > 0:27:35- What's so sad, I think... - SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY
0:27:35 > 0:27:37A few memories.
0:27:37 > 0:27:40- At least I've got them...- Yeah, exactly.- ..now for you and Jenny.
0:27:41 > 0:27:43So there we are, Dad.
0:27:45 > 0:27:48We've all finally made it.
0:27:48 > 0:27:49- JAN AND TESSA:- Yeah.
0:27:55 > 0:28:00I used to come here quite a bit and there would be flowers on the grave.
0:28:00 > 0:28:01They were lovely yellow roses
0:28:01 > 0:28:04and we didn't know who was putting them on there
0:28:04 > 0:28:06but of course now we realise it was your mum.
0:28:06 > 0:28:11Yeah, that's right because she loved yellow roses as well, so that's a...
0:28:11 > 0:28:13Yeah.
0:28:13 > 0:28:16After searching for each other for over 20 years,
0:28:16 > 0:28:21Jenny, Chris, Tessa and Jan are united in memory of their father.
0:28:23 > 0:28:26There's a part of me that really wishes we could have met him,
0:28:26 > 0:28:29really could have had some memory of him
0:28:29 > 0:28:33cos it clearly comes across
0:28:33 > 0:28:36how kind he was and how much of a gentle person he was.
0:28:37 > 0:28:38And...
0:28:40 > 0:28:41Sorry.
0:28:42 > 0:28:49All of us have taken great value out of going through this process today.
0:28:49 > 0:28:52It was very powerful for me, the emotions.
0:28:52 > 0:28:55One, cos I had never seen it before.
0:28:55 > 0:29:00To see his name and to have our siblings all together
0:29:00 > 0:29:02was just truly wonderful.
0:29:03 > 0:29:07I think Daddy would have been really happy that we've found each other.
0:29:07 > 0:29:10And the four of us standing there, it was just lovely. Just lovely.
0:29:10 > 0:29:13THEY CHAT
0:29:23 > 0:29:25Fred O'Donnell spent his childhood
0:29:25 > 0:29:29in various Irish institutions for boys in the 1940s.
0:29:29 > 0:29:32He'd been searching for the mother he never knew.
0:29:32 > 0:29:35Fred had discovered she'd been confined
0:29:35 > 0:29:37in one of the Magdalene laundries,
0:29:37 > 0:29:40notorious homes for so-called fallen women.
0:29:41 > 0:29:45He had also found out that she had died in 1996.
0:29:45 > 0:29:48But documents received as part of the investigation
0:29:48 > 0:29:50had revealed an interesting detail.
0:29:51 > 0:29:55Fred wasn't his mother, Julia's, only child.
0:29:55 > 0:29:59She had given birth to another baby three years before Fred,
0:29:59 > 0:30:02in the Bethany mother-and-child home in Dublin.
0:30:02 > 0:30:07The paperwork said there was a girl, so we were a bit shocked at that
0:30:07 > 0:30:09to find out there's another member of the O'Donnell family
0:30:09 > 0:30:12somewhere lurking around.
0:30:12 > 0:30:17And we got in touch with somebody from the Bethany Home.
0:30:17 > 0:30:20He did research and said, "No, it's not a girl.
0:30:20 > 0:30:22"It's a boy and he's called Jimmy."
0:30:22 > 0:30:25And you're working out their ages and you think,
0:30:25 > 0:30:28"Could there be a possibility he's still alive?"
0:30:29 > 0:30:31Helped by his daughter Theresa,
0:30:31 > 0:30:35they managed to establish that his brother, Jimmy, was still alive
0:30:35 > 0:30:38and that he too had left Ireland for England.
0:30:39 > 0:30:42I contacted a department in Ireland,
0:30:42 > 0:30:45it's like our National Insurance department.
0:30:45 > 0:30:51They had an address for him but living in England.
0:30:51 > 0:30:55But because of data protection, which I can understand,
0:30:55 > 0:30:58they would not give me his address.
0:30:58 > 0:31:01We were so near but yet so far.
0:31:01 > 0:31:03If they could just give us the town,
0:31:03 > 0:31:06I could have done a search that way, you know?
0:31:06 > 0:31:08That's all the little thing I needed.
0:31:08 > 0:31:10The search had ground to a halt.
0:31:10 > 0:31:14The family's last throw of the dice was to appeal to the public
0:31:14 > 0:31:17and finally they got a call.
0:31:17 > 0:31:19It wasn't long-lost uncle Jimmy
0:31:19 > 0:31:24but it was a family finding company who thought they could help.
0:31:24 > 0:31:29Caseworker Amy Littlechild took up the search and found a ray of hope.
0:31:29 > 0:31:31We contacted a government body
0:31:31 > 0:31:35to see if they had any information on James.
0:31:35 > 0:31:37They came back to us saying that the result was positive
0:31:37 > 0:31:40and that they'd potentially found a match.
0:31:40 > 0:31:43So what we did is we asked them if they could forward on a letter
0:31:43 > 0:31:48for us, in the hope that James would make contact.
0:31:48 > 0:31:50It's hard doing the search to try and trace someone
0:31:50 > 0:31:55but it's even worse with the long wait of knowing that your letter
0:31:55 > 0:31:59has been sent to them but waiting for them to make contact with you.
0:31:59 > 0:32:01It's always a little bit gruelling
0:32:01 > 0:32:03knowing that they're out there somewhere
0:32:03 > 0:32:05and they could potentially in the next couple of days
0:32:05 > 0:32:07be speaking with you on the phone.
0:32:07 > 0:32:12But in this instance, they didn't have to wait long for a response.
0:32:12 > 0:32:14I received an e-mail.
0:32:14 > 0:32:17I was at work, I opened the e-mail and it said,
0:32:17 > 0:32:20"We've found your dad's brother."
0:32:20 > 0:32:23I couldn't quite believe what I was reading.
0:32:23 > 0:32:26He works in a bar in Cheltenham and I thought,
0:32:26 > 0:32:29"80 years of age working in a bar?
0:32:29 > 0:32:31"Mmm, this is...
0:32:31 > 0:32:34"I think they've got the wrong person here, surely, 80 years."
0:32:34 > 0:32:36But, no, he works in a bar.
0:32:36 > 0:32:40Theresa couldn't wait to break the news to her dad.
0:32:40 > 0:32:44She said, "I've got some news for you." And I said, "What is it?"
0:32:44 > 0:32:48She said, "We've found him." I said, "Found who?"
0:32:48 > 0:32:50She said, "We've found your brother."
0:32:52 > 0:32:53And again...
0:32:53 > 0:32:58It's grand to know that at least I have someone in my life
0:32:58 > 0:33:02you know, apart from my own family and stuff like that.
0:33:02 > 0:33:08But thinking that maybe I would never have anyone belong to me.
0:33:08 > 0:33:12Theresa was the first to make contact with Fred's brother, Jimmy.
0:33:12 > 0:33:17I was working away in the pub and the bar manager said,
0:33:17 > 0:33:19"Oh, Jimmy, there's a phone call for you.
0:33:19 > 0:33:21"They're people from up the north."
0:33:21 > 0:33:24I said, "I know nobody from up the north."
0:33:24 > 0:33:27And certainly these people told me who they were.
0:33:27 > 0:33:31"And we've been looking for you, Jimmy, for the last two years."
0:33:31 > 0:33:33I said, "Hello?
0:33:33 > 0:33:36"Can I call you Uncle Jimmy?
0:33:36 > 0:33:38And he said, "Sure you can."
0:33:38 > 0:33:42Well, I'll tell you the honest truth, I was jumping over the moon.
0:33:42 > 0:33:45I was so happy and I said, "Oh, good.
0:33:45 > 0:33:47"It's good to know I've got somebody belong to me."
0:33:47 > 0:33:48That's what I said.
0:33:48 > 0:33:51I have to admit, I did shed a few tears.
0:33:53 > 0:33:57Jimmy was born three years before Fred in a mother-and-baby home.
0:33:57 > 0:34:02But as a toddler, he was put into an orphanage called Ovoca Manor
0:34:02 > 0:34:03in southern Ireland.
0:34:04 > 0:34:08When they put me into the orphan home I often asked,
0:34:08 > 0:34:10"Well, where's my mother and father?"
0:34:10 > 0:34:13And I was never, never told.
0:34:13 > 0:34:15There was no respect.
0:34:15 > 0:34:17We used to have good times and good singing
0:34:17 > 0:34:19and we had three meals a day.
0:34:19 > 0:34:23So, in that sense, we were all right.
0:34:23 > 0:34:27But sometimes, if we got out of control, we knew about it.
0:34:27 > 0:34:29I have to admit that.
0:34:29 > 0:34:32And we didn't get off with it light either.
0:34:32 > 0:34:36We all worked hard in the manor.
0:34:36 > 0:34:39We used to do all the cleaning, the avenues and the garden as well
0:34:39 > 0:34:42and the greenhouse. And look after the cattle as well.
0:34:44 > 0:34:50Jimmy left the orphanage and moved to England by himself aged just 16.
0:34:50 > 0:34:53Not having a family, sometimes I cried my eyes out
0:34:53 > 0:34:55because I used to say,
0:34:55 > 0:34:58"Jimmy, they you are in the world all by yourself.
0:34:58 > 0:35:01"Nowhere to turn to."
0:35:02 > 0:35:05I've never looked back on anybody to support me or anything.
0:35:05 > 0:35:07I always did it myself.
0:35:09 > 0:35:15I never married because I found out that women are too expensive.
0:35:15 > 0:35:18I just said, "Jimmy, stay single."
0:35:18 > 0:35:21I would like to have a family, yeah.
0:35:21 > 0:35:24But it's never happened.
0:35:25 > 0:35:30By 1972, Jimmy had been in England for 27 years.
0:35:30 > 0:35:34That year, he returned to Ireland for a reunion with his mother,
0:35:34 > 0:35:36arranged by his orphanage.
0:35:37 > 0:35:43By this time, Julia had been in the Magdalene laundry for 33 years.
0:35:43 > 0:35:49I only met my mother once and she said to me,
0:35:49 > 0:35:54"I'm sorry, Jimmy, but you're not allowed to visit me in the convent.
0:35:54 > 0:35:57"I'm under very strict orders."
0:35:57 > 0:36:00And that was the last time I saw her.
0:36:00 > 0:36:03There wasn't a warm welcome or anything there.
0:36:03 > 0:36:08I said to myself, "Well, if I'm not allowed to go and visit, Jimmy,
0:36:08 > 0:36:09"forget about it."
0:36:10 > 0:36:12That was it.
0:36:12 > 0:36:14Jimmy returned to his life in England,
0:36:14 > 0:36:18oblivious that he had a brother who would go on to track him down
0:36:18 > 0:36:20all those years later.
0:36:20 > 0:36:23So, they made it their business to come down and see me.
0:36:23 > 0:36:28They made a date and they came down and we had a wonderful reunion.
0:36:29 > 0:36:33At first, a bit wary because you don't know, after 80 years,
0:36:33 > 0:36:35I mean, he's 80 and I thought,
0:36:35 > 0:36:37"Now, what do you say to a person like that?"
0:36:37 > 0:36:40So we met up and I stood behind him
0:36:40 > 0:36:43and I just tapped him on the shoulder and I said to him,
0:36:43 > 0:36:45"Where have you been all my life?"
0:36:45 > 0:36:48That broke the ice and we were quite happy.
0:36:48 > 0:36:52I knew nothing about him and he knew nothing about me,
0:36:52 > 0:36:55so we've collided and that's it.
0:36:55 > 0:36:58We're glad to get together.
0:37:01 > 0:37:03Before Jimmy met his new family,
0:37:03 > 0:37:07holidays and celebrations could be a little bleak.
0:37:07 > 0:37:10When it comes up to Christmas, sometimes I do without it.
0:37:11 > 0:37:16But this year, Fred and Theresa are organising a special celebration
0:37:16 > 0:37:18so that Jimmy can experience his very first
0:37:18 > 0:37:20O'Donnell family Christmas.
0:37:21 > 0:37:24Fred and his daughters, Theresa and Patricia,
0:37:24 > 0:37:26have travelled from Bradford to Cheltenham.
0:37:28 > 0:37:30I wonder how Uncle Jimmy is this morning.
0:37:30 > 0:37:33- Excited for his Christmas dinner. - Yeah.
0:37:33 > 0:37:35Number one, top of the world.
0:37:35 > 0:37:38'Absolutely feeling excited with the family coming.'
0:37:38 > 0:37:42- How are you feeling?- Oh, I'm feeling all right. Top of the morning.
0:37:42 > 0:37:44THEY LAUGH
0:37:44 > 0:37:46Excited for the first Christmas.
0:37:46 > 0:37:47I'm not nervous at all.
0:37:47 > 0:37:51I'm just looking forward to the family coming.
0:37:51 > 0:37:54And I'm sitting down to a lovely lunch.
0:37:54 > 0:37:56This will be a good Christmas.
0:37:56 > 0:37:58It'll be the best Christmas I think I ever had.
0:37:58 > 0:38:03Do you know, it seems more emotional, I think,
0:38:03 > 0:38:06than the first time we met him.
0:38:06 > 0:38:07It probably will be, yeah.
0:38:07 > 0:38:11It was worthwhile living this year
0:38:11 > 0:38:13and to meet them.
0:38:13 > 0:38:18Now you know that you have someone belong to you now,
0:38:18 > 0:38:20a family now.
0:38:32 > 0:38:34- Hello.- Hello!
0:38:34 > 0:38:37- How are you? Are you all right? - Yeah, are you?
0:38:37 > 0:38:40- Yeah. Good to see. - It's good to see you.
0:38:40 > 0:38:43- All right?- Yeah, fine.- That's good.
0:38:43 > 0:38:46And look at these two.
0:38:46 > 0:38:49- How are you?- Good to see you. - It's good to see.
0:38:49 > 0:38:51It's good to see you.
0:38:51 > 0:38:53- PATRICIA:- How are you?
0:38:53 > 0:38:56I'm great. Excited that you've come here today.
0:38:58 > 0:39:00Woohoo! Woohoo!
0:39:01 > 0:39:04- Get yourself sat down. - SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY
0:39:04 > 0:39:06A nice Christmas together, Uncle Jimmy.
0:39:06 > 0:39:08Merry Christmas to you all.
0:39:08 > 0:39:09And to you.
0:39:09 > 0:39:12Oh, here we are. Wha-hey!
0:39:12 > 0:39:14Thank you.
0:39:14 > 0:39:16It's taken 80 years
0:39:16 > 0:39:20but Jimmy can finally enjoy Christmas lunch with his family.
0:39:22 > 0:39:26- Ready?- One, two... - THEY CHEER
0:39:26 > 0:39:29Christmas is not Christmas without a hat, Uncle Jimmy.
0:39:29 > 0:39:31- There you go, sweetheart. - Thank you.
0:39:32 > 0:39:35Anyway, Jimmy, this is your first Christmas dinner.
0:39:35 > 0:39:37- That's right, yeah. - Together as brothers.
0:39:37 > 0:39:39- Yeah, looking forward to it. - Lovely, isn't it?
0:39:39 > 0:39:41Let's hope we have many more to come.
0:39:41 > 0:39:43- I'm thoroughly enjoying it.- Good.
0:39:43 > 0:39:47I just want to wish everybody a merry Christmas,
0:39:47 > 0:39:49- a happy new year...- Happy new year!
0:39:49 > 0:39:52- ..and lots more...- Merry Christmas!
0:39:52 > 0:39:56- Merry Christmas, Uncle Jimmy. - ..lots more Christmases together.
0:39:56 > 0:40:00And these brothers aren't just back together for Christmas,
0:40:00 > 0:40:02they're back together for life.
0:40:02 > 0:40:06- Are you going to go over to Ireland again, are you?- Of course I am.
0:40:06 > 0:40:09We'll all go together next year. We'll take you. Yeah?
0:40:09 > 0:40:12- Yeah and...people over there. - We'll have a family holiday.
0:40:12 > 0:40:14- No chasing the women now. - Oh, yes, plenty...
0:40:14 > 0:40:17Oh, no, no, no, no. You're not getting us locked up.
0:40:17 > 0:40:18- Keep away from the women.
0:40:18 > 0:40:20All right.
0:40:20 > 0:40:23- Now then, big brother.- Amen.- Amen.
0:40:23 > 0:40:25Thank you.
0:40:26 > 0:40:29And today, there's another first for the brothers.
0:40:29 > 0:40:32This is your first Christmas present from your little brother...
0:40:32 > 0:40:34- Yeah?- ..in your 80 years...
0:40:34 > 0:40:35Oh, good.
0:40:35 > 0:40:39- Open that. - ..so you have to open this one.
0:40:39 > 0:40:40Oh, yes!
0:40:41 > 0:40:43That keeps in my brain.
0:40:43 > 0:40:45- That keeps your brains in. - Keeps in my brain.
0:40:49 > 0:40:54Oh. "A marvellous brother who deserves a wish or two."
0:40:54 > 0:40:57- Of course you do. - LAUGHTER
0:40:57 > 0:40:59"To my big brother..."
0:40:59 > 0:41:01Big? Oh, I didn't think I was big.
0:41:01 > 0:41:02LAUGHTER
0:41:02 > 0:41:04- Oh, yes.- Come on, brother.
0:41:04 > 0:41:06Oh, yeah.
0:41:06 > 0:41:07Whaa-hey!
0:41:07 > 0:41:09You've got to wear it sideways.
0:41:09 > 0:41:12- Yours is on the straight side. - That's right.
0:41:12 > 0:41:15- You've got to wear it on the side. - Oh, yes.
0:41:16 > 0:41:19Like two leprechauns.
0:41:19 > 0:41:22They just need a fishing rod.
0:41:22 > 0:41:27Do you know, speaking of Christmas, when you have people over,
0:41:27 > 0:41:31family all together, the other Christmases that have gone by,
0:41:31 > 0:41:36to be quite honest with you, you might as well not be alive.
0:41:36 > 0:41:38- Yeah.- All right.
0:41:38 > 0:41:39I've often said it a couple of times.
0:41:40 > 0:41:44But just think, you've got the old man here now, haven't you?
0:41:44 > 0:41:47- Yeah.- How does that feel?- Oh, it's great, isn't it?- Yeah.
0:41:47 > 0:41:49It's great, it really is.
0:41:50 > 0:41:54I just can't believe how it has come to this.
0:41:54 > 0:41:58I've been searching for three years. We're all together.
0:41:58 > 0:41:59Nothing will ever stop that.
0:41:59 > 0:42:00I won't go astray.
0:42:00 > 0:42:02No, we're not going to let you.
0:42:02 > 0:42:07Today may be drawing to a close but Jimmy and Fred are just starting
0:42:07 > 0:42:10a new chapter of their lives...as brothers.
0:42:10 > 0:42:13- Beautiful day, isn't it, Jimmy? - Yeah, beautiful day.
0:42:13 > 0:42:14We're very thankful for that.
0:42:14 > 0:42:17Let your hair down today. Yeah.
0:42:17 > 0:42:20- It couldn't be any better. - No, it couldn't have been better.
0:42:20 > 0:42:22My goodness, no.
0:42:22 > 0:42:25'You can't mistake that they're brothers.'
0:42:25 > 0:42:28- Not only in looks but... - The mannerisms, everything.
0:42:28 > 0:42:32The mannerisms. They're just... They're like two peas in a pod.
0:42:32 > 0:42:35Yeah, we are definitely brothers, ain't we, James?
0:42:35 > 0:42:37- Yeah, we're brothers. - We're definitely brothers in blood.
0:42:37 > 0:42:39- And forever.- Yeah.
0:42:39 > 0:42:41Stick together forever.
0:42:42 > 0:42:45- PATRICIA:- I just hope that anybody else
0:42:45 > 0:42:49- that's going through what we've gone through...- Stick at it.
0:42:49 > 0:42:53Stick at it and don't back down
0:42:53 > 0:42:57because the outcome is like what we've had today.
0:42:57 > 0:43:00- FRED:- I did get worried I was going to give it up at one point
0:43:00 > 0:43:02but we carried on and in the end we got him.
0:43:02 > 0:43:05- That's right, yeah. - Best day of my life.