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 > 0:00:18I might have a brother that's still living here.
0:00:18 > 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 > 0:01:06..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 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 > 0:01:19I'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 > 0:01:35Many family secrets are shrouded in the mists of time.
0:01:35 > 0:01:39Tracing a family separated across decades or even centuries
0:01:39 > 0:01:41can seem a daunting task.
0:01:41 > 0:01:45But in fact, technological advances in fields such as computing
0:01:45 > 0:01:49and applied genetics have led to the development of brand-new
0:01:49 > 0:01:53weapons in the amateur family finders arsenal.
0:01:53 > 0:01:56These new techniques can help pierce the gloom
0:01:56 > 0:01:58and piece families back together.
0:01:58 > 0:02:02Today, we meet David, whose search for his birth family was
0:02:02 > 0:02:06floundering until he sought out the very latest online resources.
0:02:06 > 0:02:08It took me a while to realise...
0:02:09 > 0:02:11..that that's the people...
0:02:13 > 0:02:15..that's the people I was looking for.
0:02:15 > 0:02:18- There he is. My new brother. - Right, guys?
0:02:20 > 0:02:24And we follow the story of Sally, who used cutting edge DNA
0:02:24 > 0:02:28techniques to decipher her family's 80-year-old enigma.
0:02:29 > 0:02:31It told you the countries of origin that you came from.
0:02:31 > 0:02:36But it also matched you online to other people who had the same DNA.
0:02:36 > 0:02:40And he said to me, "I've never had a match this close before."
0:02:43 > 0:02:4755-year-old David Stewart grew up in Scotland,
0:02:47 > 0:02:50along with two older sisters and his brother, Michael.
0:02:50 > 0:02:54When he was still a young boy, and for reasons David never knew,
0:02:54 > 0:02:57his older brother, Michael, was placed in care.
0:02:57 > 0:02:59I was really young at the time when he went.
0:02:59 > 0:03:02I was only three, something like that.
0:03:02 > 0:03:05I just... In fact, I don't even remember him going.
0:03:05 > 0:03:08I don't remember. One day he was there and the next day he was gone.
0:03:08 > 0:03:09I was so young.
0:03:09 > 0:03:12I didn't know where he went or why he went.
0:03:12 > 0:03:13No idea.
0:03:13 > 0:03:16But that wasn't the only family mystery
0:03:16 > 0:03:18surrounding David's childhood.
0:03:18 > 0:03:20He later discovered that his mother
0:03:20 > 0:03:24and older sisters weren't, in fact, his family by birth.
0:03:24 > 0:03:28His dad was his real birth father and had brought David
0:03:28 > 0:03:31and his brother to live with him and his new family.
0:03:31 > 0:03:34I think maybe about ten, 11, something like that,
0:03:34 > 0:03:37I started to question, you know, in myself,
0:03:37 > 0:03:41I started to question that something just wasn't right.
0:03:41 > 0:03:44I was never told anything about my birth mother.
0:03:44 > 0:03:47Or whatever happened to her.
0:03:47 > 0:03:48I had no knowledge whatsoever.
0:03:48 > 0:03:50A very strange upbringing
0:03:50 > 0:03:54when you're living with one lady who you call Mum
0:03:54 > 0:03:57and two girls who you call your sisters but in the back
0:03:57 > 0:04:00of your head, you know there's something different there.
0:04:00 > 0:04:01There's something...
0:04:01 > 0:04:05Then each year that went on, I just got more intrigued by it.
0:04:05 > 0:04:07But my dad still never told me anything.
0:04:07 > 0:04:10You know, it was always just something inside me
0:04:10 > 0:04:13that was telling me there was different things going on.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16The unsettling revelations of his childhood kindled
0:04:16 > 0:04:20a yearning in David to find out more about his birth family
0:04:20 > 0:04:22that grew stronger with age.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25But his dad never spoke about David's birth mother or brother.
0:04:25 > 0:04:30So, after he left home, David wrote to his paternal grandmother,
0:04:30 > 0:04:33who he had met on a few occasions growing up.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36I wrote her just a little letter explaining who I was
0:04:36 > 0:04:38and, you know, "Do you remember me?
0:04:38 > 0:04:41"I came and visited you a few years previously."
0:04:41 > 0:04:45I was just trying to start the ball rolling and get some info.
0:04:45 > 0:04:49And she just wrote back and said she doesn't write letters.
0:04:49 > 0:04:51That was it.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54She doesn't write letters and, "Don't write to me again."
0:04:54 > 0:04:56So that was the end of that.
0:04:56 > 0:04:58Life carried on for David.
0:04:58 > 0:05:01His father died in 1985.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04David married and started a family of his own.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07But the urge to find out what happened to his older brother,
0:05:07 > 0:05:11Michael, and the desire to find out about his own birth relatives
0:05:11 > 0:05:13kept on growing.
0:05:13 > 0:05:16I think... Everybody I know's got blood relatives.
0:05:16 > 0:05:18And I didn't have any.
0:05:18 > 0:05:22I just... It's always been a thing, I have to have some blood relatives.
0:05:22 > 0:05:27So David decided to start by looking for the only blood relative
0:05:27 > 0:05:28he knew he had left.
0:05:28 > 0:05:30His older brother, Michael.
0:05:30 > 0:05:32He had last seen him as a young boy
0:05:32 > 0:05:34over 40 years earlier.
0:05:34 > 0:05:36We went through the museum at Preston.
0:05:36 > 0:05:39Somebody mentioned this microfiche thing.
0:05:39 > 0:05:41And I thought, "I'll give that a bash."
0:05:41 > 0:05:44We pretty much had the very basic details.
0:05:44 > 0:05:49But we were able to get enough to give to the Salvation Army.
0:05:49 > 0:05:51David's case was taken on
0:05:51 > 0:05:54by the Salvation Army's Family Tracing Unit.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57Within just a few months, they had found a possible match.
0:05:57 > 0:06:00The next stage was to get in touch.
0:06:00 > 0:06:03They wrote a little letter.
0:06:03 > 0:06:06Would he be willing to get in touch with me?
0:06:06 > 0:06:10They basically gave him my name and address, my phone number,
0:06:10 > 0:06:12and they left it up to him.
0:06:13 > 0:06:17After the years of yearning to find his own family,
0:06:17 > 0:06:19all David could do now was wait and see
0:06:19 > 0:06:21if his brother would get in touch.
0:06:21 > 0:06:23He rang me on Christmas Day.
0:06:23 > 0:06:25About ten years ago.
0:06:30 > 0:06:34And I went and visited him. I went to see him...
0:06:35 > 0:06:37..pretty soon afterwards.
0:06:37 > 0:06:41And he lived way up at the very top of Scotland. So...
0:06:41 > 0:06:42That was amazing.
0:06:43 > 0:06:44But it didn't turn out...
0:06:46 > 0:06:47..how I wanted it to.
0:06:47 > 0:06:49Because I wanted to have a relationship with him.
0:06:49 > 0:06:51Even if it was long distance.
0:06:52 > 0:06:56But he had his life and he'd lived all that. He must have been...
0:06:57 > 0:07:00..you know, well, at 45, 47, something like that.
0:07:00 > 0:07:02So he'd lived his life without me in it.
0:07:07 > 0:07:09So it's difficult, but...
0:07:11 > 0:07:14..by that time, I had my wife and my children then,
0:07:14 > 0:07:15so I had other things to focus on.
0:07:17 > 0:07:21Although the brothers reunited briefly, they have since lost touch.
0:07:21 > 0:07:24But finding his brother now spurred David on to try
0:07:24 > 0:07:27and find any other family he had out there.
0:07:27 > 0:07:31However, all he had to go on was a few vaguely remembered tales about
0:07:31 > 0:07:36his father, a previous marriage, and possibly other children.
0:07:36 > 0:07:40I just had little things in the back of my head.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43I've always said to my wife and I've always said to my friends,
0:07:43 > 0:07:47"Oh, I've got three or four brothers out there." My dad was a rum.
0:07:47 > 0:07:51He was married two or three times. So, you know, he did have children.
0:07:51 > 0:07:53But I don't know where I got that from.
0:07:53 > 0:07:55I just... I just knew.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58I just knew there was somebody out there
0:07:58 > 0:08:01but I didn't have the full information.
0:08:01 > 0:08:03I decided to have another bash.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06I tried the same avenues that I'd tried previously.
0:08:06 > 0:08:07I rang the Salvation Army.
0:08:07 > 0:08:11But they just said, "You don't have enough information yet."
0:08:11 > 0:08:14So they told me to go on a genealogy website.
0:08:15 > 0:08:16Which I did.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19It was then that David turned to the internet for help.
0:08:19 > 0:08:23In the decades since David had first developed a desire to
0:08:23 > 0:08:26discover the truth about his family, there had been an explosion
0:08:26 > 0:08:31of genealogical websites available online that could offer help.
0:08:31 > 0:08:33They were now his only hope.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36Getting this random phone call out the blue and
0:08:36 > 0:08:40the person at the other end saying, "I'm your brother."
0:08:40 > 0:08:43It's amazing. It's just amazing.
0:08:47 > 0:08:51People can turn family finder for all sorts of reasons.
0:08:51 > 0:08:55In the case of Sally James, it was a desire to give her mother
0:08:55 > 0:08:58the closure she craved about her unknown origins.
0:08:58 > 0:09:01I grew up in a suburb just outside of London.
0:09:01 > 0:09:04It was myself, my mother, my brother.
0:09:04 > 0:09:08But because my mother was an orphan, she didn't know her parents,
0:09:08 > 0:09:10we didn't really have any other family.
0:09:12 > 0:09:16Her mother, Phyllis, was born in Ireland in 1937,
0:09:16 > 0:09:18but was placed into care as a baby.
0:09:19 > 0:09:23All Mother knew about her childhood was that she was
0:09:23 > 0:09:27born in the Bethney Home, because that was on her birth certificate.
0:09:27 > 0:09:29And she grew up in Kirwan House orphanage.
0:09:30 > 0:09:34The Bethney Home was a mother and baby home in Dublin.
0:09:34 > 0:09:38Homes like these would often house women having babies out of wedlock
0:09:38 > 0:09:41during the later stages of pregnancy and birth.
0:09:41 > 0:09:45After being born at the Bethney Home, at the age of two, Phyllis
0:09:45 > 0:09:49was sent to an orphanage, where she spent the rest of her childhood.
0:09:49 > 0:09:51It was quite a tough time for her.
0:09:51 > 0:09:54The children, they were never given enough food,
0:09:54 > 0:09:57so they used to steal the apples from the orchard.
0:09:57 > 0:10:01Then if they got caught, they would get a beating.
0:10:01 > 0:10:02And she often did.
0:10:04 > 0:10:07At the age of 16, Phyllis left the orphanage,
0:10:07 > 0:10:10moved to England to train as a nurse,
0:10:10 > 0:10:12and eventually started her own family.
0:10:12 > 0:10:16But she never stopped wondering about her birth mother.
0:10:16 > 0:10:19Unfortunately, Phyllis had hardly any information.
0:10:19 > 0:10:22Apart from what was on her birth certificate.
0:10:22 > 0:10:26The only thing that she knew was that her mother was called
0:10:26 > 0:10:27Margaret Little,
0:10:27 > 0:10:29which was her maiden name.
0:10:29 > 0:10:31There was no father's name on the birth certificate.
0:10:31 > 0:10:34And in those days, you didn't ask questions.
0:10:34 > 0:10:35Everything was kept hidden.
0:10:35 > 0:10:39Sally took up the challenge to find out the truth
0:10:39 > 0:10:40about her mother's family.
0:10:40 > 0:10:42But time was running out.
0:10:42 > 0:10:44It was extremely important for me
0:10:44 > 0:10:46to try and find out for my mother,
0:10:46 > 0:10:48particularly the last few years.
0:10:48 > 0:10:50Because as her health deteriorated,
0:10:50 > 0:10:53I knew that probably there wasn't time on our side.
0:10:53 > 0:10:57And she'd wanted to know all her life who her mother was.
0:10:57 > 0:11:00She longed to know who her mother was.
0:11:00 > 0:11:04The first port of call for Sally was online.
0:11:04 > 0:11:07I looked at genealogy websites.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10And I was searching for a birth,
0:11:10 > 0:11:15death or marriage certificate for her mother, who was Margaret Little.
0:11:15 > 0:11:17But I couldn't find anything.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20Trying a different approach, over the next few years,
0:11:20 > 0:11:22Sally got in touch with several charities
0:11:22 > 0:11:25who help children who grew up in care
0:11:25 > 0:11:26to trace their families.
0:11:26 > 0:11:28And finally, she got a result.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33One thing the charity were able to give me was a copy
0:11:33 > 0:11:38of my mother's orphan certificate, when she was in Kirwan House.
0:11:38 > 0:11:42On the back of the orphan certificate, there was a very
0:11:42 > 0:11:46sad note written. It says, "This is a very needy child.
0:11:46 > 0:11:50"The mother now is married but living in very poor circumstances
0:11:50 > 0:11:54"and it would be the most undesirable place for this child."
0:11:54 > 0:11:58So it explains why she gave my mother up.
0:11:58 > 0:12:01Although it's not the full story, obviously.
0:12:01 > 0:12:05The certificate also showed that by the time Phyllis was placed in the
0:12:05 > 0:12:10orphanage, her mother, Margaret, had married a man named James Clancy.
0:12:10 > 0:12:13But despite all this new information,
0:12:13 > 0:12:17it didn't lead to the breakthrough Sally so desperately wanted.
0:12:17 > 0:12:21Even though I knew from one of the charities that she'd married
0:12:21 > 0:12:24a James Clancy, I still couldn't find -
0:12:24 > 0:12:26and nobody else could find - a wedding certificate.
0:12:26 > 0:12:28Which seemed most odd,
0:12:28 > 0:12:31because you'd think that was the one thing you could find.
0:12:31 > 0:12:34But, in fact, it was impossible.
0:12:34 > 0:12:37Undeterred, Sally kept looking.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40But while a few years later her mother's health deteriorated,
0:12:40 > 0:12:43the search became all the more critical.
0:12:43 > 0:12:46She was diagnosed in the summer with lung cancer.
0:12:46 > 0:12:50It suddenly hit me that, you know, time was not on her side.
0:12:50 > 0:12:53In fact, it wasn't on my side either,
0:12:53 > 0:12:58because I now had a desperate search to try and find who her mother was.
0:12:58 > 0:13:01Even though I had bits of information all over the place,
0:13:01 > 0:13:05I just didn't have the things I needed the most,
0:13:05 > 0:13:08which were her mother's date of birth and the place she was born.
0:13:08 > 0:13:12And I said to her one day, "Mum," I said.
0:13:12 > 0:13:16"I will keep looking as long as I live.
0:13:16 > 0:13:20"Even after you're gone, I will still be searching.
0:13:20 > 0:13:22"Until the day I die."
0:13:22 > 0:13:26And I knew that meant something to her.
0:13:26 > 0:13:27That meant a lot to her.
0:13:28 > 0:13:32Another two years went by, Phyllis' health was deteriorating
0:13:32 > 0:13:35and she was now living in a nursing home.
0:13:35 > 0:13:38It was then that Sally decided to take a gamble on some new
0:13:38 > 0:13:41cutting-edge family-finding technology -
0:13:41 > 0:13:43DNA testing.
0:13:43 > 0:13:46It told you the countries of origin that you came from.
0:13:46 > 0:13:51But it also matched you online to other people who had the same DNA.
0:13:51 > 0:13:53And I thought, "If only we could find a connection,
0:13:53 > 0:13:55"it might lead somewhere."
0:13:55 > 0:13:59So I thought, "Now's the time to get the kit, get the test done,
0:13:59 > 0:14:04"and see what happens." So she did the test for me. I sent it off.
0:14:05 > 0:14:10Advances in the science of genetics have opened up a whole new branch
0:14:10 > 0:14:14of genealogical research that didn't exist up until a few years ago.
0:14:15 > 0:14:18DNA is a great way to kick-start your family history.
0:14:18 > 0:14:20Because it gives you something to build on.
0:14:20 > 0:14:24You provide a DNA sample - a swab or spit.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27You send it off and they process it in the lab.
0:14:27 > 0:14:31What they do is, they pull out hundreds of thousands of markers.
0:14:31 > 0:14:34What they're able to do is determine your ethnicity.
0:14:34 > 0:14:38So have a bit of an understanding of where your ancestors might
0:14:38 > 0:14:39have come from in the past.
0:14:39 > 0:14:42And of course, the other thing that it does,
0:14:42 > 0:14:44it will say, "Ah, OK. You've got these markers.
0:14:44 > 0:14:46"This other person has got these markers.
0:14:46 > 0:14:49"Therefore we're pretty confident you're second cousins."
0:14:49 > 0:14:52You know, if you have no idea who that person is, suddenly
0:14:52 > 0:14:55a branch of your tree that you thought might have been dead
0:14:55 > 0:14:56suddenly comes to life.
0:14:58 > 0:15:00Sally decided to take a DNA test
0:15:00 > 0:15:04in the hope of speeding up her search for her mother's family.
0:15:04 > 0:15:06After a quest that had lasted years,
0:15:06 > 0:15:09little did she know just how quickly she would get an answer.
0:15:09 > 0:15:13And that it would lead to a totally unexpected discovery.
0:15:14 > 0:15:19All these years, all these searches, and there she was.
0:15:19 > 0:15:21And there I'd found the family.
0:15:21 > 0:15:23Welcome.
0:15:28 > 0:15:31In Scotland, David Stewart had also turned to
0:15:31 > 0:15:33technology for help in his search.
0:15:33 > 0:15:37David had always yearned for blood siblings of his own.
0:15:37 > 0:15:41He was chasing down a family rumour that his father had had other
0:15:41 > 0:15:43children before him.
0:15:43 > 0:15:45People were telling me that I've got three brothers
0:15:45 > 0:15:47and a sister out there.
0:15:47 > 0:15:48David took his search online,
0:15:48 > 0:15:52where he found a wealth of genealogical resources.
0:15:52 > 0:15:56He even made contact with online amateur family finders
0:15:56 > 0:15:58willing to take up the search.
0:15:58 > 0:16:01The community on that website took it on themselves to help.
0:16:01 > 0:16:06So within hours of putting my very basic details on,
0:16:06 > 0:16:10a message popped up from a lady that I didn't know.
0:16:10 > 0:16:12She was able to...
0:16:12 > 0:16:16tell me that I had three half-brothers and a sister.
0:16:16 > 0:16:20Within hours of joining the site, she was able to give me
0:16:20 > 0:16:23an address of one of my brothers.
0:16:23 > 0:16:26As soon as I got that address, I decided I'd ring him
0:16:26 > 0:16:30there and then if I could find a phone number for him.
0:16:30 > 0:16:33But there wasn't any phone number. I couldn't find a number.
0:16:33 > 0:16:36So I wrote him a letter pretty much straightaway.
0:16:37 > 0:16:42The genealogist online had found David's half-brother called Steven.
0:16:42 > 0:16:44It seemed the rumours had been true.
0:16:44 > 0:16:47His father had had other children before David was born.
0:16:49 > 0:16:53He'd finally found the family he'd spent years looking for.
0:16:53 > 0:16:57But when it came to making contact, David was gripped by nerves.
0:16:57 > 0:16:59When I posted the letter, I felt...
0:17:01 > 0:17:03I don't know, just apprehension.
0:17:04 > 0:17:08I was really apprehensive if he got the letter and just thought,
0:17:08 > 0:17:11"Ugh, I'll maybe bin it."
0:17:11 > 0:17:14Maybe not be interested. So that would be another one that...
0:17:14 > 0:17:16So I was scared, but...
0:17:17 > 0:17:18..I was also excited.
0:17:20 > 0:17:2450 miles away, that letter landed in Steven Stewart's hand.
0:17:24 > 0:17:27There was one letter on the table for me.
0:17:27 > 0:17:29Got the letter and opened it.
0:17:29 > 0:17:31Then there was this, "Dear sir."
0:17:31 > 0:17:35Which I thought was quite quaint. "My name is Dave Stewart.
0:17:35 > 0:17:37"My father's name was Roy Douglas Stewart.
0:17:37 > 0:17:39"I think you may be my long-lost half-brother.
0:17:39 > 0:17:43"I have no other blood family and I'd be very interested
0:17:43 > 0:17:44"if you'd let me know." So I gave him a ring.
0:17:44 > 0:17:46I think it was Christmas Eve, actually.
0:17:46 > 0:17:49We were just doing our thing, getting ready for Christmas.
0:17:49 > 0:17:50And my phone rang.
0:17:50 > 0:17:56I answered it this day and the man on the other end just...
0:17:58 > 0:18:01HE SNIFFLES
0:18:01 > 0:18:02..said he was my brother.
0:18:03 > 0:18:06And he confirmed the letter that he received.
0:18:08 > 0:18:09And...
0:18:09 > 0:18:13He just said, "Hello, Dave. I think I'm your brother."
0:18:13 > 0:18:18After looking for so many years and then just...
0:18:18 > 0:18:21getting this random phone call out the blue.
0:18:21 > 0:18:22And the person at the other end...
0:18:24 > 0:18:26..saying, "I'm your brother."
0:18:26 > 0:18:27It's, well...
0:18:28 > 0:18:31It's amazing. It's just amazing.
0:18:33 > 0:18:35Steven is one of four children
0:18:35 > 0:18:38all from David's father's first marriage.
0:18:38 > 0:18:41I was born in 1948 in Ipswich.
0:18:42 > 0:18:46The eldest of four children.
0:18:47 > 0:18:50I can't really remember exactly when he left.
0:18:50 > 0:18:53He was there, he was there, he wasn't there.
0:18:53 > 0:18:57I was aware only via the effect you'd have at school.
0:18:57 > 0:19:00Cos I wasn't a particularly nice little kid.
0:19:00 > 0:19:03I was always fighting, getting into trouble and scraps,
0:19:03 > 0:19:05and it always used to really irritate me in the background
0:19:05 > 0:19:07when they'd say I'd been in this trouble
0:19:07 > 0:19:09because I'd come from divorced parents.
0:19:09 > 0:19:12And that used to really irritate me at that particular stage.
0:19:12 > 0:19:17Occasionally, one of my aunties used to say to me, "Your dad's in town.
0:19:17 > 0:19:18"He's down at The Cricket."
0:19:18 > 0:19:21That's the local pub where my grandmother used to live.
0:19:21 > 0:19:23And I would go down there and I might get a Vimto
0:19:23 > 0:19:25and a bag of crisps or something, you know?
0:19:25 > 0:19:28Always was on the lookout for something
0:19:28 > 0:19:30when you live in that situation.
0:19:30 > 0:19:32And I would sometimes see him.
0:19:32 > 0:19:35But then that sort of stuff stopped altogether.
0:19:35 > 0:19:38But before he lost contact with his father, there's one
0:19:38 > 0:19:42particular meeting that's always stuck in Steven's mind.
0:19:42 > 0:19:46I can remember coming out of school one day.
0:19:46 > 0:19:49I remember this big car came out and I walked past.
0:19:49 > 0:19:51And my dad came out of the car.
0:19:51 > 0:19:55And he introduced me to these two little boys, Michael and David.
0:19:55 > 0:19:58I can't remember which was which or which was the biggest one.
0:19:58 > 0:19:59They got out.
0:19:59 > 0:20:03You know, what do you say as a young child to two other kids? You know?
0:20:03 > 0:20:05So I never said much.
0:20:05 > 0:20:08I was just hoping he might give me ten bob or something, you know?
0:20:08 > 0:20:13And then disappeared and I never saw them or heard of them again.
0:20:13 > 0:20:18Occasionally my father would turn up in Ipswich and take me out.
0:20:18 > 0:20:22Drive to Felixstowe, buy me an ice cream, give me ten bob or five bob.
0:20:22 > 0:20:24Then disappear. And that was it, really.
0:20:24 > 0:20:26That was all I had of him for years.
0:20:28 > 0:20:33On my 16th birthday, I joined the army and left home.
0:20:33 > 0:20:36With a toothbrush and a flannel wrapped up in my bag,
0:20:36 > 0:20:39and a spare pair of underpants. That's all I took with me.
0:20:39 > 0:20:40I thought it was great.
0:20:40 > 0:20:43Three square meals a day, a cooked breakfast every day, dinner,
0:20:43 > 0:20:45lunch, everything was great.
0:20:45 > 0:20:47I loved the army. I thought it was great.
0:20:47 > 0:20:51Once Steven left the army, he married, had two daughters,
0:20:51 > 0:20:53and moved to Scotland.
0:20:53 > 0:20:57I hadn't thought of my father or gotten involved with him,
0:20:57 > 0:20:59with anything about him, for ages.
0:20:59 > 0:21:03But I then got a call off my sister saying she's got my dad's address
0:21:03 > 0:21:05and he was in Scotland.
0:21:06 > 0:21:13We drove down one day. Ruth, myself and my eldest daughter, Claire.
0:21:13 > 0:21:16I sat outside there for two or three hours
0:21:16 > 0:21:18and I couldn't get myself to go in.
0:21:18 > 0:21:21Because I didn't really know what I was going to get into.
0:21:21 > 0:21:23I didn't really know if...
0:21:23 > 0:21:25He wasn't bothered with me,
0:21:25 > 0:21:29I didn't really want...didn't know if he was going to be good, bad...
0:21:29 > 0:21:32You know? So Ruth was really onto me.
0:21:32 > 0:21:35"Go up. Just go up and speak to him. Just go knock on the door.
0:21:35 > 0:21:37"Just speak to him." I just couldn't bring myself to do it.
0:21:37 > 0:21:39I was just sort of sceptical about it.
0:21:39 > 0:21:42I thought, "Well, all these years he's not bothered.
0:21:42 > 0:21:45"Why should I bother?" And that's how I felt about it at the time.
0:21:45 > 0:21:47We'd had our first child, Claire had been born.
0:21:47 > 0:21:50And I was absolutely besotted with the girls when they were born.
0:21:50 > 0:21:51They were fantastic.
0:21:51 > 0:21:54Best things in my life, the two daughters, you know?
0:21:54 > 0:21:57So I thought, "Well, why couldn't he care like I care for my kids?"
0:21:57 > 0:22:01So I wasn't that interested in... I lost interest in seeing him, really.
0:22:01 > 0:22:04We just drove back home, back home to Glasgow.
0:22:04 > 0:22:05And didn't do anything about it.
0:22:05 > 0:22:08But that wasn't the end of the story.
0:22:08 > 0:22:12A number of years later, Steven's urge to find his family returned.
0:22:12 > 0:22:15And just as David was looking for him,
0:22:15 > 0:22:17Steven was trying to find his half-brothers.
0:22:17 > 0:22:19I'd always known in the background that they were there,
0:22:19 > 0:22:21Michael and David were there.
0:22:21 > 0:22:23But I didn't know anything about them.
0:22:23 > 0:22:24I didn't know what they'd done.
0:22:24 > 0:22:27When I put their names to the search machine, nothing came up for them.
0:22:27 > 0:22:30Cos I never had any other details about them. I didn't know...
0:22:30 > 0:22:32I roughly worked out what age they would be, what year.
0:22:32 > 0:22:34But I couldn't get that stage further.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37So I just thought... Nothing there for me, I didn't think.
0:22:37 > 0:22:39So I just sort of gave up hope at that particular point.
0:22:39 > 0:22:41And just sort of got on with my life.
0:22:41 > 0:22:45That was until the day, just a few months ago,
0:22:45 > 0:22:48when David's letter landed in Steven's hands.
0:22:48 > 0:22:50He's got a virtual carbon copy of my family.
0:22:50 > 0:22:52He's got his wife and two daughters
0:22:52 > 0:22:54and I've got a wife and two daughters.
0:22:54 > 0:22:56I'm looking forward to meeting him.
0:22:59 > 0:23:02After several weeks speaking on the phone,
0:23:02 > 0:23:06and several years unknowingly living just 50 miles apart,
0:23:06 > 0:23:10today the two brothers have arranged to meet up for the first time
0:23:10 > 0:23:13since their dad introduced them as young boys.
0:23:13 > 0:23:14You can't explain this feeling.
0:23:14 > 0:23:17There's not many people go through this, I don't think.
0:23:17 > 0:23:20It's worse than a first date.
0:23:20 > 0:23:23You know, when you're dead nervous and you're meeting someone
0:23:23 > 0:23:24and you want to make a good impression.
0:23:24 > 0:23:27You know, I'm not trying to impress him or anything,
0:23:27 > 0:23:30I'm just trying to... You know, I'm just going to meet my brother
0:23:30 > 0:23:33and it's like meeting a girlfriend for the first time.
0:23:33 > 0:23:34It's a really strange feeling.
0:23:36 > 0:23:37I'm looking forward to it, really.
0:23:37 > 0:23:40A little bit apprehensive, but absolutely fine.
0:23:40 > 0:23:42Looking forward to meeting him.
0:23:42 > 0:23:44I've had a couple of conversations with him on the telephone
0:23:44 > 0:23:47and I'm really looking forward to meeting him and his wife.
0:23:47 > 0:23:52I feel really nervous and I don't know why I should feel so nervous.
0:23:52 > 0:23:53I'm really emotional.
0:23:54 > 0:23:56I'm really pleased that he's contacted us.
0:23:56 > 0:23:58I think it's really nice.
0:23:58 > 0:24:00I just think the whole thing that he's bothered is really nice.
0:24:05 > 0:24:08I'm too nervous. I don't want to eat or drink.
0:24:08 > 0:24:09HE CHUCKLES
0:24:09 > 0:24:12After decades of searching for family,
0:24:12 > 0:24:15David is about to come face-to-face with his brand-new brother
0:24:15 > 0:24:17for the very first time.
0:24:20 > 0:24:22There he is.
0:24:22 > 0:24:24- My brother, at last.- My new brother.
0:24:24 > 0:24:27How are you, mate? You all right?
0:24:27 > 0:24:30- Yep.- It's really nice to see you, mate. It really is.
0:24:30 > 0:24:33- Nice to meet you.- You all right? - Yeah, I'm good.
0:24:33 > 0:24:36- Hiya, Ruth. Are you all right? - Nice to meet you. Yes, I'm fine.
0:24:36 > 0:24:37Thank you.
0:24:37 > 0:24:41- Hey up, Tracy. Nice to see you. - Nice to meet you.
0:24:41 > 0:24:42- My new sister-in-law.- Yeah.
0:24:44 > 0:24:46Oh.
0:24:46 > 0:24:47Sit down, mate.
0:24:47 > 0:24:51Good to see you, mate. I'm really pleased to see you in the flesh.
0:24:51 > 0:24:55Yeah. I am. I can't tell you. This is... This is phenomenal for me.
0:24:55 > 0:24:58It really is. I've been trying this for years and years.
0:24:58 > 0:25:00We were talking about it yesterday.
0:25:00 > 0:25:03- How stupid that we're so close. - I know, yeah.
0:25:03 > 0:25:06It's not taken us 30-odd miles to come here.
0:25:06 > 0:25:08- It's amazing, isn't it? - I know. It really, really is.
0:25:08 > 0:25:12And you would never have found me. You didn't have, what, I mean...
0:25:12 > 0:25:14- I didn't...- How would you start?
0:25:14 > 0:25:16I found my dad lots of times. No problem.
0:25:16 > 0:25:19On various lists, I found him. Where he lived at particular times.
0:25:19 > 0:25:20But there was no...
0:25:20 > 0:25:23I couldn't get any further to find if he had any children.
0:25:23 > 0:25:25- I knew he had two children. - Right.- A minimum of two.
0:25:25 > 0:25:27- I assumed he might have had a couple more.- Mm. Probably did.
0:25:27 > 0:25:29So I never thought that much about that.
0:25:29 > 0:25:32Every time, I just seemed to get stuck.
0:25:32 > 0:25:35The two brothers had very different childhoods.
0:25:35 > 0:25:38And both have brought some memorabilia to share.
0:25:38 > 0:25:44I've brought a few pictures. We've got only one of our father.
0:25:44 > 0:25:47Wow. Look at that. Wow.
0:25:47 > 0:25:50- Gosh, yeah.- Jenny always says, "Oh, isn't he handsome?
0:25:50 > 0:25:52- "Isn't he handsome?" - STEVEN LAUGHS
0:25:52 > 0:25:53Yeah.
0:25:53 > 0:25:56I don't see a resemblance there, do you?
0:25:56 > 0:26:00- For you.- No.- I do for me. - I'm more my mother's side.
0:26:00 > 0:26:02I used to sneak into my dad's bedroom and I used to bring
0:26:02 > 0:26:05this out and look at these little old photos of him.
0:26:05 > 0:26:07We had a load. We had a load of army photographs.
0:26:07 > 0:26:10- That's what these are. - But my mother burned them all.
0:26:10 > 0:26:12Oh, God. That's the earliest one, I think.
0:26:12 > 0:26:14THEY TALK OVER EACH OTHER
0:26:14 > 0:26:16He looks really young in that.
0:26:16 > 0:26:1914, 15, something like that, I'd have thought.
0:26:19 > 0:26:21But that's all I've got of my dad.
0:26:21 > 0:26:22- That and that ring.- Really?
0:26:22 > 0:26:24He was the same initials. RDS.
0:26:24 > 0:26:28- Ah, yes. Yeah.- Roy David Stewart. Roy Douglas Stewart.- Yeah, yeah.
0:26:28 > 0:26:29So that's all I've got. That and that.
0:26:29 > 0:26:30Well, I've got nothing.
0:26:30 > 0:26:33I've got nothing at all because he just suddenly disappeared.
0:26:33 > 0:26:36You know. He was there, then he was gone.
0:26:36 > 0:26:40It's taken David years to find a brother to call his own.
0:26:40 > 0:26:43But as the two reunited siblings compare notes,
0:26:43 > 0:26:46they realised there were several near misses.
0:26:46 > 0:26:49Not least Steven's visit to his dad in Scotland,
0:26:49 > 0:26:51where he couldn't bring himself to knock on the door.
0:26:51 > 0:26:54I can't believe... Why didn't you come to the door?
0:26:54 > 0:26:56- I couldn't. I couldn't. - I could have met you, then.
0:26:56 > 0:26:59I know but it would have been completely different then.
0:26:59 > 0:27:01Cos at that particular stage in your life, I don't know.
0:27:01 > 0:27:06- What are you, ten years younger than me? 11 years younger than me?- Yeah.
0:27:06 > 0:27:08- I think... - THEY LAUGH
0:27:08 > 0:27:09..bloody kids.
0:27:09 > 0:27:11- Even then I knew.- Did you really?
0:27:11 > 0:27:14I must have found this when I was really, really small.
0:27:14 > 0:27:17This here is three letters from the courts saying,
0:27:17 > 0:27:19"You've got to pay maintenance."
0:27:19 > 0:27:23- Wow.- Yeah. To be honest, I'd forgotten all about them.
0:27:23 > 0:27:26- Up until a couple of weeks ago when we were talking.- Yeah.
0:27:26 > 0:27:29And all your names and dates of birth and everything are on there.
0:27:29 > 0:27:32- Really?- So if I'd have found that 20 or 30 years ago...
0:27:32 > 0:27:35- But I must have not, you know, it just didn't...- Can I have a look?
0:27:35 > 0:27:38- Yeah, yeah.- I know that was a big thing in our house,
0:27:38 > 0:27:41not getting any money from our father. I remember that.
0:27:41 > 0:27:44Well, if you look at them, that's exactly what they say.
0:27:44 > 0:27:48Again, I should have looked at it. I don't know why...
0:27:48 > 0:27:51All your dates of birth and all your names are on one of these.
0:27:51 > 0:27:55I looked at the pictures but probably didn't take these in.
0:27:55 > 0:27:59When you try as hard as I've done over the years to find blood
0:27:59 > 0:28:04relatives or to find people I could call my own, you get expectations.
0:28:04 > 0:28:07And I've been rejected a few times over the years.
0:28:07 > 0:28:10So I didn't know what to expect, really.
0:28:10 > 0:28:13But now that I've met him and now that I've shaken his hand,
0:28:13 > 0:28:16I'm very happy. I'm really happy with how it went.
0:28:16 > 0:28:17He's very easygoing.
0:28:18 > 0:28:20'You know, it's...'
0:28:20 > 0:28:22It couldn't have been better, really.
0:28:22 > 0:28:24They're really nice. Really nice. He's a nice guy.
0:28:24 > 0:28:25Easy guy to talk to.
0:28:25 > 0:28:28And I'm really looking forward to meeting the family
0:28:28 > 0:28:29and doing other stuff with him.
0:28:29 > 0:28:32- That's been amazing.- Yes.- It's been amazing.- Lovely to meet you.
0:28:32 > 0:28:34- Nice to see you. - Hope to see you again.
0:28:34 > 0:28:36- Hopefully see you soon.- Yeah.
0:28:36 > 0:28:38- All right, brother.- OK. - Nice to meet you, mate.
0:28:38 > 0:28:40- And you. Take care.- Fantastic.
0:28:40 > 0:28:42We'll work something out and see you again.
0:28:42 > 0:28:43- Yeah.- All right?- Soon. Soon.
0:28:43 > 0:28:46'The future's looking good now, really. Not that it wasn't.'
0:28:46 > 0:28:50I've got a great family, my own children and all my Scottish family.
0:28:50 > 0:28:52But it's just...
0:28:52 > 0:28:53This completes it now, doesn't it?
0:29:03 > 0:29:07In Sussex, Sally James had been searching for her grandmother,
0:29:07 > 0:29:11Margaret Little, on behalf of her mum, Phyllis.
0:29:11 > 0:29:14After hitting a dead end with traditional tracing techniques,
0:29:14 > 0:29:18Sally had decided to use the latest DNA technology.
0:29:18 > 0:29:20She added her results to an online database.
0:29:20 > 0:29:23It wasn't long before she got a match.
0:29:23 > 0:29:26Within three weeks, I had the results back.
0:29:26 > 0:29:28Which were amazing.
0:29:28 > 0:29:33And the next thing I knew, I had three e-mails ping in my e-mail box.
0:29:33 > 0:29:35Two from the same person.
0:29:35 > 0:29:36A guy called Matthew.
0:29:38 > 0:29:40On the other side of the Irish Sea,
0:29:40 > 0:29:44Matthew Stewart had also been researching his family history.
0:29:44 > 0:29:48He has also added his DNA to the online database.
0:29:48 > 0:29:51I was aware of DNA testing for a few years before it was available
0:29:51 > 0:29:52here in the UK.
0:29:52 > 0:29:55I thought it would be quite interesting to try it, to see.
0:29:55 > 0:29:57I didn't think it would lead to any big breakthroughs at all.
0:29:57 > 0:30:00I never imagined that it would lead to breakthroughs.
0:30:00 > 0:30:02The e-mail came through saying,
0:30:02 > 0:30:05"You have a new match on your DNA matches list."
0:30:05 > 0:30:09Because it was so close, it was a suggested second-cousin match.
0:30:09 > 0:30:11And I know most of my second-cousins.
0:30:11 > 0:30:14I decided I'd better e-mail quite quickly.
0:30:14 > 0:30:16So I sent an e-mail off through that website.
0:30:17 > 0:30:22Through the DNA test, Sally and Matthew knew they were related.
0:30:22 > 0:30:24Now they just had to work out how.
0:30:24 > 0:30:28Sally logged on to look at Matthew's family tree
0:30:28 > 0:30:32to see if she could find any trace of her grandmother, Margaret Little.
0:30:32 > 0:30:35So I quickly looked at his family tree.
0:30:35 > 0:30:39One of the people, they were called Mary May Little.
0:30:40 > 0:30:44And she had married a Joe Armstrong.
0:30:44 > 0:30:47So I looked at the children that they had.
0:30:47 > 0:30:49And lo and behold, there was a Margaret on there.
0:30:49 > 0:30:52So I clicked on her profile.
0:30:52 > 0:30:55And, my God, I couldn't believe it.
0:30:55 > 0:30:56There she was.
0:30:56 > 0:31:01Margaret Armstrong had married a James Clancy.
0:31:01 > 0:31:03And it was then that the penny dropped,
0:31:03 > 0:31:07because I realised that she'd lied about her name all this time.
0:31:09 > 0:31:11Sally now knew why she hadn't been able to find
0:31:11 > 0:31:13her grandmother, Margaret.
0:31:13 > 0:31:16The name she had given on the birth certificate of the daughter
0:31:16 > 0:31:18she gave up was Margaret Little.
0:31:18 > 0:31:21Her real name was Margaret Armstrong.
0:31:21 > 0:31:24It's likely she used her mother's maiden name because of the
0:31:24 > 0:31:28stigma of having a baby born out of wedlock at that time.
0:31:28 > 0:31:31I sent Matthew back an e-mail.
0:31:31 > 0:31:33I said to him, "I'm in a state of shock.
0:31:33 > 0:31:35"You'll never guess what's happened.
0:31:35 > 0:31:39"I've just looked at the photograph of Margaret Armstrong
0:31:39 > 0:31:41"and discovered it's my grandmother."
0:31:43 > 0:31:45They were soon on the phone to each other
0:31:45 > 0:31:49and quickly ascertained that they shared great-grandparents.
0:31:49 > 0:31:52But Matthew had some even bigger news.
0:31:52 > 0:31:55He said, "Right, OK. So, are you sitting down?
0:31:55 > 0:31:58"I've got some other things to tell you."
0:31:58 > 0:32:01And I was actually shaking. My mouth was dry, I was shaking.
0:32:01 > 0:32:04By this stage, she was very shocked as well, because, as I know now,
0:32:04 > 0:32:08she had tried for years to discover who her mother's family was.
0:32:08 > 0:32:10And no matter what avenue she went down,
0:32:10 > 0:32:13she constantly hit brick walls. One after the other.
0:32:13 > 0:32:15So he said...
0:32:17 > 0:32:20.."Your mother has got three brothers still alive.
0:32:20 > 0:32:23"And an aunt in Australia, of 92."
0:32:23 > 0:32:26I said, "What?!" He said, "Yeah.
0:32:26 > 0:32:31"And this isn't the first time that Peggy has done this
0:32:31 > 0:32:34"because your mother's got a brother called Jim
0:32:34 > 0:32:38"and he was also born out of wedlock the year after her.
0:32:38 > 0:32:41"And we only found him last year."
0:32:41 > 0:32:44So I was absolutely amazed.
0:32:44 > 0:32:46Gobsmacked.
0:32:46 > 0:32:50All these years, all these searches, and there she was.
0:32:50 > 0:32:53And there I'd found the family.
0:32:53 > 0:32:55I just wanted to shout from the rooftops.
0:32:55 > 0:32:59You know, I was... The first thing I wanted to do was tell Mother.
0:32:59 > 0:33:01"Mother, I've found your family."
0:33:01 > 0:33:06When I told Mother, she couldn't believe it. She was astounded.
0:33:06 > 0:33:09She said, "I've got brothers? I've got brothers?"
0:33:09 > 0:33:13I said, "Yeah. You've got three brothers and an aunt in Australia.
0:33:13 > 0:33:15"And they're all still alive."
0:33:15 > 0:33:19She couldn't believe it. She just couldn't believe it.
0:33:19 > 0:33:21You know, it was amazing.
0:33:21 > 0:33:25The next member of her new-found family to make contact was
0:33:25 > 0:33:28Phyllis' brother and Sally's uncle, Jim.
0:33:28 > 0:33:33And he said to me, "I understand I have a sister called Phyllis.
0:33:33 > 0:33:35"Can I speak to Phyllis?"
0:33:35 > 0:33:39And I said, "Well, Jim, she's actually in a nursing home."
0:33:39 > 0:33:41"Oh, I've got a sister. I've got a sister.
0:33:41 > 0:33:44"When can I speak to her? When can I speak to her?"
0:33:44 > 0:33:46He was so excited. He was beside himself.
0:33:48 > 0:33:52Sally discovered that her new uncle, Jim, was born in Dublin
0:33:52 > 0:33:55to Margaret in 1938.
0:33:55 > 0:33:59A year younger than Phyllis, he too was given away as a baby.
0:33:59 > 0:34:04There was no such thing as fostering in Ireland at that time.
0:34:04 > 0:34:07So my father and mother put me with this family
0:34:07 > 0:34:09when I was three months old.
0:34:09 > 0:34:12I couldn't ask for more love
0:34:12 > 0:34:15than you get from your real mother and father.
0:34:15 > 0:34:18Nobody every knew about Jim.
0:34:18 > 0:34:22She'd had two illegitimate births
0:34:22 > 0:34:24and kept them secret from her entire family.
0:34:25 > 0:34:28It wasn't until over 70 years later,
0:34:28 > 0:34:32when Matthew was researching the family tree and found him,
0:34:32 > 0:34:35that Jim was reunited with his birth family.
0:34:35 > 0:34:37That's how the ball started rolling.
0:34:37 > 0:34:41I discovered I had all these relations. I had two brothers.
0:34:41 > 0:34:45I didn't find out about Phyllis, my sister in Sussex,
0:34:45 > 0:34:47for a few months after that.
0:34:47 > 0:34:49So I was thrilled.
0:34:49 > 0:34:50Absolutely thrilling.
0:34:50 > 0:34:55Shortly afterwards, Jim flew to England to meet his sister, Phyllis.
0:34:57 > 0:35:00By this time, Mother, her mobility had more or less gone
0:35:00 > 0:35:02and she was in a wheelchair.
0:35:03 > 0:35:08And the cancer was getting progressively worse.
0:35:08 > 0:35:12It was a touching moment. And we had a lovely lunch together.
0:35:12 > 0:35:14We spoke about everything, really.
0:35:14 > 0:35:18Her life, Sally's life, my life.
0:35:18 > 0:35:20She was over the moon
0:35:20 > 0:35:22when I told her about the family that looked after me.
0:35:22 > 0:35:24Cos it was the only one.
0:35:24 > 0:35:28It was phenomenal. I can't tell you. Phenomenal. You know?
0:35:28 > 0:35:33To think that she had brothers still alive who could meet her,
0:35:33 > 0:35:35and she was still alive. You know, wow.
0:35:35 > 0:35:39I was trying to hold back the tears, I was, seriously.
0:35:39 > 0:35:41Even talking about it now upsets me, you know?
0:35:41 > 0:35:46What a lovely woman. It feels special to know them all.
0:35:46 > 0:35:48Cos they're all brilliant.
0:35:48 > 0:35:50I'm over the moon, of course.
0:35:50 > 0:35:52That's how I feel about it.
0:35:52 > 0:35:53Yeah.
0:35:53 > 0:35:56The only thing I regret is that we didn't do it earlier.
0:35:58 > 0:36:01Sally had fulfilled her mission.
0:36:01 > 0:36:04Just four months later, her mother died.
0:36:04 > 0:36:08But before she did, Phyllis got to hear all about her birth family,
0:36:08 > 0:36:11and even met Jim, her newly discovered brother.
0:36:13 > 0:36:16But that's not the end of Sally's journey.
0:36:16 > 0:36:18Today she's heading to Dublin
0:36:18 > 0:36:21as her research had thrown up another exciting lead.
0:36:21 > 0:36:26But first, she's meeting her mum's brother Jim and her cousin Matthew.
0:36:26 > 0:36:30I can't wait. I love them to bits already.
0:36:30 > 0:36:33I mean, all those years apart and we could've been a family.
0:36:33 > 0:36:36We could've shared so much together.
0:36:36 > 0:36:37Um...
0:36:37 > 0:36:38And now...
0:36:39 > 0:36:44..time's moved on, but to actually find that we want to
0:36:44 > 0:36:47be more of a family together is a fantastic thing for me.
0:36:47 > 0:36:50Because I never grew up having much of a family.
0:36:54 > 0:36:58- Hi.- Great to you. - And you. Yeah, great.
0:36:58 > 0:37:00- Jim, how are you doing? - You're looking good.
0:37:00 > 0:37:03- Yeah, thank you.- Long time no see.
0:37:03 > 0:37:04It's lovely to see you again.
0:37:04 > 0:37:07It's been eight months since their first reunion
0:37:07 > 0:37:10and there's still lots of family history to catch up on.
0:37:10 > 0:37:13You had no inkling that your mother had any siblings at all?
0:37:13 > 0:37:16- You had nothing to go on?- Nothing.
0:37:16 > 0:37:20No. And all her life, she longed to know who her mother was.
0:37:20 > 0:37:24And she would have loved having a big Irish family.
0:37:24 > 0:37:26She was so full of life herself.
0:37:26 > 0:37:30- And it broke my heart, Jim. - I'm sure it did.
0:37:30 > 0:37:36I saw her suffer so much growing up. And that's why now, I felt so...
0:37:37 > 0:37:41- Emotional about it.- ..determined to find out who her mother was.
0:37:42 > 0:37:46Tell us the DNA, we have some strange relations, haven't we?
0:37:46 > 0:37:51There's 1% Melanesian, which is Papua New Guinea and Fiji.
0:37:51 > 0:37:54THEY LAUGH
0:37:54 > 0:37:55How did they get there?
0:37:55 > 0:37:57- I don't know.- That's amazing.
0:37:57 > 0:38:00We've still to find those cousins, dig them out.
0:38:00 > 0:38:04- I couldn't imagine you in a grass skirt.- Do you not think so?
0:38:04 > 0:38:06THEY LAUGH
0:38:06 > 0:38:10Now it's time for Sally to reveal her new information.
0:38:10 > 0:38:13And the reason for her trip today.
0:38:13 > 0:38:17Through her research into her mother's childhood, Sally has found
0:38:17 > 0:38:21someone who grew up with Phyllis in the orphanage 70 years ago.
0:38:21 > 0:38:23Looking forward to finding out more about Phyllis' childhood.
0:38:23 > 0:38:26Yeah, Eileen, who we're going to meet now,
0:38:26 > 0:38:29- should be able to fill in the gaps.- Yeah.
0:38:29 > 0:38:33She will, because they were a long time together in the orphanage.
0:38:33 > 0:38:35- I guess they must have grown up together.- Yeah.
0:38:35 > 0:38:38Eileen remembers Sally's mother well,
0:38:38 > 0:38:41but lost touch with her once they left the orphanage.
0:38:43 > 0:38:46- Hello.- Hello.- Hi.- Sally.
0:38:47 > 0:38:50Welcome. How are you?
0:38:50 > 0:38:53It's the first time Sally has ever met someone
0:38:53 > 0:38:54from her mum's childhood.
0:38:54 > 0:38:56You're the link with her past.
0:38:57 > 0:39:00You're the only link I have now with the past.
0:39:00 > 0:39:05You have now to look to the future. And at least you had a good mum.
0:39:05 > 0:39:07That's all that matters.
0:39:07 > 0:39:09Isn't that true?
0:39:09 > 0:39:10- Yeah.- Hello.
0:39:10 > 0:39:13Lovely to meet you. I'm Matthew.
0:39:13 > 0:39:15Would you like a cup of tea? Come on.
0:39:15 > 0:39:17Yeah, I'd love a cup of tea.
0:39:17 > 0:39:19I'll have to clean my face up now.
0:39:20 > 0:39:23- I'm delighted to see you. I really am.- Me too.
0:39:23 > 0:39:27I can't believe that I've met you.
0:39:27 > 0:39:29I'm thrilled.
0:39:29 > 0:39:32I'm astounded that I could've met someone who
0:39:32 > 0:39:37was in the orphanage with my mother.
0:39:37 > 0:39:39- Yeah.- And you were friends, weren't you?
0:39:39 > 0:39:41We were very friendly.
0:39:41 > 0:39:44From age three, up to about 12.
0:39:44 > 0:39:47So you must have got transferred about the same time from the
0:39:47 > 0:39:49Bethney Home to Kirwan House.
0:39:49 > 0:39:53- Yeah, I was transferred in January. - Yeah.
0:39:53 > 0:39:57- So was she.- 1940.- So was she.
0:39:57 > 0:40:02- So was she. The 16th of January. - Yeah. 16th.- 1940?- Yeah.
0:40:02 > 0:40:06- No!- Yes.- The same date?! - Same date. My God! Yes.
0:40:07 > 0:40:10Eileen has a special surprise to show Sally.
0:40:10 > 0:40:13The story of one of the happier times at the orphanage.
0:40:13 > 0:40:17Every year we put on this display.
0:40:17 > 0:40:21- It's a nice photo.- Is it? - It's lovely.
0:40:21 > 0:40:23- That's Mother.- Yeah.
0:40:23 > 0:40:25I hardly recognise her.
0:40:25 > 0:40:26There's me.
0:40:26 > 0:40:29Can you remember what Mother was like growing up together?
0:40:29 > 0:40:32You know, when you were in the orphanage together,
0:40:32 > 0:40:33what personality did she have?
0:40:33 > 0:40:37She had a lovely personality. And was very well-liked.
0:40:38 > 0:40:40Her bed was beside mine.
0:40:40 > 0:40:46And I always remember she got a doll with one eye and one leg.
0:40:46 > 0:40:50She was thrilled with it. She said she'd look after it, she'd nurse it.
0:40:50 > 0:40:56I'm going to show you now a video of Mum and me as a baby.
0:40:56 > 0:40:58- Yeah.- This was taken about 1963.
0:41:00 > 0:41:05That's Mum. And that's me as a baby. In the red. Look at her.
0:41:05 > 0:41:08- She was beautiful.- She's gorgeous.
0:41:08 > 0:41:11- That's just as I know her. - Yeah?- Yeah.
0:41:11 > 0:41:14- She would've been about 27 there. - Yeah.
0:41:14 > 0:41:19- She was a lovely child anyway, so. - Do you recognise her face?
0:41:19 > 0:41:21I do indeed. Yeah.
0:41:21 > 0:41:23Did you find out that you had relations?
0:41:25 > 0:41:31- No.- Did you ever? - I have been searching for 50 years.
0:41:31 > 0:41:36- Good Lord. - And every door in Dublin, Ireland,
0:41:36 > 0:41:38- has been closed.- Good Lord.
0:41:38 > 0:41:43I've tried everybody to help. Nobody can help me.
0:41:43 > 0:41:47And my daughters, they've gone to the ends of the earth
0:41:47 > 0:41:49to try and help.
0:41:49 > 0:41:52But I don't think it's going to be, somehow or other.
0:41:52 > 0:41:54But anyway...
0:41:54 > 0:41:58May I say that you can consider us part of your family?
0:41:58 > 0:42:00- Thanks very much, Jim. - That's sweet, isn't it?
0:42:00 > 0:42:03That's lovely. You'll have me crying.
0:42:03 > 0:42:05I am already.
0:42:08 > 0:42:13Today was the most enlightening and moving experience.
0:42:13 > 0:42:16Particularly meeting Sally again.
0:42:16 > 0:42:20And then Eileen, who was in the home with my sister.
0:42:20 > 0:42:22It's wonderful to meet you.
0:42:22 > 0:42:25To think that you were in the orphanage and you were a friend of
0:42:25 > 0:42:28my mother, I mean, I never thought I'd find anybody that she knew.
0:42:28 > 0:42:33- Mm-hm.- That means an awful lot. - I'm delighted you've come.
0:42:33 > 0:42:36I appreciate it. I really do.
0:42:36 > 0:42:38It's fantastic.
0:42:38 > 0:42:40I'm thrilled that they've come
0:42:40 > 0:42:45and somehow, it has given me a great boost.
0:42:45 > 0:42:48Today's been really emotional.
0:42:48 > 0:42:53I can't actually believe I've met somebody from my mother's past
0:42:53 > 0:42:55who knew her over 70 years ago.
0:42:56 > 0:42:58That went to school with her.
0:42:58 > 0:43:00That grew up with her.
0:43:00 > 0:43:03Slept in the next bed to her in the orphanage.
0:43:03 > 0:43:06And knew what she was like as a child.
0:43:06 > 0:43:09I mean, it's phenomenal, really.