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 > 0:00:14..finding them can take a lifetime...
0:00:14 > 0:00:18I might have a brother that's still living here.
0:00:18 > 0:00:23..especially when they could be anywhere - at home or abroad.
0:00:23 > 0:00:26And that's where the family finders come in,
0:00:26 > 0:00:28from international organisations...
0:00:28 > 0:00:31Hi, it's the Salvation Army Family Tracing Service.
0:00:31 > 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 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 > 0:00:52They 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 > 0:01:06..learning the tricks they use
0:01:06 > 0:01:08to track missing relatives through time...
0:01:08 > 0:01:13I didn't think I'd ever find sisters but I have.
0:01:13 > 0:01:17..and meeting the people whose lives they change along the way.
0:01:17 > 0:01:19I've been waiting to meet John my whole life.
0:01:19 > 0:01:22Since we've met, I feel part of a family again.
0:01:24 > 0:01:26You've just completed my life for me.
0:01:31 > 0:01:34Families can lose contact with each other all too easily
0:01:34 > 0:01:36and once that happens,
0:01:36 > 0:01:40trying to trace each other again can feel like an overwhelming task.
0:01:40 > 0:01:44Today, we meet Belinda, who set herself
0:01:44 > 0:01:49an almost impossible challenge to find long-lost relatives in Peru.
0:01:49 > 0:01:54To my amazement, up popped a phone number,
0:01:54 > 0:01:58so I thought, "Well, if you don't try, you don't find out, do you?"
0:01:58 > 0:01:59So, I rang.
0:01:59 > 0:02:04And we follow the family split by both war and religion.
0:02:04 > 0:02:08She didn't really like me because I was a Christian.
0:02:08 > 0:02:11I had no real family.
0:02:11 > 0:02:16I didn't have a sister to play with and, basically, I was on my own.
0:02:21 > 0:02:23Belinda O'Brien always wondered
0:02:23 > 0:02:26if she had any long-lost relatives out there.
0:02:26 > 0:02:30She, like many others, set herself the task of finding out.
0:02:32 > 0:02:34She turned family finder.
0:02:34 > 0:02:40Born in Surrey in 1951, Belinda was the only child of Dolly and Cecil.
0:02:41 > 0:02:46I was born of older parents. There's actually a generation missing.
0:02:46 > 0:02:50My father was of the mind that, because of the war,
0:02:50 > 0:02:54he didn't want to marry my mother previously,
0:02:54 > 0:02:56in case anything untoward happened to him.
0:02:56 > 0:02:58So, the war got in the way
0:02:58 > 0:03:01and then they got married and then I came along.
0:03:01 > 0:03:05She was close to her mum and dad but longed for a sibling.
0:03:05 > 0:03:08As an only child, I can't say I've enjoyed it.
0:03:08 > 0:03:13I would have liked to have had people of my own age around me
0:03:13 > 0:03:17but I had a good childhood, so I can't complain,
0:03:17 > 0:03:20but it was a bit lonely at times.
0:03:20 > 0:03:24I wasn't at all aware of any other relatives.
0:03:24 > 0:03:29I just thought it was our small, close-knit family.
0:03:32 > 0:03:36When Belinda was in her early 20s, she flew the nest
0:03:36 > 0:03:40and headed to London, where she met with an unexpected opportunity.
0:03:41 > 0:03:44My modelling came about completely out of the blue.
0:03:44 > 0:03:49I happened to go into a boutique in Marylebone High Street
0:03:49 > 0:03:54that was owned by Martha Hill and I was wandering around
0:03:54 > 0:03:57and she came up to me and she said,
0:03:57 > 0:04:00"I'd like you to model for my catalogue."
0:04:01 > 0:04:07And I just looked at her, completely amazed.
0:04:07 > 0:04:10And, sure enough, that's what I did
0:04:10 > 0:04:16and she knew quite a lot of influential people
0:04:16 > 0:04:19and a month later, I'm with an agency
0:04:19 > 0:04:24and I'm starting doing TV commercials
0:04:24 > 0:04:26and it all just took off from there.
0:04:26 > 0:04:28And it was her modelling career
0:04:28 > 0:04:32which would lead Belinda to delve into the past.
0:04:32 > 0:04:38I was booked to work on a video, a website for genealogy.
0:04:40 > 0:04:44And I went into London, we did the shoot.
0:04:45 > 0:04:50Their senior genealogist was there and he and I had a long chat
0:04:50 > 0:04:55and part of my payment was a membership to the site
0:04:55 > 0:04:57and it started me thinking,
0:04:57 > 0:05:01"Well, perhaps this is a sign that I should do something
0:05:01 > 0:05:06"about looking into members of the family from the past."
0:05:08 > 0:05:11Excited at the prospect of unknown family out there,
0:05:11 > 0:05:13Belinda logged on to the website.
0:05:13 > 0:05:18It advised her to begin her search by digging out old family heirlooms.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22There is an item of furniture in the hallway
0:05:22 > 0:05:25that was always known as the Bible box.
0:05:25 > 0:05:32My mother would put everything in there - birth, death, marriages,
0:05:32 > 0:05:36anything to do with anything that she'd been to.
0:05:36 > 0:05:41But right at the bottom was our family Bible
0:05:41 > 0:05:44and that dates back to 1709.
0:05:44 > 0:05:48I took it out and I was carrying it out into the kitchen
0:05:48 > 0:05:55to start to read through it and, as I walked through the dining room,
0:05:55 > 0:05:58an envelope fluttered to the floor.
0:05:58 > 0:06:02And when I went back to pick it up, there were photographs inside
0:06:02 > 0:06:09and there was also a letter on the old-fashioned thin airmail paper
0:06:09 > 0:06:12and the letter had been sent to my aunt.
0:06:12 > 0:06:15The letter was signed off by an "Auntie Clara",
0:06:15 > 0:06:18a great-aunt Belinda never knew she had.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21But there was another revelation to follow.
0:06:21 > 0:06:25The address was Miraflores, which is in Lima in Peru.
0:06:25 > 0:06:28The mention of Peru reignited a childhood memory
0:06:28 > 0:06:31which, until now, Belinda had thought little of.
0:06:31 > 0:06:35My aunt always wore this ring
0:06:35 > 0:06:40and she left the ring to me when she died.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44She had said, many years ago,
0:06:44 > 0:06:49that it had been one of a pair of drop Victorian earrings
0:06:49 > 0:06:53and the other one is in the wall of Lima Cathedral.
0:06:54 > 0:07:00And...I didn't particularly take too much notice of it back then
0:07:00 > 0:07:07but, perhaps, the link with my ring was through that side of the family.
0:07:07 > 0:07:12I was really excited at the thought that I might have
0:07:12 > 0:07:18some other relatives and I began to...
0:07:18 > 0:07:20to do my own research.
0:07:20 > 0:07:24Luckily for Belinda, she had inherited a box of family memories
0:07:24 > 0:07:27which gave her a perfect starting point for her search.
0:07:29 > 0:07:32If you want to set about doing some family finding,
0:07:32 > 0:07:35the first thing to do is arm yourself with the facts.
0:07:35 > 0:07:38Collate as many names and dates as possible
0:07:38 > 0:07:40before you start your search.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43Gather as much information as you can about key events
0:07:43 > 0:07:46and ask any relatives for important family stories
0:07:46 > 0:07:50and if they have any photos or letters relating to your ancestors.
0:07:50 > 0:07:52And don't assume your missing relative
0:07:52 > 0:07:55has stayed in the country of their birth.
0:07:55 > 0:07:57If you're struggling to throw up any leads,
0:07:57 > 0:07:59perhaps take your search global
0:07:59 > 0:08:03and, if your enquiries do end up international,
0:08:03 > 0:08:07it's a good idea to contact foreign embassies at home for information.
0:08:09 > 0:08:11Through her efforts,
0:08:11 > 0:08:14Belinda was discovering a whole new family in Peru.
0:08:14 > 0:08:18From the photos in her mother's Bible box, Belinda came across
0:08:18 > 0:08:21a picture of a bride and groom on their wedding day.
0:08:21 > 0:08:25She noticed the same couple appeared in other photos and, luckily,
0:08:25 > 0:08:28their names were written on the back - Rosemary and Heinz.
0:08:30 > 0:08:32In a later photo, they'd had children.
0:08:32 > 0:08:35Belinda had no luck finding the couple online,
0:08:35 > 0:08:38so she began to search for their children instead.
0:08:38 > 0:08:44I put in the name and his surname and, to my amazement,
0:08:44 > 0:08:51up popped a building company in Austin in Texas.
0:08:51 > 0:08:53And there was a phone number, so I thought,
0:08:53 > 0:08:58"Well, if you don't try, you don't find out, do you?"
0:08:58 > 0:09:05So, I rang and a gentleman answered, answered the phone.
0:09:05 > 0:09:09I asked whether the name of his mother
0:09:09 > 0:09:13was the name that I'd got written on this photograph
0:09:13 > 0:09:15and he said, "Yes."
0:09:15 > 0:09:19And I said, "Well, in that case, you and I are cousins."
0:09:20 > 0:09:24And his retort to that was, "Oh, not another cousin!"
0:09:24 > 0:09:27And I thought, "Oh..."
0:09:27 > 0:09:31Oh, no, it just wasn't what I was expecting.
0:09:31 > 0:09:36But he gave me his mother's mobile number and that was that
0:09:36 > 0:09:40and I, sort of, licked my wounds for a while.
0:09:40 > 0:09:43I was really, really deflated.
0:09:43 > 0:09:47I was...quite down
0:09:47 > 0:09:52and I thought, "Well, I can't expect everybody to feel the same
0:09:52 > 0:09:54"or want the same."
0:09:54 > 0:09:56He obviously comes from a large family
0:09:56 > 0:10:01and to find another cousin wasn't, particularly, a big deal,
0:10:01 > 0:10:04whereas for me, of course, it was a huge deal.
0:10:04 > 0:10:08Belinda wasn't ready to give up on her search just yet
0:10:08 > 0:10:11and little did she know her hunt would result
0:10:11 > 0:10:14in a visitor from the other side of the world.
0:10:14 > 0:10:18It's such an exciting time. I hardly slept last night!
0:10:22 > 0:10:26In London, another family have been searching for a long-lost relative.
0:10:26 > 0:10:29Barbara Cohen was born in north London
0:10:29 > 0:10:31at the end of the Second World War.
0:10:31 > 0:10:35My early memories of round this area was being bombed.
0:10:35 > 0:10:38The pub down the road was completely flattened.
0:10:38 > 0:10:42Her father, a Jewish tailor named Henry Shredniki,
0:10:42 > 0:10:45met her mother, Jane, while she was working at his garment factory
0:10:45 > 0:10:46in the East End.
0:10:46 > 0:10:51They got married in 1943. I was born in 1945.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54A factory owner by day, by night,
0:10:54 > 0:10:57her father did what he could to help the war effort.
0:10:57 > 0:11:00My father used to be what is known as a Home Guard.
0:11:00 > 0:11:04He used to be in charge of the lights down the road,
0:11:04 > 0:11:06making sure that everyone had blackouts,
0:11:06 > 0:11:10because he was too ill to go into the army.
0:11:10 > 0:11:14Henry was suffering from the early stages of Hodgkin's disease,
0:11:14 > 0:11:20a rare form of cancer. He died when Barbara was almost three years old.
0:11:20 > 0:11:24I haven't got any memories of my father whatsoever, which is a shame.
0:11:24 > 0:11:26All I remember is that he was very tall
0:11:26 > 0:11:29but then, bear in mind, I was very tiny.
0:11:29 > 0:11:31After Barbara lost her father,
0:11:31 > 0:11:34she was brought up as an only child by her mother
0:11:34 > 0:11:37and a neighbour called Auntie Iris.
0:11:37 > 0:11:39But she also remembers feeling
0:11:39 > 0:11:42very much part of a wider Jewish community living in the area.
0:11:42 > 0:11:45Round this area, at that particular time,
0:11:45 > 0:11:49there was loads and loads of Jewish butcher shops, delicatessens.
0:11:49 > 0:11:52You could just go out and buy whatever you wanted,
0:11:52 > 0:11:55like bagels or, as some people call it, beigels.
0:11:55 > 0:11:57It was a particularly Jewish area.
0:11:57 > 0:11:59There's one childhood memory
0:11:59 > 0:12:02which has never been far from Barbara's thoughts
0:12:02 > 0:12:04and that is the day she met the older half-sister
0:12:04 > 0:12:06she didn't know she had.
0:12:06 > 0:12:08On the very first occasion that I met Sybil,
0:12:08 > 0:12:11I didn't realise that she was my sister, half-sister.
0:12:11 > 0:12:13It was very, very strange.
0:12:13 > 0:12:17She was very tall, very, very dark black hair,
0:12:17 > 0:12:20and it was, like, in a bun. I can remember that.
0:12:20 > 0:12:21Later that day,
0:12:21 > 0:12:24her mother explained who the mysterious visitor, Sybil, was.
0:12:24 > 0:12:30"This is your sister but it's not from me, us.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33"It's from Daddy's first wife."
0:12:33 > 0:12:36And that's how she explained it to me
0:12:36 > 0:12:40and I was quite shocked because I don't think you take it all in.
0:12:40 > 0:12:44It's just like a blur. You think, "What's she talking about?
0:12:44 > 0:12:48"I've been on my own all this time, all these years, just Mum and I."
0:12:48 > 0:12:51I lost my father and that was it.
0:12:51 > 0:12:54I didn't think I had any brothers or sisters or anything
0:12:54 > 0:12:57and that was really my only recollection of her.
0:12:57 > 0:13:00It's a shame, really, when you think back, isn't it,
0:13:00 > 0:13:03that you lose a lot of time?
0:13:03 > 0:13:07That day, Sybil left Barbara's life as quickly as she had entered it
0:13:07 > 0:13:10and her mother brushed the visit under the carpet.
0:13:10 > 0:13:13She'd never talked about it again, ever.
0:13:13 > 0:13:17There were no other relatives that I could talk to about Sybil.
0:13:17 > 0:13:21But Barbara never stopped wondering about her half-sister
0:13:21 > 0:13:24and that brief encounter when she was a child.
0:13:25 > 0:13:28I would have loved more contact with Sybil, a lot, lot more.
0:13:28 > 0:13:33Years have gone by and I knew about Sybil but did nothing about it.
0:13:33 > 0:13:35It was her partner, Michael,
0:13:35 > 0:13:38who finally helped Barbara pluck up the courage
0:13:38 > 0:13:40to search for her sister before it was too late.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43Michael said to me, "For goodness' sake, let's see
0:13:43 > 0:13:46"if we can find her after all these years.
0:13:46 > 0:13:47"You know you've got one.
0:13:47 > 0:13:49"We're going to definitely try and find her."
0:13:49 > 0:13:53Here's an opportunity - let's try and find your sister.
0:13:53 > 0:13:56I love history, I love looking into history.
0:13:56 > 0:13:59If I get something into my head, I like to carry it out.
0:13:59 > 0:14:02But all Michael had to go on were copies
0:14:02 > 0:14:05of her father's birth, marriage and death certificates
0:14:05 > 0:14:08and, rather than narrowing the search down,
0:14:08 > 0:14:10these only complicated it further.
0:14:10 > 0:14:12Well, here is Harry Samuel Shredniki.
0:14:12 > 0:14:15- That's his death certificate. - This is his death certificate.
0:14:15 > 0:14:18Harry Henry Samuel Abraham.
0:14:18 > 0:14:23And here is...Henry Samuel.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29During his lifetime, her father had changed his name -
0:14:29 > 0:14:33a common practice within the Jewish community of the day.
0:14:33 > 0:14:37The father changed his name from Shredniki to Abraham.
0:14:37 > 0:14:39That's how it was in those days.
0:14:39 > 0:14:43Emigres wanted to disappear, especially Jewish emigres.
0:14:43 > 0:14:44They didn't want to stand out,
0:14:44 > 0:14:49they wanted to assimilate themselves into the population.
0:14:49 > 0:14:53Fully armed with the various names that Barbara's father had gone by,
0:14:53 > 0:14:56Michael could start his search in earnest.
0:14:56 > 0:15:00I had an ancestry programme. We started tapping away at the keys.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03How many Shrednikis can there be in the East End?
0:15:03 > 0:15:05Thousands! Really.
0:15:05 > 0:15:10And most of them, of course, were emigres from Russia, Poland,
0:15:10 > 0:15:13all before the turn of the century
0:15:13 > 0:15:16when they came over here originally to start their life
0:15:16 > 0:15:19or their new life, and they all ended up in the East End.
0:15:19 > 0:15:22Undeterred, he eventually struck gold.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25He found a Shredniki whose dates matched up
0:15:25 > 0:15:28and he had a daughter named Sybil.
0:15:28 > 0:15:33Hours and hours of patient trawling through lists of names.
0:15:33 > 0:15:39We got onto Sybil Shredniki, daughter of Harry Henry Abraham.
0:15:39 > 0:15:42Now that they'd identified Sybil in the records,
0:15:42 > 0:15:44Michael was able to see she had had a child
0:15:44 > 0:15:47with a man called Axel Jensen
0:15:47 > 0:15:50and that the pair had left the UK for Denmark.
0:15:50 > 0:15:52It was time to take the search overseas.
0:15:54 > 0:15:59So, we decided to, as a starting point, we would get in touch
0:15:59 > 0:16:04with the Danish embassy and see if they had anyone with that name.
0:16:04 > 0:16:08If Sybil was still alive, she'd be in her late 80s
0:16:08 > 0:16:12but whether she was still in Denmark was anyone's guess.
0:16:12 > 0:16:16All Michael and Barbara could do now was wait and hope.
0:16:24 > 0:16:27In Surrey, only child Belinda had always hoped to be
0:16:27 > 0:16:29part of a bigger family,
0:16:29 > 0:16:33and fate had led her to the discovery of relatives
0:16:33 > 0:16:36on the other side of the world in Peru.
0:16:36 > 0:16:38I was really excited at the thought
0:16:38 > 0:16:42that I might have some other relatives.
0:16:42 > 0:16:46After lots of searching, Belinda finally found a contact number
0:16:46 > 0:16:50for a long-lost cousin, Heinz, who had left Peru for Texas.
0:16:50 > 0:16:53But he hadn't seemed to share her enthusiasm.
0:16:53 > 0:16:57His comment was, "Oh, no, not more cousins!"
0:16:58 > 0:17:00And I was so deflated.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05Disheartened, Belinda put her search on the back burner,
0:17:05 > 0:17:08but fate had other plans.
0:17:08 > 0:17:12Strangely, one evening, I switched the television on,
0:17:12 > 0:17:14ready to watch the news,
0:17:14 > 0:17:17and it was on a different channel
0:17:17 > 0:17:22and there was a documentary about Peru.
0:17:24 > 0:17:26And I thought, "Oh, this is silly.
0:17:26 > 0:17:33"This is a message telling me you've got to get on and do it."
0:17:34 > 0:17:39And I sat there for about five minutes and then I thought,
0:17:39 > 0:17:43"OK, go and ring her." But I couldn't find the number.
0:17:43 > 0:17:47I'd written her mobile number down and I couldn't find it anywhere.
0:17:49 > 0:17:52And I thought, "Oh, no, I'm going to have to phone HIM again."
0:17:52 > 0:17:56Belinda was coming close to finding her cousin Rosemary,
0:17:56 > 0:18:00the lady in the old wedding photo who, it turned out,
0:18:00 > 0:18:04was also disappointed with her son's lukewarm telephone manner.
0:18:04 > 0:18:06I was so upset!
0:18:06 > 0:18:07He said, "Mum, I didn't have a pencil,
0:18:07 > 0:18:09"I didn't have paper, you know?
0:18:09 > 0:18:13"I'm covered with everything and I have no time for any cousins."
0:18:13 > 0:18:18And I said, "Heinz, I really am upset."
0:18:18 > 0:18:21And he said, "Well, probably she'll call again."
0:18:21 > 0:18:23And I said, "I hope so."
0:18:23 > 0:18:29Luckily, thousands of miles away, a dogged Belinda wasn't giving up.
0:18:29 > 0:18:33And it was a very different person who answered the phone this time
0:18:33 > 0:18:39and he said, "Thank goodness you've rung back. My mother went crazy."
0:18:39 > 0:18:44He said, "Please give me your home number as well," which I did.
0:18:44 > 0:18:47And then it wasn't that long afterwards
0:18:47 > 0:18:51that I get a phone call from my lovely second cousin.
0:18:52 > 0:18:55Belinda and Rosemary's grandmothers were sisters
0:18:55 > 0:18:58but the cousins' lives had taken very different paths.
0:19:00 > 0:19:03My mother was born in London.
0:19:03 > 0:19:05She married my father who was a Peruvian
0:19:05 > 0:19:09and he was a doctor in the Peruvian oil fields up north of Peru.
0:19:09 > 0:19:13So, in 1945, when the war was over,
0:19:13 > 0:19:16all the English people went back to England
0:19:16 > 0:19:21but, as my dad was a Peruvian, we stayed in Peru and we moved to Lima.
0:19:21 > 0:19:25The family made Lima their home but Rosemary's mother
0:19:25 > 0:19:28and the older generation made sure they remained in contact
0:19:28 > 0:19:30with their British relatives.
0:19:30 > 0:19:35Well, after my mother passed away, I lost contact completely
0:19:35 > 0:19:38and I knew nothing more and this was really my fault.
0:19:38 > 0:19:43But all these years, I've been thinking
0:19:43 > 0:19:47and everybody was asking me, "Don't you have any relatives in England?
0:19:47 > 0:19:48"It's incredible.
0:19:48 > 0:19:51"Your grandmother was English, your mother was English.
0:19:51 > 0:19:55"Don't you have any cousins? Don't you have anybody?"
0:19:55 > 0:19:58And I said, "Yes, but I don't know how to get through to them."
0:19:58 > 0:20:03That was until Belinda contacted her and they reconnected straightaway.
0:20:05 > 0:20:08We chatted and chatted and chatted and chatted
0:20:08 > 0:20:12and it was like we'd known one another forever.
0:20:12 > 0:20:14It was just quite amazing.
0:20:14 > 0:20:16You know what?
0:20:16 > 0:20:18I know she's my blood and she knows I'm her blood
0:20:18 > 0:20:22because we are so similar in so many things.
0:20:22 > 0:20:26I was so excited and it was wonderful to think
0:20:26 > 0:20:30that, after all these years of assuming
0:20:30 > 0:20:35that I'd only got my children around me as family,
0:20:35 > 0:20:40that out there were, were these, these other people
0:20:40 > 0:20:47that are actually part of family, so I, I was very, very happy.
0:20:47 > 0:20:50And in no time, the women began planning their reunion.
0:20:50 > 0:20:53I said, "Come and see us in February. It's summer."
0:20:53 > 0:20:57And she said, "No, no, I can't wait. I can't wait till February.
0:20:57 > 0:20:59"I have to get to know you before that."
0:20:59 > 0:21:04And so I suggested that, maybe, if it was acceptable to them,
0:21:04 > 0:21:10that I would pop over to Austin in Texas and say, "Howdy"...
0:21:11 > 0:21:15..and see how we get on.
0:21:15 > 0:21:18So, Belinda did just that.
0:21:21 > 0:21:26To tell you truth, I was so excited, I was sort of numb.
0:21:26 > 0:21:28I didn't know what to do.
0:21:28 > 0:21:31I was going to buy balloons that said, "Welcome,"
0:21:31 > 0:21:34and I was going to buy this and I was going to buy that
0:21:34 > 0:21:36and everybody said to me,
0:21:36 > 0:21:42"Rosemary, Belinda wants to see you, she doesn't want to see balloons."
0:21:42 > 0:21:47And finally, the long-lost cousins came face to face.
0:21:49 > 0:21:52- Belinda? Belinda!- Ooh...
0:21:54 > 0:22:00When we saw one another, I...my words to her were,
0:22:00 > 0:22:03"My goodness, you're so little,"
0:22:03 > 0:22:08and her words to me were, "I thought you were a brunette."
0:22:10 > 0:22:16So, that was our first comments and then big hugs.
0:22:16 > 0:22:20We just jumped into the car and we came back
0:22:20 > 0:22:21and we started chatting
0:22:21 > 0:22:24and I think we've never stopped talking the whole week.
0:22:24 > 0:22:26It feels...
0:22:27 > 0:22:33..wonderful having found her, because we are very similar.
0:22:33 > 0:22:40We're both quite outgoing and when we were out and about together,
0:22:40 > 0:22:44I mean, we really, really had fun.
0:22:44 > 0:22:48I am so happy to have found Belinda, you have no idea.
0:22:48 > 0:22:50She's changed my life because, really,
0:22:50 > 0:22:53I feel that I belong somewhere.
0:22:53 > 0:22:55I'm 80 years old now
0:22:55 > 0:23:01and I have lost 60 years of my life with contact with my family.
0:23:01 > 0:23:04It's a pity because family should be together.
0:23:04 > 0:23:08I hope that we're together for a long time still.
0:23:08 > 0:23:13Yeah, I'm very excited and very emotional.
0:23:16 > 0:23:17Very emotional.
0:23:17 > 0:23:20But Belinda knows I love her and I know she loves me
0:23:20 > 0:23:25and I feel, now, that I'm connected with my roots and I'm very happy.
0:23:26 > 0:23:30Finding new family is wonderful
0:23:30 > 0:23:36because I, I've never had a big family.
0:23:36 > 0:23:39This has opened a new chapter in my life...
0:23:40 > 0:23:44..an exciting new chapter in my life.
0:23:46 > 0:23:50But that wasn't the end of Belinda's story of her new-found family.
0:23:50 > 0:23:52Not long after she returned from Texas,
0:23:52 > 0:23:56she received an urgent call from Rosemary.
0:23:56 > 0:23:59Another member of the family Belinda has never met
0:23:59 > 0:24:03is arriving in the UK from Peru and wants to meet up.
0:24:03 > 0:24:06Rosemary's very excited about us meeting
0:24:06 > 0:24:09because she thinks we're going to get on very well together.
0:24:09 > 0:24:12It is such an exciting time. I hardly slept last night.
0:24:17 > 0:24:21Today, for the first time, Belinda's meeting Rosemary's son,
0:24:21 > 0:24:23her cousin Alex.
0:24:27 > 0:24:30- Hello!- Hombre! Que pasa?
0:24:30 > 0:24:32Oh!
0:24:33 > 0:24:35- Primo pequeno.- Primo pequeno.
0:24:37 > 0:24:41- Welcome to London!- Thank you, thank you.- My goodness me!
0:24:41 > 0:24:44I'm very excited. I'm nervous.
0:24:44 > 0:24:49I've been sitting here, my heart absolutely jumping out of my chest.
0:24:49 > 0:24:52Anyway, I've brought loads of pictures
0:24:52 > 0:24:56- to try to explain to you how we link in.- Oh, really?
0:24:56 > 0:25:00So there's lots of interesting things to be looking at.
0:25:00 > 0:25:03This is the first opportunity Belinda has had
0:25:03 > 0:25:06to show her new family HER life in the UK.
0:25:06 > 0:25:08Since discovering her Peruvian relatives,
0:25:08 > 0:25:11Belinda's become quite the family finding enthusiast
0:25:11 > 0:25:14and has spent hours collating old family photos
0:25:14 > 0:25:17and building on their ever-growing family tree.
0:25:17 > 0:25:22- So, these are your great-great-grandparents.- Mmm-hmm.
0:25:22 > 0:25:29- So then, they had eight children. - From all these eight brothers...
0:25:29 > 0:25:35- And sisters.- And sisters...- Yes. - Clara finished in Peru, right?- Yes.
0:25:35 > 0:25:40With my grandmother and my mum, right?
0:25:40 > 0:25:45- Yeah, so your mum and I are second cousins.- Mmm-hmm.
0:25:45 > 0:25:50- So you are my second cousin once removed.- Mmm.
0:25:50 > 0:25:54- And then your twins are my third cousins.- Mmm-hmm.
0:25:54 > 0:25:57This is an awful lot for you to absorb in one go, isn't it?
0:25:57 > 0:25:59But it's amazing, it's amazing.
0:25:59 > 0:26:02And there's one member of this family
0:26:02 > 0:26:06who wasn't going to miss this reunion for the world.
0:26:06 > 0:26:09- Hello!- Hey! Hola, que tal?
0:26:09 > 0:26:13- Hello.- How did you two get along?
0:26:13 > 0:26:16- Can you understand each other? - Yes, yes, of course!
0:26:16 > 0:26:18It's just incredible.
0:26:18 > 0:26:20It's so difficult, sometimes, to digest.
0:26:20 > 0:26:25And look here, my beautiful Belinda and my only sixth son.
0:26:25 > 0:26:29Ah...there we go, look.
0:26:29 > 0:26:32Anyway, you're looking beautiful
0:26:32 > 0:26:34and I recognise that round your neck.
0:26:34 > 0:26:38- Oh, yes.- This is what I brought your mum from England.- Oh, right.
0:26:38 > 0:26:42Yeah, yeah, I know, and it brings you close to me.
0:26:42 > 0:26:46I tell you what, I'll pop back next week, OK?
0:26:46 > 0:26:48- OK! - ROSEMARY LAUGHS
0:26:48 > 0:26:50But I'm in Lima next week.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53That's all right, I don't mind. I'll come to Lima.
0:26:53 > 0:26:56OK, you can come to Lima whenever you want, Belinda,
0:26:56 > 0:26:59I already told you that. You're more than welcome.
0:26:59 > 0:27:02You've got such a big family.
0:27:02 > 0:27:04- You said you were all by yourself round here.- Uh-huh.
0:27:04 > 0:27:06- You're not by yourself. - I know, I know.
0:27:06 > 0:27:09You've no idea, you've no idea,
0:27:09 > 0:27:13so you're in for a shock or a treat -
0:27:13 > 0:27:16- whatever way you like to look at it.- Oh, bless you!
0:27:16 > 0:27:21- Bless you.- OK. - Well, I'll see you again very soon.
0:27:21 > 0:27:24OK. I'm so happy to see you together.
0:27:24 > 0:27:26It's just, to me, it's just incredible.
0:27:29 > 0:27:32It may be Peru next but today, they're on Belinda's home turf,
0:27:32 > 0:27:35so they pack in as much sightseeing in London
0:27:35 > 0:27:38in the short time they have together.
0:27:38 > 0:27:43It's such a coincidence, you coming over now.
0:27:43 > 0:27:46- Mmm, yes.- Amazing.
0:27:46 > 0:27:49They can't be in the real Lima together,
0:27:49 > 0:27:52so Belinda's found a little Lima for them to visit.
0:27:52 > 0:27:55Oh, it's a Peruvian restaurant! Look!
0:27:57 > 0:28:00Today has been absolutely wonderful.
0:28:00 > 0:28:01We had such a lovely time
0:28:01 > 0:28:07and I'm still pinching myself to realise that it actually happened.
0:28:07 > 0:28:10It was great. Belinda's so nice.
0:28:10 > 0:28:13It was great to know about our family,
0:28:13 > 0:28:17things that I didn't know and things that I'm going to find out
0:28:17 > 0:28:23and I'm looking forward to seeing her in Lima, to show her around.
0:28:23 > 0:28:25- Salud.- Salud.
0:28:25 > 0:28:28Amor y muchas pesetas.
0:28:28 > 0:28:34Taking the step forward to get in touch has been wonderful.
0:28:34 > 0:28:38Rosemary and I would love to find some other members of the family
0:28:38 > 0:28:43and we're hoping that they're out there somewhere
0:28:43 > 0:28:48and maybe fate will play another hand towards us and introduce us
0:28:48 > 0:28:52to some other members of the family, cos that would just be lovely.
0:28:52 > 0:28:54Lots of adventures ahead.
0:28:54 > 0:28:58Maybe will be one day a big family reunion. That would be great.
0:29:07 > 0:29:10In north London, Barbara Cohen has been searching
0:29:10 > 0:29:14for the long-lost sister she last saw over 50 years ago.
0:29:14 > 0:29:18Barbara and her partner, Michael, had traced her sister to Denmark,
0:29:18 > 0:29:21but there, they thought the trail had gone cold.
0:29:21 > 0:29:25Their last hope had been to send a letter to the Danish embassy.
0:29:27 > 0:29:31Then, one day, an official-looking letter dropped through their door.
0:29:32 > 0:29:35We got a note back from the Danish embassy
0:29:35 > 0:29:39that have since found someone of that name
0:29:39 > 0:29:45and it looks like she could well be the Sybil that we're looking for.
0:29:45 > 0:29:47It appeared Sybil had remarried
0:29:47 > 0:29:49and was now going by the name Sybil Vissing
0:29:49 > 0:29:51and lived in the north of Denmark.
0:29:53 > 0:29:54We wrote a letter, saying,
0:29:54 > 0:29:58"Are you the Sybil that we think may have been Shredniki,
0:29:58 > 0:30:00"might be my half-sister.
0:30:00 > 0:30:03"Are you interested? Would you be interested in speaking to us?"
0:30:05 > 0:30:09It was Sybil's son, Rene, who first saw the letter.
0:30:09 > 0:30:13I went out to the mailbox and there was a letter...
0:30:15 > 0:30:16..a letter from England.
0:30:17 > 0:30:22And Mum was lying in the bed and said, "I know who this is."
0:30:24 > 0:30:27We opened it and it was a nice letter.
0:30:27 > 0:30:32- Yeah.- If you are Sybil Joyce Abraham Shredniki...- Yeah.
0:30:32 > 0:30:36And if you wanted to get in touch with Barbara
0:30:36 > 0:30:40- and she was explaining who she was. - Yeah, I was surprised.
0:30:41 > 0:30:46And the reply we got back was from her son, Rene,
0:30:46 > 0:30:48her youngest son, Rene, and he said,
0:30:48 > 0:30:51"We'd be delighted. We'd be over the moon."
0:30:51 > 0:30:56Then I had Barbara on the phone and on the Skype
0:30:56 > 0:30:58and so it was quite fun.
0:30:58 > 0:31:03I was in floods of tears. I couldn't talk. I just couldn't talk.
0:31:03 > 0:31:05It was...
0:31:05 > 0:31:09too emotional to find someone that you had never,
0:31:09 > 0:31:13hadn't seen for, what, over 50-odd years.
0:31:13 > 0:31:15This was the only relative that you had
0:31:15 > 0:31:17who had any connection to your father.
0:31:17 > 0:31:19- Yeah. - Because there was no-one else left.
0:31:21 > 0:31:24My mother was born in East End of London, 1928,
0:31:24 > 0:31:29and grew up, together with her mum and dad.
0:31:29 > 0:31:32- I was a daddy's girl. - You were daddy's girl.
0:31:32 > 0:31:34- Yeah. - SHE LAUGHS
0:31:34 > 0:31:40- He was a good man.- He felt a little bit alone because of...
0:31:40 > 0:31:46- The Jewish community didn't...- So, he was alone and I was alone.- Yeah.
0:31:46 > 0:31:49- So...- So, you were... - We had a lot in common.
0:31:49 > 0:31:52It turned out their father, Henry Shredniki,
0:31:52 > 0:31:56had had a whole other life before he met Barbara's mother.
0:31:56 > 0:32:00As a young man, he'd fallen for a young Christian girl called Clara
0:32:00 > 0:32:04and, against both their families' wishes, they'd eloped.
0:32:04 > 0:32:07It must have been love to choose each other
0:32:07 > 0:32:10but it also meant that they were very isolated.
0:32:10 > 0:32:14And, in turn, their daughter was also cast adrift.
0:32:14 > 0:32:20- I wasn't accepted there because I wasn't...- A real Jew.- Jew.
0:32:20 > 0:32:26One day I was walking in the street with my father
0:32:26 > 0:32:32and there came a woman...towards us.
0:32:32 > 0:32:37I found out that was my father's mother but she said,
0:32:37 > 0:32:40- "Is that one of yours?"- Mmm.
0:32:40 > 0:32:44It should be "One of your CHILDREN."
0:32:44 > 0:32:47- It was me.- Yeah.
0:32:47 > 0:32:50But was it difficult to have friends
0:32:50 > 0:32:55when you were...a mix of Jewish and Christian?
0:32:55 > 0:33:00Yeah. I didn't really have friends. I was always alone.
0:33:01 > 0:33:08- Did you feel lonely?- Yeah. Yeah. I had my doggie.- Yeah.
0:33:08 > 0:33:10SHE LAUGHS
0:33:13 > 0:33:18In the early 20th century, London's Jewish community was evolving fast.
0:33:19 > 0:33:23The 1920s had seen thousands of Jews arrive in Britain,
0:33:23 > 0:33:25with synagogues, schools, bakeries
0:33:25 > 0:33:27and other Jewish businesses thriving.
0:33:27 > 0:33:30But one thing which wasn't changing as fast
0:33:30 > 0:33:33were views toward inter-faith marriages.
0:33:33 > 0:33:36Sybil's father's decision to marry a Christian
0:33:36 > 0:33:38would have been severely frowned upon
0:33:38 > 0:33:42and, as many orthodox Jews only considered children to be Jewish
0:33:42 > 0:33:45if their mother is Jewish, Sybil would not have been welcomed
0:33:45 > 0:33:47within the local Jewish community.
0:33:52 > 0:33:53But, despite being ostracised,
0:33:53 > 0:33:56Sybil and her parents were a happy little unit
0:33:56 > 0:33:59until two events shattered their lives.
0:33:59 > 0:34:03In 1939, World War II broke out...
0:34:04 > 0:34:08..and just two years later, her mother died from tuberculosis.
0:34:10 > 0:34:14Eventually, Sybil's father, Henry, married again.
0:34:14 > 0:34:17His second wife was Jane, Barbara's mother.
0:34:17 > 0:34:20Jane was Jewish, which helped Henry's rehabilitation
0:34:20 > 0:34:22back into the local Jewish community.
0:34:22 > 0:34:25But it left little room for Sybil.
0:34:26 > 0:34:30She didn't really like me because I was a Christian.
0:34:30 > 0:34:32I had no real family.
0:34:32 > 0:34:36Her father chose to be a 100% Jew
0:34:36 > 0:34:43and back to the Jewish community, and Mum was never a part of this.
0:34:45 > 0:34:48But Sybil was soon to start her own family.
0:34:48 > 0:34:51She met a Danish sailor, Axel Jensen,
0:34:51 > 0:34:55during the Second World War and quickly became pregnant.
0:34:55 > 0:34:59But having a child out of wedlock only ostracised her further.
0:34:59 > 0:35:01When their baby was three months old,
0:35:01 > 0:35:04she and Axel emigrated to his native Denmark.
0:35:04 > 0:35:08I think her father knew that it wasn't easy for her
0:35:08 > 0:35:10to have a life in England.
0:35:10 > 0:35:13I think that he supported her
0:35:13 > 0:35:17of going abroad and start a new life.
0:35:17 > 0:35:21Her father accompanied her to the docks at Harwich to say goodbye,
0:35:21 > 0:35:24and so ended the British chapter of Sybil's life.
0:35:24 > 0:35:26It was on a rare return visit to England
0:35:26 > 0:35:28when she met Barbara as a child.
0:35:28 > 0:35:34It was also during this trip she discovered that her father had died.
0:35:34 > 0:35:38I met one of the workers that worked for my father.
0:35:39 > 0:35:43- He told you that your father was dead.- That my father was dead.
0:35:43 > 0:35:48- And you didn't know?- No. - How was that? What did you feel?
0:35:49 > 0:35:53Er, I didn't believe him at the time.
0:35:53 > 0:35:57- No.- But it was true.
0:35:58 > 0:36:02After this point, Sybil lost contact with all her British family
0:36:02 > 0:36:06until Barbara and Michael tracked her down.
0:36:07 > 0:36:10Since we've met, I feel very close to her.
0:36:10 > 0:36:15Her sons are absolutely adorable. I feel part of a family again.
0:36:15 > 0:36:19Although I've got my own family and I've got my partner, Michael,
0:36:19 > 0:36:25it's like having a blood relative again, which I never had.
0:36:25 > 0:36:27I couldn't grow up with a sister,
0:36:27 > 0:36:31I didn't have a sister to play with and, basically, I was on my own.
0:36:31 > 0:36:35And that makes me sad that I didn't have more time with her
0:36:35 > 0:36:38and only found her, like, recently.
0:36:40 > 0:36:43The sisters met up not long after they got back in contact
0:36:43 > 0:36:45and, determined to make up for lost time,
0:36:45 > 0:36:50today Barbara's busy preparing for another trip to Denmark.
0:36:50 > 0:36:54And this time, they're planning a very special gift.
0:36:54 > 0:36:56Right, Michael, let's give this a whirl.
0:36:56 > 0:36:58Barbara never knew Sybil growing up
0:36:58 > 0:37:02but they had both lived in their father's house at different times.
0:37:02 > 0:37:04Barbara's arranged to make a video
0:37:04 > 0:37:07of the place they both once called home for her sister.
0:37:07 > 0:37:11This would have been our mum and dad's bedroom.
0:37:12 > 0:37:15And I remember this. This was our front room.
0:37:17 > 0:37:20I hope Sybil really, really enjoys this video
0:37:20 > 0:37:23and it brings back some nice memories for her.
0:37:26 > 0:37:28Today, Barbara and Michael are making
0:37:28 > 0:37:32the 1,500-mile round trip to Denmark.
0:37:32 > 0:37:36Waiting for them is Barbara's newest nephew, Rene.
0:37:37 > 0:37:39I can see him!
0:37:40 > 0:37:43- Hi, how are you? - Hi, hi.- How are you?
0:37:43 > 0:37:46- I'm fine, thank you. - Long time, no see.
0:37:50 > 0:37:54Now, hundreds of miles from where they were split up as little girls,
0:37:54 > 0:37:57the long-lost sisters are in the same country again.
0:37:57 > 0:37:59Although this is her fourth trip,
0:37:59 > 0:38:03the thought of seeing Sybil again is almost too much for Barbara.
0:38:03 > 0:38:06I've got terrible mixed emotions again.
0:38:08 > 0:38:11My stomach's churning over.
0:38:11 > 0:38:13I just can't wait to see her again.
0:38:14 > 0:38:17As you can see, I'm crying, but I don't know...
0:38:17 > 0:38:22That's not tears of sadness, it's tears of emotion coming out.
0:38:22 > 0:38:24I can't wait to see her.
0:38:37 > 0:38:41- Sybil! Hi, hi.- Hi, hi.
0:38:41 > 0:38:44MICHAEL: Hello, Sybil. Long time, no see.
0:38:44 > 0:38:47- Lovely to see you again. Here's Michael.- MICHAEL: I'm here.
0:38:47 > 0:38:48Hi, Michael.
0:38:48 > 0:38:53- MICHAEL: How are you feeling?- I'm feeling quite well.- You look good.
0:38:53 > 0:38:55They can't wait to give Sybil a glimpse
0:38:55 > 0:38:58of the place she once called home.
0:38:58 > 0:39:02Barbara has made a video. See if you can recognise.
0:39:02 > 0:39:06- VIDEO:- 'This would have been our mum and dad's bedroom
0:39:06 > 0:39:09'and from the hall used to be a kitchen
0:39:09 > 0:39:13- 'which used to lead out into the...'- Garden.- '..garden.'
0:39:13 > 0:39:16Wow. 'This was my bedroom.
0:39:16 > 0:39:19'I'm hoping that this would have been your bedroom too.'
0:39:19 > 0:39:22- Yeah, it was. - 'It leads onto the garden
0:39:22 > 0:39:25'but it looks much smaller than what it used to be, obviously,
0:39:25 > 0:39:28'cos I'm a big girl now and so are you.'
0:39:28 > 0:39:31Then I went to school up the road -
0:39:31 > 0:39:34Pancake Hill, that's what we used to call it.
0:39:34 > 0:39:37I hoped this one day would happen.
0:39:37 > 0:39:42Even though it has been a tough life for Mum in England,
0:39:42 > 0:39:48it's nice to know that people from England were thinking of Mum
0:39:48 > 0:39:51and how she was today.
0:39:51 > 0:39:54Did you live here with your mum and dad
0:39:54 > 0:39:56or had Mummy already passed away?
0:39:56 > 0:39:58She died there.
0:39:58 > 0:40:00The hospital's folk, they came and...
0:40:00 > 0:40:03- Carried her outside.- On a stretcher.
0:40:03 > 0:40:08- OK.- And I knew it was the last time I would see her.
0:40:08 > 0:40:14- Ah, yeah.- MICHAEL: How old were you then, Sybil?- 13.- Oh, young.
0:40:15 > 0:40:22You had a longer time than I did with him. I was only two and a half.
0:40:22 > 0:40:26- Yeah.- So you have happy memories of him.
0:40:26 > 0:40:29- Our dad was a tailor.- Yeah.
0:40:29 > 0:40:34- And he made what, coats?- Jackets and trousers and everything.- Everything.
0:40:34 > 0:40:39The sisters both have photos of their father they want to share.
0:40:39 > 0:40:43- That's your dad. - Oh, I can recognise him, yeah.
0:40:43 > 0:40:48- Mum, are you in this photo?- No. - Why not?
0:40:48 > 0:40:52- Because I wasn't Jewish. - Oh, bless you.
0:40:52 > 0:40:58- He always had boots.- Uh-huh. - That was because of the army.
0:40:58 > 0:41:01Do you know about our dad and the army?
0:41:01 > 0:41:06He decided, when he was 15, in the First World War, to go to war,
0:41:06 > 0:41:08but his mum stopped him.
0:41:08 > 0:41:11- Yeah, twice.- Twice. - THEY LAUGH
0:41:11 > 0:41:16What was Daddy like? Was he funny? Was he happy?
0:41:16 > 0:41:21- Was he serious? Did he ever tell you off, if you were naughty?- No.
0:41:21 > 0:41:27- "Go to your room."- I don't think so. - No, you don't think so. Wow.
0:41:27 > 0:41:29It's nice to have memories, Sybil.
0:41:29 > 0:41:33And one memory that has been passed down through the family
0:41:33 > 0:41:36is exactly how Henry Shredniki slipped away
0:41:36 > 0:41:38to secretly marry Sybil's mother.
0:41:38 > 0:41:41He had a lunch pack in his pocket.
0:41:41 > 0:41:43THEY LAUGH
0:41:43 > 0:41:46MICHAEL: He was going out to lunch and he got married instead!
0:41:46 > 0:41:48THEY LAUGH
0:41:48 > 0:41:50He had spats.
0:41:50 > 0:41:54Yeah, they're nice. Looks like a dancer from the 1920s.
0:41:54 > 0:41:57- Yeah. - In the black and white films.- Yeah.
0:41:57 > 0:42:00And the family likeness is striking.
0:42:01 > 0:42:06- Do you remember who this is?- Yeah. - And my grandchildren.
0:42:07 > 0:42:10- But he looks like our daddy.- Yeah.
0:42:11 > 0:42:15Two sisters, who each had their own tough beginning in life,
0:42:15 > 0:42:18have finally got the happy ending they deserve
0:42:18 > 0:42:20and their family couldn't be happier.
0:42:20 > 0:42:24It's been fun to see them together, also laughing
0:42:24 > 0:42:29and even though it was difficult times and they were split,
0:42:29 > 0:42:32it's better later than never.
0:42:32 > 0:42:36Because nobody knows how long time,
0:42:36 > 0:42:40but it HAS happened and that's very important.
0:42:40 > 0:42:43I love her very much and I hope that...
0:42:43 > 0:42:47What, with the extended family, it's been fabulous.
0:42:47 > 0:42:51- Skol.- Skol.- ALL:- Skol.
0:42:51 > 0:42:53- To all of you.- All of you.
0:42:53 > 0:42:58And this is just beautiful. It's been an amazing, amazing time.