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've you 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 > 0:00:23Especially when they could be anywhere. At home or abroad.
0:00:23 > 0:00:26And that's where the Family Finders come in.
0:00:26 > 0:00:28From international organisations...
0:00:28 > 0:00:32Hi, it's The Salvation Army Family Tracing Service.
0:00:32 > 0:00:34..to genealogy detective agencies...
0:00:34 > 0:00:37For someone to say that it's changed their life,
0:00:37 > 0:00:40it makes coming to work, you know, really, really special.
0:00:40 > 0:00:42..and dedicated one-man bands.
0:00:42 > 0:00:46It's a matter of how much effort you really want to put into it.
0:00:46 > 0:00:48How badly you want to solve the problem.
0:00:48 > 0:00:52They 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 > 0:01:08..learning the tricks they use to 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 > 0:01:17..and meeting the people whose lives they change along the way.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20I've been waiting to meet John my whole life.
0:01:20 > 0:01:22Since we've met, I feel part of a family again.
0:01:23 > 0:01:25You've just completed my life for me.
0:01:33 > 0:01:36When it comes to tracking down lost family members, you don't
0:01:36 > 0:01:39always have to pay for a professional service
0:01:39 > 0:01:41or seek outside help.
0:01:41 > 0:01:44In the age of the internet, anyone can become a family detective.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50Today, we follow one man's mission to find out about his
0:01:50 > 0:01:54grandfather which uncovered a family lost across the generations.
0:01:55 > 0:02:00Well, that's really quite shocking, actually, in a pleasant kind of way.
0:02:00 > 0:02:02It's as if it's meant to be.
0:02:02 > 0:02:07And Lynn who spent years trying to track down her long-lost brother.
0:02:07 > 0:02:09A million things went through my head,
0:02:09 > 0:02:10what I thought I would say to him,
0:02:10 > 0:02:13and I practised it and practised it and practised it and then I rang
0:02:13 > 0:02:18the number and just before I put the last digit in, I put the phone down
0:02:18 > 0:02:21and if I did that once, I must have done it 20 times.
0:02:25 > 0:02:3153-year-old Simon Wrigley was born and brought up on the Isle of Wight.
0:02:31 > 0:02:33It was a great place to grow up.
0:02:33 > 0:02:38My father was the harbour master so we were a lot of time on boats
0:02:38 > 0:02:40and I grew up on boats and I loved the sea.
0:02:42 > 0:02:46But at the age of 21, Simon decided to leave the island
0:02:46 > 0:02:48and broaden his horizons.
0:02:48 > 0:02:50And by chance, I ended up in Israel.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53Literally by chance as a volunteer on a kibbutz.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56I was working in the bananas and with the oranges and we were a
0:02:56 > 0:02:59group of young people who were having a wonderful time.
0:02:59 > 0:03:00And been there ever since.
0:03:00 > 0:03:05Even though he's been living in Israel for over 30 years,
0:03:05 > 0:03:08Simon has never forgotten his roots.
0:03:08 > 0:03:09England is my home.
0:03:09 > 0:03:12Especially the Isle of Wight and that's where I come from.
0:03:12 > 0:03:16When you live away from your family, you realise how important they are.
0:03:18 > 0:03:22But it wasn't until he returned to the Isle of Wight, briefly,
0:03:22 > 0:03:25after his grandmother died that Simon began a fascination
0:03:25 > 0:03:27with his family history.
0:03:27 > 0:03:30When grandparents die, when they pass over,
0:03:30 > 0:03:32the knowledge goes with them.
0:03:32 > 0:03:38I think that living away from my family and growing older
0:03:38 > 0:03:41and family members passing away,
0:03:41 > 0:03:43I became aware of that more
0:03:43 > 0:03:48and it's very important to talk to them about the past,
0:03:48 > 0:03:52to get that knowledge from them, because if not, it goes.
0:03:52 > 0:03:57I discovered a picture in my parents' house of my grandparents
0:03:57 > 0:04:01and this was when they were engaged.
0:04:01 > 0:04:03It must be around 1923.
0:04:03 > 0:04:07I can see myself in my grandfather.
0:04:07 > 0:04:10And I realise that nobody really had any connection with his side of the
0:04:10 > 0:04:16family and there was this whole, sort of, mystery that nobody knew.
0:04:16 > 0:04:19That's why I wanted to know more about him.
0:04:21 > 0:04:24Determined to find out more about his mysterious grandfather,
0:04:24 > 0:04:27Bernard, who had died before he was born,
0:04:27 > 0:04:30Simon began his search close to home with his mother.
0:04:31 > 0:04:35I asked her lots of questions because it was her father
0:04:35 > 0:04:37and she's the only one that remembers her father.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40She was 12 years old when he died.
0:04:40 > 0:04:46She remembers sitting on his knee and he would sing to her and he
0:04:46 > 0:04:53told her stories of the war and that he had a crash in a plane over France.
0:04:53 > 0:04:57Simon knew very little else about his grandfather
0:04:57 > 0:05:00so, determined to discover more, back in Israel,
0:05:00 > 0:05:04he began to search, in earnest, on the internet.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07One of the first things I discovered online was my grandfather's death
0:05:07 > 0:05:11certificate and here's my grandfather's name on the certificate,
0:05:11 > 0:05:13Bernard Frederick Groundsell.
0:05:13 > 0:05:18He died at a very early age, at the age of 46 in 1949.
0:05:18 > 0:05:22He died of lung cancer to which I didn't know.
0:05:22 > 0:05:27It stirred an emotion in me, reading this because
0:05:27 > 0:05:32what does this come down to, just a piece of paper saying somebody's died? But this is... This is...
0:05:32 > 0:05:37This is somebody. This is my family. This is my... This is my grandfather.
0:05:37 > 0:05:41And it's not just a date on a piece of paper. It was a human being.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45Simon's search was beginning to bear fruit.
0:05:45 > 0:05:49And now he'd started to delve into his past, he couldn't stop.
0:05:49 > 0:05:53Next, he traced his family tree back hundreds of years.
0:05:53 > 0:05:56We get back here to 1744.
0:05:56 > 0:06:01It was like a piece of history in my hands. I was amazed.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04When I read this, when I look at it, it's...
0:06:04 > 0:06:06I think, "Who are these people?
0:06:06 > 0:06:09"What did they do? Where did they come from?"
0:06:09 > 0:06:12But Simon's focus kept coming back to the mysterious Bernard.
0:06:12 > 0:06:16I realised that my grandfather was one of nine children.
0:06:16 > 0:06:21There were so many questions that were raised which sparked my interest.
0:06:22 > 0:06:26There was one question that really caught Simon's imagination.
0:06:26 > 0:06:29If his grandfather had eight brothers and sisters,
0:06:29 > 0:06:32could Simon have surviving relatives out there
0:06:32 > 0:06:33he didn't know about?
0:06:33 > 0:06:36He decided to investigate further.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39His first port of call was back on the Isle of Wight.
0:06:41 > 0:06:42I thought I'd give it a go
0:06:42 > 0:06:44by putting an advertisement in the local paper.
0:06:44 > 0:06:48They have a section, here, called Islanders Reunited.
0:06:48 > 0:06:52So I thought, "I'll send an e-mail, here, and let's see if anything comes up."
0:06:54 > 0:06:58As well as putting an advert in the local paper, Simon engaged
0:06:58 > 0:07:02the help of the Family History Society on the Isle of Wight.
0:07:02 > 0:07:06There are 160 of these local societies around the UK.
0:07:06 > 0:07:10All are listed on the Federation Of Family History Society website.
0:07:12 > 0:07:16The FFHS deal with England, Ireland and Wales.
0:07:16 > 0:07:17If you live in Scotland,
0:07:17 > 0:07:21you'll need to contact the Scottish Association Of Family History.
0:07:21 > 0:07:25Local societies are a great starting point for your search
0:07:25 > 0:07:29and can help with research tips, burial indexes and parish records.
0:07:33 > 0:07:36Simon had been in touch with the local History Society
0:07:36 > 0:07:39and placed an ad in the local press.
0:07:39 > 0:07:42But with no idea if his ancestors had any surviving relatives
0:07:42 > 0:07:44left on the Isle of Wight,
0:07:44 > 0:07:46all he could do now was wait.
0:07:47 > 0:07:51It must have been about six months and I got a bit, sort of...
0:07:52 > 0:07:53..I wouldn't say given up
0:07:53 > 0:07:58but I didn't have much hope of finding family members from this
0:07:58 > 0:08:01but I thought, "At least I'll give it a try, you never know."
0:08:01 > 0:08:07Was this the end of his journey to find long-lost relations or was it just the beginning?
0:08:16 > 0:08:1854-year-old Lynn Lewis has been waiting
0:08:18 > 0:08:22almost 40 years to find out the truth about her long-lost family.
0:08:24 > 0:08:27Lynn grew up in Buxton, in the Peak District, with her parents,
0:08:27 > 0:08:30Maureen and Alan, her two sisters and a brother.
0:08:30 > 0:08:35I had a wonderful childhood. Everything we wanted, we got.
0:08:35 > 0:08:36We were a bit spoilt, really.
0:08:37 > 0:08:39It was always a happy home.
0:08:39 > 0:08:42Mum and Dad, I think, planted that in us all.
0:08:42 > 0:08:45That family was important.
0:08:45 > 0:08:49So, I am really close to all of my family.
0:08:51 > 0:08:55The first clue for Lynn that all may not be as it seemed came one
0:08:55 > 0:08:58Christmas when she was hunting for presents.
0:08:58 > 0:09:01When I was younger, I looked through Mum's drawer,
0:09:01 > 0:09:04seeing if she was hiding anything at the side of the bed, once.
0:09:04 > 0:09:07And I found this little black-and-white photograph of a little baby.
0:09:07 > 0:09:08And I thought, "Who's this?"
0:09:08 > 0:09:11But, obviously, I couldn't ask me mum because
0:09:11 > 0:09:14I shouldn't have been rooting through her drawers.
0:09:14 > 0:09:19Maybe it was a cousin, maybe it was a baby of a friend of Mum and Dad's or...
0:09:19 > 0:09:22I didn't have any idea and
0:09:22 > 0:09:27think, for one moment, it could possibly be a sibling of mine.
0:09:27 > 0:09:30It wasn't until years later that Lynn discovered
0:09:30 > 0:09:32the truth about the baby boy in the photo.
0:09:33 > 0:09:39My parents told me I had an older brother when I was around 15.
0:09:39 > 0:09:43I think they thought, at that point, I was probably old enough to
0:09:43 > 0:09:45take on board the information.
0:09:47 > 0:09:51It was much of a shock to me so I asked, "Will I ever see him?
0:09:51 > 0:09:52"What does he look like?"
0:09:52 > 0:09:55And they said, "Well, we'll never know
0:09:55 > 0:09:58"cos we gave up all rights to have him.
0:09:58 > 0:10:00"He was given up for adoption, you know,
0:10:00 > 0:10:02"there's nothing you'll ever be able to do about it."
0:10:04 > 0:10:10Mum was only 15, at the time, when she got pregnant and she said in them days
0:10:10 > 0:10:15it wasn't allowed for you to have a baby out of wedlock and so young
0:10:15 > 0:10:20so she was sent away to a mother and baby home to have my brother.
0:10:20 > 0:10:24In fact, the news of 15-year-old Maureen's pregnancy had
0:10:24 > 0:10:26a devastating effect on the family.
0:10:26 > 0:10:30My mum went home to tell her parents that she was pregnant
0:10:30 > 0:10:35and her mum was at the top of the stairs, at the time, and she must've
0:10:35 > 0:10:39shouted up to her and her mother fell down the stairs
0:10:39 > 0:10:41and died.
0:10:41 > 0:10:45Erm, that left just my grandad then and I think it was a shock
0:10:45 > 0:10:47and a really taboo subject.
0:10:49 > 0:10:52She probably blamed herself for her mum dying
0:10:52 > 0:10:55so she'd got the guilt of all that
0:10:55 > 0:10:58and I can't imagine what she must have gone through.
0:10:58 > 0:11:01Nobody to talk to apart from her sisters.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06Maureen was sent away to a mother and baby home
0:11:06 > 0:11:08for the remainder of her pregnancy.
0:11:08 > 0:11:12She cared for her new baby there for the first six weeks of his life
0:11:12 > 0:11:16while suitable adoptive parents were found for him.
0:11:16 > 0:11:18It was a heart-wrenching day for her.
0:11:18 > 0:11:20She didn't want to give him away.
0:11:20 > 0:11:24Her and my dad would have loved to have just kept the baby
0:11:24 > 0:11:26and got married
0:11:26 > 0:11:31and carried on with a lovely family life and that's what she craved for.
0:11:31 > 0:11:33Both of them. Mum and Dad.
0:11:33 > 0:11:35That's what they wanted to do
0:11:35 > 0:11:40but the decision was taken completely out of her hands.
0:11:40 > 0:11:43Even though Maureen was forbidden to see the baby's father, Alan,
0:11:43 > 0:11:46the couple continued their relationship in secret
0:11:46 > 0:11:50until, finally, three years later, they were married.
0:11:50 > 0:11:51Shortly afterwards,
0:11:51 > 0:11:54Lynn was born and three more siblings were to follow.
0:11:54 > 0:11:56Mum and Dad had always wanted another boy
0:11:56 > 0:12:00and then ten years after my youngest sister was born,
0:12:00 > 0:12:02my mum got pregnant again
0:12:02 > 0:12:07and they finally got the little boy that they'd always wanted.
0:12:07 > 0:12:10It was the couple's last child together.
0:12:10 > 0:12:13Just four years after his youngest son was born,
0:12:13 > 0:12:17Lynn's father, Alan, was diagnosed with leukaemia.
0:12:17 > 0:12:21The illness was too far gone for them to actually treat it.
0:12:21 > 0:12:25And his lifespan didn't last more than six to eight months.
0:12:25 > 0:12:29And before we turned round, he'd gone and he was only 39.
0:12:30 > 0:12:34It was a very, very stressful and upsetting time for the whole family.
0:12:34 > 0:12:36Despite his illness,
0:12:36 > 0:12:41Lynn's dad walked her down the aisle on her wedding day in 1981.
0:12:41 > 0:12:43He died just a few days later.
0:12:44 > 0:12:47Lynn made it her mission to reunite the remaining family.
0:12:47 > 0:12:51So I decided after my dad had died that I would see
0:12:51 > 0:12:53whether I could find my brother.
0:12:53 > 0:12:57I had thought about him since they'd told me when I was 15
0:12:57 > 0:13:00but now it become more important to me to try and find him
0:13:00 > 0:13:04so I gathered the information from Mum, as much as I could,
0:13:04 > 0:13:09and I was determined that, one day, I'd meet this brother of mine.
0:13:11 > 0:13:14But Lynn's search immediately hit a brick wall that would
0:13:14 > 0:13:17leave her frustrated for the next 25 years.
0:13:18 > 0:13:21Because Mum had given him up for adoption,
0:13:21 > 0:13:23I didn't have any rights to look for him.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26He could look for us but we couldn't look for him.
0:13:26 > 0:13:30Every programme that I watched on the TV that had anything to
0:13:30 > 0:13:34do with adoptions... I'd be scanning the TV looking for somebody
0:13:34 > 0:13:35that would look like my dad.
0:13:35 > 0:13:39I even wrote to Cilla Black's Surprise Surprise.
0:13:39 > 0:13:42But I got a letter back saying, sadly, they couldn't help me,
0:13:42 > 0:13:45and everywhere I went it was a closed door.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49And it wasn't until I watched a programme on the television
0:13:49 > 0:13:53in 2005 that said, "Please dial this number
0:13:53 > 0:13:58"if you've been affected by this programme." I dialled the number,
0:13:58 > 0:14:00I explained what had happened
0:14:00 > 0:14:05and I was told, then, that the law had changed a couple of years ago
0:14:05 > 0:14:09and you, now, had a right to look for your siblings.
0:14:11 > 0:14:13In 2005, there was
0:14:13 > 0:14:16a change in the law which, for the first time, allowed people to
0:14:16 > 0:14:21contact birth relatives who'd been put up for adoption.
0:14:21 > 0:14:24This initial contact has to take place through an intermediary
0:14:24 > 0:14:27such as an adoption agency or local authority.
0:14:29 > 0:14:33It was because of this law change that Lynn could finally try
0:14:33 > 0:14:37and find her long-lost brother with the help of an adoption agency.
0:14:37 > 0:14:41I gave them as much information as I possibly could and I was told,
0:14:41 > 0:14:46then, the procedure would be that if they found somebody
0:14:46 > 0:14:53that was my brother, they would, then, write a letter to him explaining
0:14:53 > 0:14:58that they had somebody that wanted to get in contact with him.
0:14:58 > 0:15:03From there, Lynn's long, 25-year search for her brother began
0:15:03 > 0:15:04to move very quickly.
0:15:06 > 0:15:09I got a phone call from the agency saying they'd narrowed
0:15:09 > 0:15:15it down to one person who they felt sure was my brother and could I
0:15:15 > 0:15:21write a letter and send photographs that they would pass on to him.
0:15:21 > 0:15:23So, I was so excited.
0:15:23 > 0:15:27The emotions, the love, the scare, the fright,
0:15:27 > 0:15:29the "What's he going to look like?"
0:15:29 > 0:15:32You know, he could be somebody famous for all I knew.
0:15:32 > 0:15:36He could be anything and I couldn't imagine what was
0:15:36 > 0:15:39going to become of this but it was just so, so exciting
0:15:39 > 0:15:43to think that I'd fi...after 25 years,
0:15:43 > 0:15:47the door was opening and maybe he would be at the other side of it.
0:15:48 > 0:15:52But there was still one big question that remained unanswered.
0:15:52 > 0:15:55Would her long-lost brother want to get back in touch
0:15:55 > 0:15:56with his birth family?
0:15:58 > 0:16:02I wrote this long letter and left it with the adoption agency...
0:16:04 > 0:16:05..and waited.
0:16:05 > 0:16:12So, it all hung on whether he actually read the letter
0:16:12 > 0:16:14and wanted to get in touch with me.
0:16:15 > 0:16:18All Lynn could do now was wait.
0:16:27 > 0:16:32In Israel, Simon Wrigley was also playing a waiting game.
0:16:32 > 0:16:35What began as a desire to discover more about his grandfather
0:16:35 > 0:16:39had become a mission to find long-lost relations on the Isle of Wight.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44Simon had appealed online for any news of his grandfather's
0:16:44 > 0:16:46eight brothers and sisters.
0:16:46 > 0:16:49But, there, his search seemed to have hit a dead end.
0:16:51 > 0:16:54From the time that I placed the advert, more or less
0:16:54 > 0:16:58six months passed and I hadn't heard anything.
0:16:58 > 0:17:01And, then, all of a sudden, out of the blue, I saw an e-mail.
0:17:01 > 0:17:06It was a very emotional moment to think that somebody's read
0:17:06 > 0:17:09the e-mail and who was a family member and I was very curious to see
0:17:09 > 0:17:12who this person was or how they connected.
0:17:13 > 0:17:14I was quite excited about it
0:17:14 > 0:17:17because, at the time, I was working on the family tree myself
0:17:17 > 0:17:20but only the bare skeleton of it and he started telling me
0:17:20 > 0:17:22a bit of the information that he'd got together which
0:17:22 > 0:17:26I was, then, able to piece together with the information I already had.
0:17:26 > 0:17:31And, then, I realised that her father must be my mother's first cousin.
0:17:33 > 0:17:35Hayley had seen Simon's ad.
0:17:35 > 0:17:38They worked out that their grandfathers were brothers,
0:17:38 > 0:17:41making Hayley and Simon second cousins.
0:17:41 > 0:17:44It was very exciting when I first read the e-mail because
0:17:44 > 0:17:49I felt there was a re-connection with the Groundsell family.
0:17:49 > 0:17:53It was the next step for me. It was another piece in the jigsaw.
0:17:53 > 0:17:54I'd never met my grandad.
0:17:54 > 0:17:57He died the year I was born and the Groundsell family has always
0:17:57 > 0:17:59been quite a mystery to me, a bit of an enigma.
0:17:59 > 0:18:03But it turns out it's actually quite a large, extended
0:18:03 > 0:18:07family on the island that I never even knew about.
0:18:07 > 0:18:11And that wasn't all. Someone else saw Simon's ad.
0:18:11 > 0:18:12Jane.
0:18:12 > 0:18:16Her father, Frank, was another of the Groundsell brothers.
0:18:16 > 0:18:20It was so absolutely amazing because Simon wrote back to me
0:18:20 > 0:18:24and wanted to know what stories I knew and I filled him in with
0:18:24 > 0:18:28quite a lot because my father was a great storyteller.
0:18:28 > 0:18:31I knew loads of...loads of stories going right back to
0:18:31 > 0:18:33when they were little boys.
0:18:33 > 0:18:35I've got to know Hayley and we just clicked.
0:18:35 > 0:18:38We got on like a house on fire.
0:18:38 > 0:18:41Thanks to Simon's determined detective work,
0:18:41 > 0:18:45the three cousins were able to share stories and anecdotes,
0:18:45 > 0:18:48helping to fill in some of the gaps in their family history.
0:18:48 > 0:18:50I don't know about the girls of the family
0:18:50 > 0:18:53but out of the nine siblings, I think the five boys used to get up
0:18:53 > 0:18:55to all sorts of mischief by the sound of it.
0:18:55 > 0:18:57I know my father said if they ever came home drunk,
0:18:57 > 0:19:01they would have to spend the night in the local police station.
0:19:01 > 0:19:05My grandfather wouldn't entertain anybody coming in drunk.
0:19:05 > 0:19:08I found out things about my grandad I never knew.
0:19:08 > 0:19:13I never knew he was in a rodeo so that was, like, wow.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16This clipping came out of a local paper on the island.
0:19:16 > 0:19:20Then, I came across my grandfather's name in this.
0:19:20 > 0:19:24My grandfather and his brothers were part of a horse riding act.
0:19:24 > 0:19:26I believe he's the one on the top.
0:19:26 > 0:19:27They formed a pyramid
0:19:27 > 0:19:31so here he is standing on a horse with his brothers.
0:19:31 > 0:19:33There's four of his brothers here.
0:19:33 > 0:19:36- They used to lead the carnivals...a lot of island carnivals.- Yeah.
0:19:36 > 0:19:38They used to lead the procession.
0:19:42 > 0:19:45As more of Simon's grandfather's relatives came to light,
0:19:45 > 0:19:49the cousins decided to celebrate their new-found family
0:19:49 > 0:19:51by arranging a reunion in 2004.
0:19:52 > 0:19:56Simon flew back from Israel to meet them all for the first time.
0:19:57 > 0:20:02I was slightly nervous, I think, really. I mean I... How... Will they like me?
0:20:02 > 0:20:05Or who knows?
0:20:05 > 0:20:09I believe we had about 20 members of the family come up and
0:20:09 > 0:20:13their question was, without being rude, "Now, who are you? How are you related?"
0:20:13 > 0:20:14And I got the family tree out
0:20:14 > 0:20:18and there was a lot of missing gaps that I could fill in.
0:20:18 > 0:20:22For Simon, it was the successful culmination of years of research,
0:20:22 > 0:20:25the fruits of which he, now, committed to paper.
0:20:25 > 0:20:29Although I had all this information, it was all online. I had documents.
0:20:29 > 0:20:30I had things here and there
0:20:30 > 0:20:33so I decided to put a small book together for them.
0:20:33 > 0:20:37I wrote a profile on each member of the family. Everyone has a story.
0:20:37 > 0:20:40Every relative has a story attached.
0:20:40 > 0:20:43And I continuously work on this and I continuously update
0:20:43 > 0:20:47this all the time so it's an ongoing project, basically.
0:20:47 > 0:20:49I also believe it's a way of keeping their memory alive.
0:20:49 > 0:20:52They might have passed away but it's important to keep
0:20:52 > 0:20:55their memory to know who they were, what they were,
0:20:55 > 0:20:59how you were related because it's part of you.
0:20:59 > 0:21:02It's important. It's important to know these things.
0:21:02 > 0:21:04So, it's all kind of, like, wow.
0:21:04 > 0:21:07- But you've gained a whole, a complete, like, new family...- Yeah.
0:21:07 > 0:21:10..that were always there in the background.
0:21:10 > 0:21:13With all these stories to go with it that are just amazing.
0:21:13 > 0:21:16- We've got Simon to thank for that, haven't we?- Yeah, definitely.
0:21:16 > 0:21:18- I'm getting emotional, sorry.- Aw.
0:21:23 > 0:21:27After making contact with relatives he never knew he had,
0:21:27 > 0:21:31now, Simon is embarking on the next chapter of his ongoing
0:21:31 > 0:21:34journey to find out more about the Groundsell family.
0:21:36 > 0:21:39He's making the 4,000-mile trip from Israel to the
0:21:39 > 0:21:42Isle of Wight along with his partner, Yuval.
0:21:43 > 0:21:47Tomorrow, he'll be reunited with his new relations again
0:21:47 > 0:21:51and hopes to fill in even more of the blanks in his family history.
0:21:51 > 0:21:55I'm going home and it's always exciting to be with your family
0:21:55 > 0:21:56and to come home.
0:21:56 > 0:21:59I've got some new information for them and to share with them
0:21:59 > 0:22:02and maybe they have some new information for me so it's quite
0:22:02 > 0:22:06exciting to see what they have and, also, to share what I have.
0:22:14 > 0:22:17But this morning, before the reunion,
0:22:17 > 0:22:20Simon has one very important stop to make.
0:22:20 > 0:22:24The graveyard where his grandfather, Bernard, is buried.
0:22:25 > 0:22:28It's important to visit my grandfather's grave and to...
0:22:28 > 0:22:30for me to keep his memory alive.
0:22:31 > 0:22:35To help find exactly where his grandfather is buried,
0:22:35 > 0:22:38Simon has turned to the internet for help again.
0:22:38 > 0:22:43Online, there are records of every graveyard in the UK.
0:22:43 > 0:22:46To find the right plot, Simon and Yuval have downloaded a map.
0:22:47 > 0:22:51- According to this, it looks like four graves in if this is the path. - These are the trees.
0:22:51 > 0:22:54So, it's on a bit and to the left.
0:22:55 > 0:22:56But even with a map,
0:22:56 > 0:23:02finding the right grave in an old graveyard is easier said than done.
0:23:02 > 0:23:03I think it was more this way.
0:23:06 > 0:23:08But while searching for his grandfather,
0:23:08 > 0:23:11Simon stumbles on something unexpected.
0:23:12 > 0:23:16By chance, I've just discovered my great grandfather's grave,
0:23:16 > 0:23:18George Young Groundsell.
0:23:18 > 0:23:22Died November the 28th, 1915.
0:23:22 > 0:23:24Aged 74.
0:23:24 > 0:23:28Well, that's really quite shocking, actually, in a pleasant
0:23:28 > 0:23:32kind of way, to discover their grave by accident.
0:23:32 > 0:23:33It's as if it's meant to be.
0:23:33 > 0:23:36Just stumbling along here and there we are.
0:23:36 > 0:23:38This must be the Groundsell row, I should imagine.
0:23:41 > 0:23:44And here we are, we're standing right next to it.
0:23:44 > 0:23:47- Would you believe it?- This is the grave.- This is the grave.
0:24:00 > 0:24:03Think all these years have passed.
0:24:03 > 0:24:05Since 1949.
0:24:07 > 0:24:12But it's important to visit the grave and to remember.
0:24:24 > 0:24:27After finding the graves of his grandfather
0:24:27 > 0:24:30and even his great-grandfather, Simon's heading to meet
0:24:30 > 0:24:34some of the surviving generations of the Groundsell family.
0:24:34 > 0:24:36CHATTERING
0:24:37 > 0:24:41Hello. Oh, so many people here. Hello.
0:24:41 > 0:24:42Come in for a hug.
0:24:42 > 0:24:47- You look lovely. How are you, Jane, how are you?- Lovely to see you.
0:24:47 > 0:24:49- Hello, Simon.- Hello, how are you?
0:24:49 > 0:24:54Thanks to Simon's work, everyone here has now been reconnected
0:24:54 > 0:24:57with family members they never knew they had.
0:24:57 > 0:25:01Now Simon can share the latest edition of his family history book.
0:25:01 > 0:25:06And also his latest discovery, made just a few hours ago.
0:25:06 > 0:25:08It took us a while to find the grave.
0:25:08 > 0:25:12We were, sort of, hunting and asked, "It all looks the same?"
0:25:12 > 0:25:15And then, while we were looking, we came across our,
0:25:15 > 0:25:18- let me get this right, great-great-grandparent's grave. - Oh, wow.- What? No.
0:25:18 > 0:25:22- By chance. Of George Young Groundsell and his wife, Sarah. - No way.
0:25:22 > 0:25:25So that was interesting, yeah.
0:25:25 > 0:25:29And cousin Jane has been carrying out some research of her own.
0:25:29 > 0:25:31I brought this along for you to see, Simon,
0:25:31 > 0:25:34because I know that some of the pictures you wanted... I've been up in the attic.
0:25:34 > 0:25:40- Have you?- Looking at...- What did you discover in your attic?
0:25:40 > 0:25:44- That's an early picture of my father there...- And who's this little cute one?
0:25:44 > 0:25:47- Ah, I was about three months old, I reckon.- Ah.
0:25:48 > 0:25:51All of this new information will be added to
0:25:51 > 0:25:53Simon's ever-expanding archive
0:25:53 > 0:25:56and the next edition of the Groundsell family history.
0:25:57 > 0:26:00I've got some new information for you...
0:26:01 > 0:26:04..regarding the Groundsell family house.
0:26:04 > 0:26:07So, this is the house in its day, in the early 1900s.
0:26:07 > 0:26:11- I think in its day it was quite a grand residence...- Mmm.- ..by the looks of things. It was...
0:26:11 > 0:26:13- I think they had servants.- Mmm.
0:26:14 > 0:26:18And this is the house, today, as it stands, so little has changed much.
0:26:20 > 0:26:23We could have passed each other in the street umpteen times.
0:26:23 > 0:26:25We live ten minutes away from each other
0:26:25 > 0:26:29and because of Simon, we've got to know each other.
0:26:29 > 0:26:31On behalf of us all, I'd like to say a huge thank you,
0:26:31 > 0:26:34Simon, for bringing us all together and for organising all of this.
0:26:34 > 0:26:37So, I'd like you all to raise your glasses, please. To Simon.
0:26:37 > 0:26:41- Thank you.- And to the Groundsells. Cheers everybody.
0:26:41 > 0:26:42Cheers.
0:26:43 > 0:26:46Simon's mission to uncover his family history continues.
0:26:46 > 0:26:50But today marks the successful conclusion to the chapter
0:26:50 > 0:26:53that began his story 20 years ago.
0:26:54 > 0:26:58I felt I've reconnected to my grandfather and part of
0:26:58 > 0:27:04researching the family tree is to keep the memory of your relatives alive
0:27:04 > 0:27:07and to realise, this is your heritage. It's very important.
0:27:07 > 0:27:09It's like the end results of my research
0:27:09 > 0:27:10so it's been a really fun day.
0:27:21 > 0:27:26Lynn Lewis had been hoping for her own happy family reunion.
0:27:26 > 0:27:28Through an adoption agency,
0:27:28 > 0:27:31she thought she had found the older brother, David,
0:27:31 > 0:27:35who her mother had given up for adoption 60 years earlier.
0:27:35 > 0:27:39Now, all Lynn could do was wait and see if the man the agency believed
0:27:39 > 0:27:42was her brother, would respond to her letter.
0:27:43 > 0:27:47This letter appeared and a few photographs from Lynn
0:27:47 > 0:27:51of her family and brothers and sisters.
0:27:51 > 0:27:55And it took me quite a while to read this letter cos it was very emotional
0:27:55 > 0:27:59and every time I read it, now, it still brings tears
0:27:59 > 0:28:01to me eyes to think about, you know,
0:28:01 > 0:28:06what it meant to Lynn to write this and for both of us anyway.
0:28:06 > 0:28:11So, I treasure this. I keep this. I treasure this. And I always will do.
0:28:12 > 0:28:18"Hello David, it's hard for me to describe how it feels to
0:28:18 > 0:28:21"actually be sitting down writing this letter to you.
0:28:23 > 0:28:25"Knowing that you are going to read it.
0:28:27 > 0:28:32"You can't imagine how many times I have gone over what I would say.
0:28:33 > 0:28:35"If this time ever came."
0:28:39 > 0:28:40I can't. I can't read it.
0:28:42 > 0:28:43Oh.
0:28:47 > 0:28:51"I totally understand that you need to take things very slowly,
0:28:51 > 0:28:52"as do us all.
0:28:53 > 0:28:55"I have tried many times to look for you."
0:28:57 > 0:29:01"When I received the phone call with the wonderful news that you
0:29:01 > 0:29:03"had been found,
0:29:03 > 0:29:09"I went through a rollercoaster of emotions, as I expect, did you.
0:29:10 > 0:29:14"I have spent more than 20 years not knowing
0:29:14 > 0:29:17"whether this time would ever come.
0:29:17 > 0:29:19"But hoping very much it would.
0:29:22 > 0:29:26"I'm so looking forward to receiving a letter back from you.
0:29:26 > 0:29:27"In your own time.
0:29:27 > 0:29:32BOTH: "Until then, may I wish yourself and your family well.
0:29:32 > 0:29:33"Love, Lynn."
0:29:36 > 0:29:38After reading that letter, I just wanted to get in touch
0:29:38 > 0:29:41with her as quick as possible, really, then.
0:29:41 > 0:29:44If we're going to meet, why drag it on any longer?
0:29:44 > 0:29:45We've waited all these years.
0:29:47 > 0:29:50Lynn had found her long-lost brother, David.
0:29:51 > 0:29:54Now, the adoption agency could put the two in touch directly.
0:29:56 > 0:29:59They said, "We found your brother." And they said to me,
0:29:59 > 0:30:02"We have a phone number for you.
0:30:02 > 0:30:04"He wants you to get in touch with him."
0:30:04 > 0:30:08And I was, "Oh, my goodness, no. It can't be happening."
0:30:08 > 0:30:10I was so excited.
0:30:10 > 0:30:13I was bursting so I went upstairs into my bedroom
0:30:13 > 0:30:16and a million things went through my head,
0:30:16 > 0:30:20what I thought I would say to him, and I practised it and practised
0:30:20 > 0:30:22it and practised it and, then, I rang the number
0:30:22 > 0:30:24and just before I put the last digit in,
0:30:24 > 0:30:27I put the phone down and if I did that once,
0:30:27 > 0:30:31I must've done it 20 times before I finally dialled the number
0:30:31 > 0:30:34and the phone rang and my stomach was turning
0:30:34 > 0:30:40and I was close to tears and this voice answered the phone.
0:30:40 > 0:30:42I said, "Is that Dave? It's Lynn."
0:30:42 > 0:30:43And he said, "Hello, Duck."
0:30:43 > 0:30:46Erm, cos he's a proper country bumpkin
0:30:46 > 0:30:52and I just said, "You wouldn't believe how long I've been trying to find you."
0:30:52 > 0:30:55Erm, and we just went on from there and we talked and we talk...
0:30:55 > 0:30:58And we must've been on the phone for two hours.
0:30:58 > 0:31:01We just seemed to click and we just hit it off.
0:31:01 > 0:31:02From within seconds,
0:31:02 > 0:31:07we were laughing at each other's little jokes and things and...
0:31:07 > 0:31:10You'd have thought we'd have known each other all our lives and, yet,
0:31:10 > 0:31:11it was the first time we'd ever spoken.
0:31:13 > 0:31:17After his mother, Maureen, had to give him up, Dave grew up
0:31:17 > 0:31:20with his adoptive parents on a farm in the Peak District.
0:31:21 > 0:31:23I loved it. I loved being out in the country.
0:31:23 > 0:31:26We was out all day, everyday, when we were kids.
0:31:27 > 0:31:31I found out I was adopted at the age of around seven.
0:31:31 > 0:31:34When I think me mum thought we'd possibly understand what
0:31:34 > 0:31:38she was telling us and what it was and we've always known
0:31:38 > 0:31:40and I've known as much as she knew.
0:31:41 > 0:31:46Erm, and, I mean, I did ask many years ago if we wanted to find out
0:31:46 > 0:31:50any more but, you know, you're a small child, then, and Mum and Dad was
0:31:50 > 0:31:54Mum and Dad and you never thought no more about it as a small child.
0:31:54 > 0:31:59And it was left like that and before I knew any more, I had a letter
0:31:59 > 0:32:03and a phone call and Lynn had been looking for me, me sister.
0:32:05 > 0:32:07As Dave learned more about his birth family,
0:32:07 > 0:32:10there were several surprising revelations.
0:32:10 > 0:32:13Not least, that his birth parents had stayed together after
0:32:13 > 0:32:17he was born and that Dave grew up just a few miles
0:32:17 > 0:32:20away from where they lived in Buxton.
0:32:20 > 0:32:21It was
0:32:21 > 0:32:24a shock to even find out that they had, actually, gone on to get married...
0:32:25 > 0:32:29..a few years later and have a family of their own
0:32:29 > 0:32:32which then became my full-blown brothers and sisters.
0:32:33 > 0:32:36When I found bits about me birth father then,
0:32:36 > 0:32:41obviously, I found his name was Alan and so on and...
0:32:41 > 0:32:43That was a shock to know that they got married
0:32:43 > 0:32:49and lived together, happily ever after, and raised a big family
0:32:49 > 0:32:53and I'd only been, literally, teens of miles away from them.
0:32:53 > 0:32:55All those lives I'd never known but,
0:32:55 > 0:32:58sadly, I never got to meet Alan.
0:32:58 > 0:33:01He died before I got the chance to meet him.
0:33:01 > 0:33:05Although it was too late to be reunited with Alan, Dave wasted no
0:33:05 > 0:33:10time in getting together with Lynn and the rest of his birth family.
0:33:10 > 0:33:12Including his mother, Maureen.
0:33:12 > 0:33:17It was about a week, something like...about a week before we met, something like that.
0:33:17 > 0:33:20That week seemed to drag and, then, it went quick and, then, it dragged
0:33:20 > 0:33:26and, then, the emotions and, then, sleepless nights thinking and...
0:33:26 > 0:33:28All sorts of things was going off.
0:33:28 > 0:33:31Things that you never even think of, you know.
0:33:31 > 0:33:34All sorts of things was flying through your mind.
0:33:34 > 0:33:39It was the 1st of February, 2006
0:33:39 > 0:33:43that, at 7pm, we'd arranged to meet
0:33:43 > 0:33:50in the Red Lion pub so I went along with my mum and my sister, Paula,
0:33:50 > 0:33:52and we got there before they did.
0:33:52 > 0:33:54We got there early so we wouldn't be late
0:33:54 > 0:33:58and we sat down with a drink and we watched through the window
0:33:58 > 0:34:01and, then, all of a sudden, this 4x4 pulls up
0:34:01 > 0:34:06in the car park and out pops this strapping bloke.
0:34:06 > 0:34:10Erm, round to the other side of the car, opens the door and this little
0:34:10 > 0:34:15old lady gets out so I said to me mum and Paula, "This must be them."
0:34:15 > 0:34:17Lynn and Paula had seen me come in.
0:34:19 > 0:34:23Unbeknown to me and as we walked through the door, they grabbed me. Ha.
0:34:23 > 0:34:24They bounced on top of me, erm...
0:34:26 > 0:34:28So that was very emotional.
0:34:28 > 0:34:32We just hugged and cried and looked at each other and didn't want
0:34:32 > 0:34:36to let each other go and it was just amazing that my mum and my sister
0:34:36 > 0:34:42got up and came over and we all hugged and cried and, then, his mum
0:34:42 > 0:34:44and my mum started talking.
0:34:44 > 0:34:48And me mum walked round the back and Maureen was sat there very,
0:34:48 > 0:34:52very frightened, nervous like the rest. Like we all was really.
0:34:52 > 0:34:56She walked straight up to her. Put her arm around her.
0:34:56 > 0:34:58Said, "It's been a long time. But he's here now."
0:35:00 > 0:35:03Maureen died a few years after they were reunited
0:35:03 > 0:35:06but Dave still wants to learn more about his birth family
0:35:06 > 0:35:09and, especially, his father, Alan.
0:35:10 > 0:35:13Today, Lynn has arranged for Dave to meet their aunt,
0:35:13 > 0:35:14Alan's sister, Beryl.
0:35:16 > 0:35:18- Hi. Hello.- Lynn, good to see you.
0:35:20 > 0:35:23- How you been?- Hiya, you all right, love?- Yeah, what have you been up to?
0:35:23 > 0:35:26Gosh, I don't know what's going to happen today, really.
0:35:26 > 0:35:30- Oh, it's going to be a well exciting day.- I know.- I can't wait to see Auntie Beryl.- I know. I know.
0:35:30 > 0:35:33Today will be Dave's first real chance to find out
0:35:33 > 0:35:36more about Alan's side of the family.
0:35:36 > 0:35:38- Me dad confided in Auntie Beryl... - Right.
0:35:38 > 0:35:43..when he was 15 so she's known about you and the circumstances
0:35:43 > 0:35:46while you were adopted, right from the very beginning, I think.
0:35:48 > 0:35:51Meeting Beryl's going to be...
0:35:51 > 0:35:54Probably a bit emotional, that'll be...
0:35:55 > 0:35:59Knowing that she was part of me dad, as you might say.
0:35:59 > 0:36:02And I'm hoping that she'll know different things that happened
0:36:02 > 0:36:06because, obviously, they talked to each other, brother and sister.
0:36:06 > 0:36:09At that time, they were only kids, I suppose, themselves, weren't they? So...
0:36:09 > 0:36:11Erm...
0:36:11 > 0:36:14She might be able to fill in a few gaps that...
0:36:14 > 0:36:17I don't know, I mean, I know quite a bit about Mum's side
0:36:17 > 0:36:20but I don't know a lot about Dad's side so...
0:36:20 > 0:36:22Every little bit helps.
0:36:22 > 0:36:26This is going to be a really good day.
0:36:26 > 0:36:28A really good day.
0:36:28 > 0:36:31Alan would have been overjoyed at this meeting.
0:36:31 > 0:36:35Oh, it would have been a joy for him. A real joy for him.
0:36:36 > 0:36:39We'll find out a bit more about each other.
0:36:39 > 0:36:41And catch up about the family.
0:36:41 > 0:36:44Just get hold of him and hug him.
0:36:44 > 0:36:48Cos you didn't...we didn't have the opportunity to hug, really.
0:36:48 > 0:36:51You know, it's so lovely. Give him a kiss and a hug.
0:36:53 > 0:36:58- Hello.- Hello.- Come on, darling.- Aw.
0:37:04 > 0:37:07- Come on, David.- Hello, Auntie Beryl.
0:37:07 > 0:37:08THEY LAUGH
0:37:08 > 0:37:13- Oh, dear, dear, dear.- Oh, we'll have a nice little chat now, won't we? - Oh, yeah, I hope so.
0:37:15 > 0:37:19- Oh.- Come on, sit down. Sit down with me.- How special this is going to be.- How special is it?
0:37:19 > 0:37:21A very special day for me.
0:37:22 > 0:37:27- I can't find it!- Ha-ha.- Now, don't he look like me mum and our Alan?
0:37:27 > 0:37:28Yes. Yes.
0:37:28 > 0:37:31He's more like your mum than our Alan.
0:37:32 > 0:37:35Dave's keen to find out exactly what happened to his mum
0:37:35 > 0:37:40and dad after he was born, from someone who was there at the time.
0:37:40 > 0:37:45- So, can you remember what actually happened after...?- Not really.
0:37:45 > 0:37:47No, it was more or less taboo, you know, I mean...
0:37:47 > 0:37:51- Did Dad get into trouble...can you...at the time?- Yes, he did.
0:37:51 > 0:37:54Because they actually met again when they probably shouldn't have done
0:37:54 > 0:37:58- and, well...- Well, I don't thi... - ..as you know, they got married. - ..I don't think they ever stopped.
0:37:58 > 0:38:03- So did Dad get told he had to keep away from her or...- Yes.- ..was there things...?
0:38:03 > 0:38:07- In fact, there was a really big do...- Right.- ..you know. He got really...
0:38:07 > 0:38:09- Into trouble.- Yeah.- He did. Yeah.
0:38:09 > 0:38:13Mum said that Dad actually got to see Dave...
0:38:14 > 0:38:17..when she... Before she gave him away.
0:38:17 > 0:38:19- Oh, I didn't know that.- Well, I didn't. Right.- She snuck...
0:38:19 > 0:38:20She snuck out.
0:38:20 > 0:38:24She was allowed to take him on short walks
0:38:24 > 0:38:26and how they managed to keep in touch with each other through
0:38:26 > 0:38:29the pregnancy when she was there, I don't know, but they must have done
0:38:29 > 0:38:34because Mum said Dad, actually, got to see him just the once.
0:38:34 > 0:38:36They met up when they shouldn't have done
0:38:36 > 0:38:39and she took him for a walk in the pram just before he was given up
0:38:39 > 0:38:40for adoption.
0:38:40 > 0:38:42See, Mum told me that
0:38:42 > 0:38:44when they wasn't supposed to be seeing each other
0:38:44 > 0:38:49- and meeting at all...- They were. They were on the sly.- ..they would go to the pictures
0:38:49 > 0:38:54and Maureen would sit in one row and Dad would sit in another row
0:38:54 > 0:38:57and they'd hold hands in the dark over the top.
0:38:57 > 0:38:59I didn't know that. She never told me that.
0:38:59 > 0:39:03- There were just little, crafty meets that they had...- Ah.- ..and I just wondered...- Yeah. Yeah.
0:39:03 > 0:39:06- ..if Auntie Beryl knew about things like this, you see.- I know they...
0:39:06 > 0:39:09Now, they did... I know they did meet up because I mean they were...
0:39:09 > 0:39:14- They weren't kept apart. No.- No. No matter how much they tried, it wasn't working.
0:39:14 > 0:39:17- No. No matter how much the family tried.- Yeah, it's good. That's good.
0:39:17 > 0:39:22- No. They did meet up. - Was everybody happy, then, when they got married?
0:39:22 > 0:39:27- Did...- He did, sort of, give up by that time.- Yeah.- Yeah. Yeah.- Yeah, families had got over it and...
0:39:27 > 0:39:30- Well, it has to be. It has to be. - Yeah, yeah, yeah.
0:39:32 > 0:39:35They were a unit. There was no other word for it.
0:39:35 > 0:39:39They were meant for one another, you know.
0:39:39 > 0:39:42They did everything they could to be together.
0:39:42 > 0:39:44It was a one, true love.
0:39:47 > 0:39:51Like Heathcliff and... All over again.
0:39:52 > 0:39:56Let's have a look at the photographs, then, Auntie Beryl, that you've brought. You start.
0:39:56 > 0:39:59This is your dad. That was taken at Rhyl.
0:39:59 > 0:40:03- I remember that.- Wow.- Wait till you see what I've got of my lads.
0:40:03 > 0:40:07We all look the same and me when I was small, believe it or not.
0:40:08 > 0:40:11- There's your mum and dad at the wedding.- That one there, you mean?- Yeah, yeah.
0:40:11 > 0:40:16- You can have that because...- Can I? - ..because I've got a couple of them. Yes.- Lovely, thank you.- Yeah.
0:40:16 > 0:40:18Look at Dad's hairstyle, there. The Teddy Boy style.
0:40:18 > 0:40:21- Hey, hey, I've got that cut as well. I have as a baby.- Have you?
0:40:21 > 0:40:24This is me with one of them hairdos.
0:40:24 > 0:40:26THEY LAUGH
0:40:26 > 0:40:29Let's look at your photographs, Dave.
0:40:32 > 0:40:36- Oh, my God.- Oh, my goodness. Look at that.
0:40:36 > 0:40:38Wow.
0:40:38 > 0:40:42- Looks so much like we did when we were babies.- Mmm.
0:40:42 > 0:40:45- Oh, if only Mum and Dad had've seen these.- Mmm.
0:40:46 > 0:40:53- Me mum seems to think that was me on me way home to the farm...- When you were a...- ..the first day. Yes.
0:40:53 > 0:40:56And the clothes I'm wearing there,
0:40:56 > 0:40:58believe it or not, are in here.
0:40:59 > 0:41:01The day that we met, the very, very first time,
0:41:01 > 0:41:06we all sat there talking away and getting on really well
0:41:06 > 0:41:09and me mum went down to her bag and come out with this.
0:41:09 > 0:41:12And I'd never seen it.
0:41:12 > 0:41:15And she said to Maureen, "You recognise these?"
0:41:15 > 0:41:16Oh, my God.
0:41:16 > 0:41:20And Maureen said, "Yes," she said, "Because I embroided them."
0:41:20 > 0:41:22And she couldn't believe me mum had still got them.
0:41:22 > 0:41:25- And that's what I came...- So that's...- ..That's what I came home in the first day.
0:41:25 > 0:41:27- ..That's what you came home in.- Oh, my God.
0:41:27 > 0:41:29Mum said, "How is it you've still got it?"
0:41:29 > 0:41:35- And she said, "Cos I... I just wondered and thought maybe one day I could show you back again."- Mmm.
0:41:35 > 0:41:36Wow.
0:41:36 > 0:41:39It really is amazing.
0:41:39 > 0:41:41That is beautiful.
0:41:41 > 0:41:42I can't believe she kept it.
0:41:45 > 0:41:49I can't believe, after 30 odd years or whatever it is,
0:41:49 > 0:41:53that we'd be sat round a table sharing memories
0:41:53 > 0:41:56and photographs, the three of us together.
0:41:56 > 0:42:01- It really does mean the world to me.- It does to me, as well, because you are part of Alan, you see.
0:42:01 > 0:42:02Absolutely.
0:42:02 > 0:42:06- So you got a little bit of him back again for a while now...- I have. - ..haven't you?
0:42:06 > 0:42:09Dave hasn't just been reunited with a sister and an aunt...
0:42:09 > 0:42:12Let's have a group hug.
0:42:12 > 0:42:15..he's now part of a large, extended family that
0:42:15 > 0:42:19until a few years ago, he didn't know existed.
0:42:19 > 0:42:22- Who is all these presents for? - Are they yours, Elizabeth?- Me.- Wow. - Birthday girl.
0:42:24 > 0:42:29Dave seems a lovely man. Very pleased to have met him.
0:42:29 > 0:42:32And to think he's part of me family so that's rather nice.
0:42:34 > 0:42:36It's been a very good weekend.
0:42:36 > 0:42:39I didn't expect half of what was going to happen and it's happened
0:42:39 > 0:42:45and it's been good and, obviously, I've met more family so that's...
0:42:45 > 0:42:49It's been a good ending to the story. And a new beginning.
0:42:49 > 0:42:52ALL: Woo.
0:42:52 > 0:42:55What a day. It's been absolutely fantastic.
0:42:55 > 0:42:57I can't believe that it's took all these years...
0:42:57 > 0:42:59FIREWORKS CRACKLING ALL: Woo.
0:42:59 > 0:43:01..but, yeah, amazing.
0:43:01 > 0:43:03Absolutely amazing.
0:43:03 > 0:43:04I've loved every minute of it.