0:00:02 > 0:00:04Families can be driven apart for all manner of reasons.
0:00:04 > 0:00:07I had no information at all about where my mum went.
0:00:07 > 0:00:10And when you do lose touch with your loved ones...
0:00:10 > 0:00:12You don't know who you are, where you've come from.
0:00:12 > 0:00:14..finding them can take a lifetime...
0:00:14 > 0:00:18I might have a brother that's still living here.
0:00:18 > 0:00:23..especially when they could be anywhere - at home or abroad.
0:00:23 > 0:00:26And that's where the family finders come in,
0:00:26 > 0:00:28from international organisations...
0:00:28 > 0:00:31Hi, it's the Salvation Army Family Tracing Service.
0:00:31 > 0:00:34..to genealogy detective agencies...
0:00:34 > 0:00:37For someone to say that it's changed their life,
0:00:37 > 0:00:40it makes coming to work really, really special.
0:00:40 > 0:00:42..and dedicated one-man bands.
0:00:42 > 0:00:46It's a matter of how much effort you really want to put into it,
0:00:46 > 0:00:48how badly you want to solve the problem.
0:00:48 > 0:00:52They hunt through history to bring families back together again.
0:00:52 > 0:00:55Finding new family is wonderful.
0:00:55 > 0:00:59In this series, we follow the work of the family finders...
0:00:59 > 0:01:04Suddenly, you get one spark of breakthrough and there they are.
0:01:04 > 0:01:06..learning the tricks they use
0:01:06 > 0:01:08to track missing relatives through time...
0:01:08 > 0:01:13I didn't think I'd ever find sisters but I have.
0:01:13 > 0:01:17..and meeting the people whose lives they change along the way.
0:01:17 > 0:01:19I've been waiting to meet John my whole life.
0:01:19 > 0:01:22Since we've met, I feel part of a family again.
0:01:24 > 0:01:26You've just completed my life for me.
0:01:31 > 0:01:33For some, finding long-lost family members
0:01:33 > 0:01:37is as simple as picking up a phone or sending an email.
0:01:37 > 0:01:40For others, the search can take a little longer.
0:01:40 > 0:01:46Today, we follow one woman's 31-year hunt for her mother and for answers.
0:01:46 > 0:01:50It's not a nice feeling when you don't who you are,
0:01:50 > 0:01:54where you are, why you're there, where you've come from.
0:01:54 > 0:01:59And Janet's search for the mother she hadn't seen for 50 years.
0:02:00 > 0:02:04I went off the idea altogether cos I thought I was just getting nowhere.
0:02:04 > 0:02:08I knew that she would just have so many regrets if she didn't
0:02:08 > 0:02:11and her regrets would be my regrets as well.
0:02:13 > 0:02:17Denise Wilson was born in April, 1958.
0:02:17 > 0:02:20She was raised in a small village near Newcastle upon Tyne.
0:02:20 > 0:02:23We didn't have a lot but we were always happy.
0:02:23 > 0:02:25As kids, we were always happy
0:02:25 > 0:02:29and I've got some really good memories of living in the village.
0:02:29 > 0:02:33We had nowt, really, but we had good times, you know.
0:02:33 > 0:02:37But at the age of 12 came a bombshell.
0:02:38 > 0:02:41I'll never forget the time I found out that I was adopted.
0:02:41 > 0:02:43I was at school.
0:02:43 > 0:02:47Some of the kids were saying, "You haven't got your mam and dad,
0:02:47 > 0:02:49"you haven't got your real mam and dad."
0:02:49 > 0:02:51When I went in, I just said to me mam,
0:02:51 > 0:02:54"They were saying at school that you're not my real mam.
0:02:54 > 0:02:55"Is that right?"
0:02:55 > 0:03:00And my mam really got upset about it, as she would.
0:03:00 > 0:03:04And we sat in the kitchen and she told us that I was adopted.
0:03:04 > 0:03:06I can remember going upstairs
0:03:06 > 0:03:11and staring out of the window in the bedroom and feeling lost.
0:03:11 > 0:03:14It's not a nice feeling when you don't know who you are,
0:03:14 > 0:03:18where you are, why you're there, where you've come from.
0:03:18 > 0:03:21You think that, you know, I was Denise Maguire,
0:03:21 > 0:03:25living my life normal and then all of a sudden, I'm not.
0:03:25 > 0:03:27I wanted to know who I was.
0:03:28 > 0:03:31Denise's adoptive parents, Peter and Pearl,
0:03:31 > 0:03:34couldn't have children of their own and were overjoyed
0:03:34 > 0:03:37to welcome five-month-old Denise into their family.
0:03:37 > 0:03:39But when she found out she had been adopted,
0:03:39 > 0:03:41Denise felt unable to ask her parents
0:03:41 > 0:03:44for information about her birth mother.
0:03:45 > 0:03:50I was all that my mam had and I just thought
0:03:50 > 0:03:54I couldn't hurt her feelings by asking her questions,
0:03:54 > 0:03:55so I never, ever did.
0:03:57 > 0:04:00I wanted somebody that was, like, related to me.
0:04:00 > 0:04:02I couldn't wait to, sort of, be the age
0:04:02 > 0:04:05where I could get married and have kids
0:04:05 > 0:04:08and so I got married really young, 17,
0:04:08 > 0:04:11and my son was born before I was 18.
0:04:11 > 0:04:15I can remember looking at him and he looked like me
0:04:15 > 0:04:18and I was looking, staring at him,
0:04:18 > 0:04:21and he was just the double of me
0:04:21 > 0:04:26and I thought, "Ey...he's my only blood relative, you know."
0:04:26 > 0:04:30I had another two girls after that. I had what I wanted.
0:04:30 > 0:04:34I had a family and we were all related.
0:04:34 > 0:04:37It was only after her adoptive parents had died
0:04:37 > 0:04:41that Denise felt able to begin searching for her birth mother
0:04:41 > 0:04:43and any other family members in earnest.
0:04:44 > 0:04:48I was only 32 when my mam died. My dad had died ten months before her.
0:04:48 > 0:04:51Even though I was married with three kids, I was,
0:04:51 > 0:04:54I felt like I was on my own still, you know.
0:04:56 > 0:05:00And then I think that gave us the drive to think,
0:05:00 > 0:05:02"Well, I've got to have a family out there.
0:05:02 > 0:05:04"My mam might have had more kids."
0:05:04 > 0:05:06So, I just thought, "I'm going to search.
0:05:06 > 0:05:08"I'm definitely not going to give up."
0:05:08 > 0:05:12At first, all social services were able to provide
0:05:12 > 0:05:16was a single document and this was the only thing Denise had to go on.
0:05:18 > 0:05:23All I had was my original birth certificate with my name on
0:05:23 > 0:05:25and the name of my birth mother.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28No father mentioned on the birth certificate,
0:05:28 > 0:05:30just that was the basic thing I had.
0:05:30 > 0:05:34And I was actually called Anne Beryl Walker.
0:05:35 > 0:05:38Her birth certificate gave Denise the starting point she needed
0:05:38 > 0:05:42to begin the search for her mother, Elsie.
0:05:42 > 0:05:46First of all, I started with looking through birth records,
0:05:46 > 0:05:52like at the library, the microfilm and that, but it was quite hard.
0:05:52 > 0:05:55I had an ad in the Manchester Evening News.
0:05:55 > 0:05:59I've been to Manchester County Court to see if I could get records there.
0:05:59 > 0:06:02Social services I've rang and I've wrote to.
0:06:02 > 0:06:04Anybody that could help us, you know.
0:06:04 > 0:06:08People who have been adopted, I've asked them how they've done it.
0:06:08 > 0:06:10I've even rang up Manchester radio
0:06:10 > 0:06:13and they've done a shoutout on there for us.
0:06:13 > 0:06:15Once the internet was up and running,
0:06:15 > 0:06:20I got onto some sites, some social media things, and I got help there.
0:06:21 > 0:06:25Denise was advised to get back in touch with social services.
0:06:25 > 0:06:27This time, they WERE able to turn up some more information,
0:06:27 > 0:06:30which gave Denise a vital clue.
0:06:31 > 0:06:35I finally got hold of my birth records from after adoption
0:06:35 > 0:06:39and it said there was no information about the reasons for the adoption,
0:06:39 > 0:06:41apart from the fact that I was illegitimate,
0:06:41 > 0:06:44which is a bit daft these days.
0:06:44 > 0:06:46"It's likely to be one of the reasons why your birth mother
0:06:46 > 0:06:48"was unable to keep you."
0:06:48 > 0:06:51It's says, "You had a sister, Josephine Walker,
0:06:51 > 0:06:53"who was around two years old."
0:06:54 > 0:06:57I just thought, "I've got a sister."
0:06:57 > 0:07:01It's like, I've got a sister and I was thinking,
0:07:01 > 0:07:04"God, I'm not an only one," you know.
0:07:04 > 0:07:08And so I set about looking for her.
0:07:08 > 0:07:11She may have had no luck finding her mum,
0:07:11 > 0:07:15but Denise now had a lead on a sister she'd never known existed.
0:07:15 > 0:07:18Denise found several Josephine Walkers in Manchester
0:07:18 > 0:07:21and the surrounding area, but none were the right Josephine.
0:07:21 > 0:07:25So I searched and searched again and a few more came up
0:07:25 > 0:07:27and then I started going a little bit further afield.
0:07:28 > 0:07:32Denise found one marriage record of a Josephine Walker in Peterborough
0:07:32 > 0:07:36but could find no contact details. She did, however, find someone
0:07:36 > 0:07:39who sounded like she could be Josephine's daughter.
0:07:39 > 0:07:40I sent a message to her.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43Quite a while went by, about six weeks,
0:07:43 > 0:07:48and there was a message and it said, "Hi, Denise...
0:07:50 > 0:07:52"..Mam's been looking through your profile."
0:07:52 > 0:07:57She said, "My mam was called Josephine but she's now called Sue."
0:07:57 > 0:07:59I still wasn't convinced.
0:07:59 > 0:08:01I said, "The Josephine that I'm looking for,
0:08:01 > 0:08:04"she would have been born in Manchester,
0:08:04 > 0:08:06"she would have had a mam called Elsie."
0:08:06 > 0:08:08She said, "Yes, that's my mam."
0:08:09 > 0:08:13It had taken years but at last, Denise had tracked down her sister.
0:08:13 > 0:08:16She wasted no time in calling her.
0:08:16 > 0:08:18Well, we didn't really have much conversation
0:08:18 > 0:08:21cos it was all, like, tears down the phone, you know,
0:08:21 > 0:08:23and it was definitely... She says,
0:08:23 > 0:08:27"Denise, we've been waiting for you to get in touch with us, you know."
0:08:27 > 0:08:28They hadn't...
0:08:28 > 0:08:31They didn't really know where to start with the search.
0:08:31 > 0:08:34They didn't have a clue where to...you know.
0:08:34 > 0:08:36But, um, I'd been doing it for that long,
0:08:36 > 0:08:40I thought I'm not going to stop until I find something, you know.
0:08:40 > 0:08:45Denise's sister, Josephine, had two huge revelations for her.
0:08:45 > 0:08:49Firstly, Denise's birth mother, Elsie, was, in fact, still alive.
0:08:49 > 0:08:52She said, "If you look through my pictures,
0:08:52 > 0:08:54"you'll see a picture of your mam."
0:08:54 > 0:08:57And there was a picture of my birth mother,
0:08:57 > 0:08:59sitting holding her 80th birthday cake.
0:08:59 > 0:09:04I had a good cry because it was, like, I didn't know who I was.
0:09:04 > 0:09:07And then I thought, "Ye God, I should be happy,
0:09:07 > 0:09:09"because I've found everybody, I should be happy."
0:09:09 > 0:09:12And I was, but it was just, sort of, overwhelming,
0:09:12 > 0:09:14after all these years, you know.
0:09:15 > 0:09:1845 years after discovering she was adopted,
0:09:18 > 0:09:21Denise had finally found her birth mother.
0:09:21 > 0:09:23But there was more.
0:09:23 > 0:09:27After that, she said, "Are you sitting down?" And I said, "Yes."
0:09:27 > 0:09:30She says, "Um, there's not just me and you."
0:09:30 > 0:09:35She said, "There was five of us girls." And it was, like...
0:09:37 > 0:09:41It was weird. I'll never forget it. And I goes, "Five?"
0:09:41 > 0:09:43And then she started rhyming them off.
0:09:43 > 0:09:47The four sisters Denise didn't know she had
0:09:47 > 0:09:52were Marie, Josephine, Carol, who died at the age of 32,
0:09:52 > 0:09:55and Katherine, who had also been adopted as a baby,
0:09:55 > 0:09:57but was yet to be traced.
0:09:59 > 0:10:02After making contact with her birth family,
0:10:02 > 0:10:05Denise made the 200-mile journey south to Peterborough
0:10:05 > 0:10:09to be reunited with two of her sisters and her mother, Elsie.
0:10:09 > 0:10:12In the '50s, she would have been called a scarlet woman
0:10:12 > 0:10:14and everything, in them days, wouldn't she?
0:10:14 > 0:10:16But nowadays, it's just normal.
0:10:16 > 0:10:21Sad, really, to think that she had to do that and give us away,
0:10:21 > 0:10:24but, obviously, she had her reasons.
0:10:24 > 0:10:27I don't feel any bad feelings at all towards her.
0:10:28 > 0:10:31I don't think there'll ever be the closeness
0:10:31 > 0:10:33of a real mam and daughter.
0:10:33 > 0:10:35I don't think you'd ever get that closeness
0:10:35 > 0:10:38when you haven't been brought up by someone,
0:10:38 > 0:10:40but there's something there, you know,
0:10:40 > 0:10:42and I've always... I've never hated her.
0:10:42 > 0:10:47I've always had, like, a soft spot for my real mother,
0:10:47 > 0:10:49because I wouldn't be here without her.
0:10:49 > 0:10:53Denise now visits her mum, Elsie, regularly,
0:10:53 > 0:10:56but she wasn't well enough to take part in filming.
0:10:56 > 0:10:59One piece of the family jigsaw was still missing though -
0:10:59 > 0:11:02the whereabouts of Denise's sister Katherine,
0:11:02 > 0:11:04who had also been adopted.
0:11:04 > 0:11:06She was still out there, so I thought,
0:11:06 > 0:11:10"Right, I'm not going to be happy until I find Katherine."
0:11:10 > 0:11:15After 31 years of searching, Denise had found her mother.
0:11:15 > 0:11:18Now she turned her attention to her missing sister.
0:11:18 > 0:11:21Would she prove to be as elusive?
0:11:25 > 0:11:27In Dagenham, Essex,
0:11:27 > 0:11:3276-year-old Janet Emery was also looking for HER missing mother.
0:11:32 > 0:11:36Janet was born just before the outbreak of the Second World War,
0:11:36 > 0:11:39the only child of Madeline and William Oakes.
0:11:39 > 0:11:42I was born in 1939
0:11:42 > 0:11:47and my father left for the war in the September,
0:11:47 > 0:11:50so I was really still a baby when he left.
0:11:50 > 0:11:54Janet's mum continued to care for her but in 1943,
0:11:54 > 0:11:57her little world was turned upside down.
0:11:57 > 0:11:59When I was about four years old,
0:11:59 > 0:12:03my mother took me to my auntie and uncle's
0:12:03 > 0:12:05and all I can remember her saying
0:12:05 > 0:12:08is, "Mummy's going to leave you with Auntie Jean and Uncle Charlie
0:12:08 > 0:12:09"and they'll look after you for me."
0:12:09 > 0:12:12Her mother Madeline had met a Canadian soldier
0:12:12 > 0:12:15and began a new life with him,
0:12:15 > 0:12:18leaving her daughter to be cared for by her sister.
0:12:18 > 0:12:22Still very young, Janet was happy enough with her aunt and uncle
0:12:22 > 0:12:25for a time, but her mother was never far from her mind.
0:12:26 > 0:12:29I did ask once or twice what my mum was like,
0:12:29 > 0:12:33but I had no information at all about where my mum went.
0:12:33 > 0:12:34We didn't really discuss it.
0:12:34 > 0:12:38I don't think my father allowed them to talk to me about it.
0:12:38 > 0:12:42He was very, very hurt about what happened.
0:12:42 > 0:12:46Janet was reunited with her father as soon as he returned from war.
0:12:46 > 0:12:49During his time away, he had remarried.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52Janet was then raised by her dad and new step-mum
0:12:52 > 0:12:55and went on to marry and start a family of her own.
0:12:56 > 0:12:59She never imagined she'd see her birth mother again
0:12:59 > 0:13:02but, one day, when she was 25 years old,
0:13:02 > 0:13:05a surprise visitor turned up at Janet's home.
0:13:05 > 0:13:09I was in the sitting room doing my ironing
0:13:09 > 0:13:12and my daughter was nine months old.
0:13:12 > 0:13:14She was on the floor, playing with her toys,
0:13:14 > 0:13:19and there was a knock at the door. This lady said to me, "Janet?"
0:13:19 > 0:13:22And I said, "Yes." She said, "Do you know me?"
0:13:22 > 0:13:25And I looked at her and I said, "You're my mum."
0:13:25 > 0:13:29Despite 19 years having passed since she'd last seen her mother,
0:13:29 > 0:13:31Janet invited her in.
0:13:32 > 0:13:37My mum looked at my daughter and she said, "Is that my grandchild?"
0:13:37 > 0:13:39And for some reason or other, that really upset me.
0:13:39 > 0:13:43I said, "I don't think you've got any right to claim them
0:13:43 > 0:13:47"as your grandchildren. You left me when I was young.
0:13:47 > 0:13:51"They've got a grandma now that loves them very, very dearly."
0:13:51 > 0:13:53I resented her for what she said.
0:13:53 > 0:13:58She'd expected to walk in and just carry on as if nothing had happened.
0:13:58 > 0:14:02I think, if she'd apologised and said, "I'm really, really sorry,"
0:14:02 > 0:14:05and told me why she'd left me in the first place,
0:14:05 > 0:14:07it might have been better,
0:14:07 > 0:14:10but she didn't say anything at all about the past.
0:14:10 > 0:14:16She never told me whether she loved me or she had to leave me
0:14:16 > 0:14:18and I still don't know.
0:14:20 > 0:14:22Her mum, Madeline, had another bombshell
0:14:22 > 0:14:24to drop on an unsuspecting Janet.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27She now had two more daughters by her second husband,
0:14:27 > 0:14:29the Canadian serviceman.
0:14:30 > 0:14:34She said I've got two sisters, two younger sisters,
0:14:34 > 0:14:38who are really longing to meet me and to know all about me
0:14:38 > 0:14:42and she's going to go home and she's going to tell them about me,
0:14:42 > 0:14:44she's going to send photos
0:14:44 > 0:14:50and I thought, "Oh, this sounds like it could be really, really nice."
0:14:50 > 0:14:54And then she went and I never heard from her again,
0:14:54 > 0:14:57so that was a second rejection, really.
0:14:59 > 0:15:03Then I started to blame myself because I'd been unwelcoming to her
0:15:03 > 0:15:06and I thought to myself, "If I walked into somebody's house
0:15:06 > 0:15:08"and was spoken to like that,
0:15:08 > 0:15:11"I probably wouldn't want to know them again.
0:15:12 > 0:15:15As the years went by, Janet couldn't stop thinking about her mum
0:15:15 > 0:15:18and the two sisters she had never met,
0:15:18 > 0:15:21but it wasn't until half a century later,
0:15:21 > 0:15:23she decided to take action.
0:15:23 > 0:15:27I realised that my mother should be well into her 90s,
0:15:27 > 0:15:31so the most likelihood would be that she'd passed away,
0:15:31 > 0:15:38but I started thinking, "What if I try to trace my sisters?"
0:15:39 > 0:15:41But Janet swiftly realised
0:15:41 > 0:15:44that 50 years after her mother's surprise visit,
0:15:44 > 0:15:46the trail had gone very cold.
0:15:46 > 0:15:50What I really regret most of all is that I didn't even ask my mum
0:15:50 > 0:15:57what my sisters' names were, so I had no names, no births, nothing,
0:15:57 > 0:15:59and I didn't even ask where she came from,
0:15:59 > 0:16:04so I had no information at all to go on to even start looking for them.
0:16:04 > 0:16:07But there was one person who wasn't going to let Janet give up -
0:16:07 > 0:16:10her own daughter, Deborah.
0:16:11 > 0:16:16I knew this is a dream of hers and I'd really like her to fulfil that.
0:16:16 > 0:16:22Um, it's like there's something missing and it would be...
0:16:22 > 0:16:25it would be wonderful if she finds her step-sisters.
0:16:25 > 0:16:29Deborah's really helped to encourage me with this search.
0:16:29 > 0:16:32She knows it's something that I really wanted to do
0:16:32 > 0:16:35and it's my heart's desire to find my sisters.
0:16:35 > 0:16:39Deborah helped her mum sign up to a genealogy website.
0:16:39 > 0:16:46I posted a message on it, asking if anybody knew my mother's name.
0:16:48 > 0:16:50But disheartened by the lack of results,
0:16:50 > 0:16:54Janet gave up the search and turned her back on tracing her family.
0:16:55 > 0:17:00She's always wanted to find her sisters but I think the fear,
0:17:00 > 0:17:04the fear that they may be not interested
0:17:04 > 0:17:08and they might reject her, that's got in the way.
0:17:10 > 0:17:12I went off the idea altogether
0:17:12 > 0:17:14because I thought I was getting nowhere
0:17:14 > 0:17:18and nobody would really know anything this long time gone past.
0:17:18 > 0:17:23Little did Janet know that the search she thought had gone cold
0:17:23 > 0:17:25was about to hot up.
0:17:25 > 0:17:28- 'Isn't that wonderful?' - Oh, my God, I can't believe it.
0:17:28 > 0:17:30You've just completed my life for me.
0:17:35 > 0:17:37After her 31-year quest for answers,
0:17:37 > 0:17:42Denise Wilson's search was finally coming to fruition.
0:17:43 > 0:17:45Adopted as a baby,
0:17:45 > 0:17:48she had discovered that not only was her birth mother still alive,
0:17:48 > 0:17:53but that she also had sisters, one of whom had never been traced,
0:17:53 > 0:17:57so Denise set out to find her, 50 years after she'd been adopted.
0:17:58 > 0:18:02My birth mother, Elsie, I asked her about Katherine and she said,
0:18:02 > 0:18:06"Oh, she went to somebody that had a son
0:18:06 > 0:18:09"and she went and adopted Katherine
0:18:09 > 0:18:14"and Katherine was brought up in Manchester."
0:18:14 > 0:18:18And I thought, "Well, how can I trace her?"
0:18:19 > 0:18:23Denise was desperate to track down the final missing sister,
0:18:23 > 0:18:28so employed the services of a family finder who specialised in adoption.
0:18:28 > 0:18:29I couldn't believe it.
0:18:29 > 0:18:35Within a few weeks, he'd found a brother, he knew her name,
0:18:35 > 0:18:38he got us her birth certificate.
0:18:38 > 0:18:42We knew where she was born and then he actually located her.
0:18:42 > 0:18:44There was a picture and I just knew.
0:18:44 > 0:18:48I looked at the picture and I thought, "That is a young Elsie,
0:18:48 > 0:18:51"that's my sister, I know it is." And it was.
0:18:51 > 0:18:55Denise had, at last, found her sister Katherine.
0:18:55 > 0:19:00I rang her about 11 o'clock in the morning and I goes, "Hi, Katherine."
0:19:00 > 0:19:02Um...
0:19:02 > 0:19:08I says, "You don't know me but I'm your sister." She goes, "What?!"
0:19:08 > 0:19:10I just told her I was her sister and, um...
0:19:12 > 0:19:13She goes, "I can't believe it."
0:19:13 > 0:19:17She was like, "I can't believe it," she's going.
0:19:17 > 0:19:20I jumped around and screamed a lot
0:19:20 > 0:19:24and couldn't control myself for excitement, basically,
0:19:24 > 0:19:29but I was getting all this info all in the spate of about 20 minutes.
0:19:29 > 0:19:31She was telling me this and telling me that
0:19:31 > 0:19:36and it was just madness but brilliant, absolute brilliant.
0:19:36 > 0:19:38I was so ecstatic.
0:19:38 > 0:19:41And then I was able to tell her that we had other sisters
0:19:41 > 0:19:45and that our mam was still alive, um...
0:19:46 > 0:19:49And she just...she just loved it.
0:19:49 > 0:19:53When Denise was adopted, she'd been taken to the northeast.
0:19:53 > 0:19:58The couple who adopted Katherine remained in the northwest.
0:19:58 > 0:20:00I had a terrifically happy childhood.
0:20:00 > 0:20:04I grew up in Urmston, in Manchester, and just basically had fun
0:20:04 > 0:20:07and did what kids did in those days.
0:20:07 > 0:20:09It was lovely, absolutely lovely.
0:20:09 > 0:20:11My mum did an awful lot for me.
0:20:11 > 0:20:13My mother actually told me I was adopted
0:20:13 > 0:20:16when I was about five, five or six.
0:20:16 > 0:20:20Somebody in my class at school was adopted,
0:20:20 > 0:20:23so I asked my mother what "adopted" is
0:20:23 > 0:20:27and I think she must have chose her opportunity to tell me then,
0:20:27 > 0:20:31and I was quite chuffed about it, actually, cos I felt quite chosen.
0:20:31 > 0:20:34So, I was quite happy with the whole situation.
0:20:34 > 0:20:37It makes you feel special, I think, at that age.
0:20:38 > 0:20:42My mum told me that I'd had an older sister
0:20:42 > 0:20:46and that my natural mother couldn't look after us,
0:20:46 > 0:20:50and that was that, basically.
0:20:50 > 0:20:53"She was on her own, she had two young children,
0:20:53 > 0:20:56"that's why you were adopted."
0:20:56 > 0:20:59There was nothing mentioned about anything, really, like that.
0:20:59 > 0:21:02And I just took it as that was it
0:21:02 > 0:21:05and never really pursued the matter until later.
0:21:05 > 0:21:08Denise and Katherine may never know the details
0:21:08 > 0:21:10of why their mum gave them up for adoption,
0:21:10 > 0:21:14but there's no doubt that life for single mothers
0:21:14 > 0:21:16in the 1950s was far from easy.
0:21:19 > 0:21:23Historically, having children out of wedlock was really frowned upon.
0:21:23 > 0:21:26The term for it was "socially fallen".
0:21:26 > 0:21:29Your family might be ashamed of it,
0:21:29 > 0:21:31the local community would talk about it
0:21:31 > 0:21:33and it was something that needed to be hidden away.
0:21:33 > 0:21:36The creation of the welfare state in 1948
0:21:36 > 0:21:40meant that these so-called "fallen women" were now eligible
0:21:40 > 0:21:44for child benefits, known at the time as national assistance,
0:21:44 > 0:21:46and the Adoption of Children Act,
0:21:46 > 0:21:48which came into force the following year,
0:21:48 > 0:21:51was designed to safeguard both single mothers and their babies.
0:21:51 > 0:21:55However, even by the late 1950s, society still viewed marriage
0:21:55 > 0:21:59as the only real acceptable qualification for parenthood
0:21:59 > 0:22:01and mothers of children born out of wedlock
0:22:01 > 0:22:05would have still come under pressure from doctors, parents and the church
0:22:05 > 0:22:07to give up their babies for adoption.
0:22:07 > 0:22:10Charities would have got involved and facilitated adoption.
0:22:10 > 0:22:13Doctors might have found a place for a baby
0:22:13 > 0:22:15in the local or wider community
0:22:15 > 0:22:18because they knew the baby was coming along,
0:22:18 > 0:22:20so it was just a very different outlook on life.
0:22:20 > 0:22:23Denise and Kathy's mother would not have been alone
0:22:23 > 0:22:25in giving her children up.
0:22:25 > 0:22:29In 1958, there were over 13,000 adoption orders,
0:22:29 > 0:22:32the majority of which were babies of unwed mothers.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37Now the final piece of the jigsaw had been found.
0:22:37 > 0:22:39After 31 years of searching,
0:22:39 > 0:22:42it was time for Elsie and all of her daughters
0:22:42 > 0:22:44to meet for the first time.
0:22:44 > 0:22:47When I actually met them all, it was like I'd never been away,
0:22:47 > 0:22:49if you know what I mean.
0:22:49 > 0:22:51I walked into a room and I felt like I belonged.
0:22:51 > 0:22:55I didn't know what to say to my mother, actually, I really didn't.
0:22:55 > 0:22:57And...
0:22:58 > 0:23:01We just sat and smiled a lot, basically.
0:23:01 > 0:23:04I gave her a hug, wished her well and everything.
0:23:05 > 0:23:07But she's a frail little thing.
0:23:07 > 0:23:10I was scared of breaking her, to be honest.
0:23:10 > 0:23:14It was an emotional reunion, but amongst all the celebrating,
0:23:14 > 0:23:17Katherine and Denise didn't get much of a chance to talk properly.
0:23:17 > 0:23:19We haven't been together and had a good conversation,
0:23:19 > 0:23:23like I have with the others, because we've been separate.
0:23:23 > 0:23:25It would be nice to have a bit of conversation
0:23:25 > 0:23:28or spend a little bit of time with Katherine.
0:23:28 > 0:23:31So, the sisters have arranged to spend an entire day together.
0:23:31 > 0:23:35This is an opportunity for me to have a nice little chin chat
0:23:35 > 0:23:41with her on our own and find out all our bits and bobs about each other,
0:23:41 > 0:23:45so I only know the outside bits at the minute.
0:23:45 > 0:23:46I don't know all the details.
0:23:48 > 0:23:51Janet and Denise are meeting in Manchester
0:23:51 > 0:23:53to get more of a feel for their family roots
0:23:53 > 0:23:56and the area where they were both born.
0:23:57 > 0:23:59I'm getting quite giddy, actually.
0:23:59 > 0:24:04I'm getting quite sort of fluttery cos this is quite a... Yeah...
0:24:05 > 0:24:07It's quite an event.
0:24:09 > 0:24:12I've never, ever visited the area
0:24:12 > 0:24:16where my mam actually gave birth to me.
0:24:16 > 0:24:19I've never been there, never visited, um...
0:24:21 > 0:24:23So it will be really nice if we can get to do that.
0:24:23 > 0:24:27After years of being totally oblivious to each other's existence,
0:24:27 > 0:24:31the two sisters can finally begin making up for lost time.
0:24:32 > 0:24:34THEY LAUGH
0:24:35 > 0:24:38How are you?
0:24:38 > 0:24:39Ooh, ooh.
0:24:39 > 0:24:43- You all right?- Yeah, yeah.- Are you looking forward to this?- Yeah.
0:24:43 > 0:24:48So, we'll go and find out where we come from.
0:24:51 > 0:24:54The girls were born within a few miles of each other,
0:24:54 > 0:24:57just two years apart, before being adopted.
0:24:57 > 0:24:59I was five months old.
0:24:59 > 0:25:03- And I was 18 months. - And you were 18 months old.
0:25:03 > 0:25:05- It's sad, isn't it?- Yeah.
0:25:05 > 0:25:09Well, we just don't know what the circumstances were, really.
0:25:11 > 0:25:14- Remember when I first rang you? - Yeah.
0:25:14 > 0:25:16THEY LAUGH
0:25:16 > 0:25:19- That must have been a bit of a shock!- Yeah, it was!
0:25:19 > 0:25:21- Well, you heard me, didn't you? - Yeah.
0:25:21 > 0:25:26I sort of went leaping about the kitchen like a loony. Oh, dear.
0:25:26 > 0:25:29- "Hello, Kathy."- "I'm your sister." - "I'm your sister."
0:25:29 > 0:25:32THEY LAUGH
0:25:32 > 0:25:33That was funny.
0:25:35 > 0:25:38The house where Denise was born has since been demolished,
0:25:38 > 0:25:40so they've come to see the place where Kathy was taken to live
0:25:40 > 0:25:42when she was newly adopted.
0:25:42 > 0:25:45Lived here till I was, oh, 17.
0:25:45 > 0:25:48Urmston, oh, we're here. Oh, my God.
0:25:48 > 0:25:50So, you recognise it?
0:25:50 > 0:25:54- Highfield Primary School! - Yeah?- Oh, here we go.
0:25:54 > 0:25:57- There we are, ladies. - Oh, it's got scaffolding up.
0:25:57 > 0:26:01- Is this your old house?- This is my old house, yeah. Oh, my God!
0:26:01 > 0:26:04Were you brought here when you were just a baby, to this house?
0:26:04 > 0:26:08- Yeah, this is where I came. This is where I came.- Yeah.
0:26:08 > 0:26:10I used to climb onto the porch
0:26:10 > 0:26:14and get in the bathroom window when I couldn't get in.
0:26:14 > 0:26:17- Underneath there, there's a bag of pennies that we buried.- Where?
0:26:17 > 0:26:19THEY LAUGH
0:26:19 > 0:26:23Underneath there. He used to play the guitar...
0:26:24 > 0:26:26..that one used to play the drums,
0:26:26 > 0:26:29I used to play the trumpet, the cornet,
0:26:29 > 0:26:31my brother played the guitar.
0:26:31 > 0:26:33KATHY CHUCKLES
0:26:33 > 0:26:36- I had lovely memories here, absolutely lovely memories.- Mmm-hmm.
0:26:38 > 0:26:40I can't believe it.
0:26:40 > 0:26:42Kathy's still got a photograph of her with her parents
0:26:42 > 0:26:44in front of this very house,
0:26:44 > 0:26:46taken a few years after they adopted her.
0:26:46 > 0:26:48Oh, is that the photograph of the house?
0:26:48 > 0:26:52- We were stood over there, right in between the windows.- Oh, right.
0:26:52 > 0:26:55- Oh, my God.- Yeah, how weird.
0:26:55 > 0:26:58We definitely get me in between the windows again.
0:26:58 > 0:27:00- Right.- Before and after.
0:27:04 > 0:27:06I think we've been quite lucky, really, that...
0:27:06 > 0:27:11- We've been lucky, yeah. - You know, cos... I don't know.
0:27:12 > 0:27:15I think it's where you grow up as well and where,
0:27:15 > 0:27:19- circumstances of where you grow up as well.- Yeah, I think we went to...
0:27:20 > 0:27:22..good homes, basically.
0:27:22 > 0:27:25It's a shame mum had to give us up but she must have had her reasons
0:27:25 > 0:27:30- and I think it gave us, maybe, a better life.- Oh, definitely.- Yeah.
0:27:30 > 0:27:33- Definitely.- So... - I mean, it's been...
0:27:33 > 0:27:39- I've got no, sort of, misgivings about anything.- No.
0:27:39 > 0:27:43- I just feel sad that we weren't all together, the sisters.- Yeah.
0:27:43 > 0:27:45To grow up together, that would have been nice.
0:27:45 > 0:27:47It would have been harder in those days.
0:27:47 > 0:27:49It wouldn't have been a nice...
0:27:49 > 0:27:52It wouldn't have been nice to do it but... Other circumstances.
0:27:52 > 0:27:57- It would have been nice if things had been different.- Yeah.
0:27:59 > 0:28:06I wouldn't ask my natural mother to explain why she did things
0:28:06 > 0:28:09because, like, it's in the past, that's past.
0:28:09 > 0:28:11It's...
0:28:12 > 0:28:16It's not the past we have to worry about now, it's the future, so...
0:28:16 > 0:28:19It's a shame the girls never grew up together
0:28:19 > 0:28:22but this is just one of those things that's happened.
0:28:22 > 0:28:23We can make up for it now.
0:28:23 > 0:28:29For Denise, it's the end of a search for answers that began 31 years ago.
0:28:29 > 0:28:32There's questions that are still unanswered but...
0:28:33 > 0:28:35..I don't think they're going to be answered now.
0:28:35 > 0:28:39I think it's about time we sort of call it a day, really,
0:28:39 > 0:28:42and just be thankful, really, for what I HAVE found
0:28:42 > 0:28:44and the answers that I HAVE got,
0:28:44 > 0:28:47because I could go on another 31 years
0:28:47 > 0:28:50and maybe not have any more answers,
0:28:50 > 0:28:53so I think now it's about time to call it a day.
0:28:53 > 0:28:57Thanks to Denise, all this happened anyway,
0:28:57 > 0:29:02so I can only thank her from the bottom of my heart, basically,
0:29:02 > 0:29:07because it's been a totally, totally brilliant experience.
0:29:08 > 0:29:12I was found and I'm so glad I was found.
0:29:12 > 0:29:16I think it's nice to know where you come from,
0:29:16 > 0:29:20who you are, you know, and just your blood relatives, really.
0:29:20 > 0:29:22I didn't think I'd ever...
0:29:22 > 0:29:27Well, I didn't think I'd ever find sisters, you know, but I have.
0:29:36 > 0:29:39In Essex, Janet had spent 50 years
0:29:39 > 0:29:42wondering what had happened to her mother, Madeline.
0:29:42 > 0:29:46Janet finally began looking, but after a message she posted
0:29:46 > 0:29:49on a family tracing website went unanswered, she gave up.
0:29:52 > 0:29:55However, unbeknownst to Janet, just 70 miles away,
0:29:55 > 0:29:58some distant family members had, in fact, spotted her message.
0:29:58 > 0:30:01I sent an email to Janet saying how thrilled I was
0:30:01 > 0:30:06that we'd come into contact and I heard absolutely nothing at all.
0:30:06 > 0:30:09Brother and sister Tony and Jane had reason to believe
0:30:09 > 0:30:14that Janet's mum could be their aunt but their email went unanswered.
0:30:14 > 0:30:16I was very confused. I didn't know...
0:30:16 > 0:30:19You wonder whether you'd maybe put something in the email
0:30:19 > 0:30:22that perhaps wasn't to her liking, was too upsetting,
0:30:22 > 0:30:25or perhaps something had happened to her.
0:30:25 > 0:30:27You just didn't know what to think.
0:30:27 > 0:30:31And there, fate may have ended the search.
0:30:31 > 0:30:33Jane's email had arrived
0:30:33 > 0:30:36at the point when Janet had given up looking.
0:30:37 > 0:30:40But fate hadn't reckoned with Janet's daughter, Deborah.
0:30:40 > 0:30:44I knew that she would just have so many regrets if she didn't,
0:30:44 > 0:30:48and her regrets would be my regrets as well.
0:30:48 > 0:30:50My daughter said, "Mum, you ought to go on the site,
0:30:50 > 0:30:55"cos you never know. Just go on it and see. You might have a message."
0:30:55 > 0:30:59So, a couple of days later, I thought, "I'll have a nose round,
0:30:59 > 0:31:02"see what's going on," and I couldn't believe it.
0:31:02 > 0:31:05I had two messages from my first cousin, Jane,
0:31:05 > 0:31:08and it was, like, I couldn't believe it.
0:31:08 > 0:31:11They'd been sitting there for months.
0:31:11 > 0:31:14She was like a big kid when she found out.
0:31:14 > 0:31:17She was like, "You'll never guess, never guess!"
0:31:17 > 0:31:21And then we got an email from her which was lovely,
0:31:21 > 0:31:24with all her news and what she'd been doing
0:31:24 > 0:31:30and all about her children and it was wonderful, absolutely wonderful.
0:31:30 > 0:31:33Janet's mum had had a brother called Maurice.
0:31:33 > 0:31:37Tony and Jane are his children and, therefore, Janet's cousins.
0:31:37 > 0:31:41They knew her mother, Madeline, as their Aunt Madge.
0:31:41 > 0:31:44My father was one of seven siblings.
0:31:44 > 0:31:49Madge was the eldest and they had quite a poor upbringing,
0:31:49 > 0:31:52I think, um, in the East End of London.
0:31:54 > 0:31:57They met the mysterious Aunt Madge a couple of times
0:31:57 > 0:32:01during their childhood when she came over from Canada to visit.
0:32:01 > 0:32:06What I recall of Madge whilst I was growing up
0:32:06 > 0:32:09was she was a very warm, pleasant, ever-smiling,
0:32:09 > 0:32:14light-hearted person who enjoyed dancing a great deal
0:32:14 > 0:32:20and was exceptionally pleasant and friendly.
0:32:20 > 0:32:23- She was quite an exotic creature, really.- She was.
0:32:23 > 0:32:26I remember her, cos she was always dressed to the nines
0:32:26 > 0:32:28and had the most perfect hair.
0:32:28 > 0:32:33Beautiful figure and she had this wonderful Canadian twang.
0:32:34 > 0:32:37But they knew very little else about Madge.
0:32:38 > 0:32:42We knew that she'd had two daughters but, other than that,
0:32:42 > 0:32:45absolutely nothing, really nothing. Didn't know where she lived.
0:32:45 > 0:32:50I don't remember seeing any pictures or ever having a conversation
0:32:50 > 0:32:53with, I suppose, my cousins, um, at all.
0:32:53 > 0:32:56It was only years later that they found out
0:32:56 > 0:32:59that Madge had been married before.
0:33:00 > 0:33:05I can't really even remember when, um...when I found out
0:33:05 > 0:33:10that Madge had had, um...a daughter
0:33:10 > 0:33:14with her first husband, um, until much later.
0:33:14 > 0:33:17I must have been in my 20s, I think, if not later than that.
0:33:17 > 0:33:21But, of course, there was no way of contacting her at all.
0:33:21 > 0:33:24Didn't know the surname, didn't know anything about her whatsoever,
0:33:24 > 0:33:26even her name, actually.
0:33:26 > 0:33:29And Janet had had absolutely no idea
0:33:29 > 0:33:31about the existence of Jane and Tony.
0:33:31 > 0:33:36Before I'd made contact with Jane, I didn't know anything.
0:33:36 > 0:33:41I didn't know I had any cousins or anything at all. I was so excited.
0:33:41 > 0:33:43I just couldn't believe my eyes.
0:33:43 > 0:33:47I really, really got very, very emotional
0:33:47 > 0:33:50and I just felt that, even if I don't find my sisters,
0:33:50 > 0:33:52I have found family.
0:33:54 > 0:33:58If, like Janet, you want to find family who have moved abroad,
0:33:58 > 0:34:00tracing them can prove more challenging.
0:34:00 > 0:34:03As well as potential language barriers,
0:34:03 > 0:34:06many countries don't have online archives.
0:34:06 > 0:34:08A good place to start is with immigration records,
0:34:08 > 0:34:11which are stored at the National Archive.
0:34:11 > 0:34:14These will provide useful information,
0:34:14 > 0:34:18like names, occupations and exact dates of arrival in a country -
0:34:18 > 0:34:21a good starting point for any search.
0:34:21 > 0:34:26And countries with strong ties to the UK, like Australia and Canada,
0:34:26 > 0:34:30have dedicated genealogy centres that can assist you in your search.
0:34:32 > 0:34:36Janet exchanged several emails with Tony and Jane
0:34:36 > 0:34:40and they arranged to meet, taking their mother, Ann, along too.
0:34:40 > 0:34:43Janet was hoping that they might have some information
0:34:43 > 0:34:45about HER mum and sisters.
0:34:45 > 0:34:49In the summer, we arranged that they would come here to see me.
0:34:49 > 0:34:55There was my Auntie Ann, my cousin Tony and my cousin Jane.
0:34:55 > 0:35:00It was like I'd always known them. It was really, really terrific.
0:35:00 > 0:35:04It's really exciting to have found Janet.
0:35:04 > 0:35:07She's a wonderful person
0:35:07 > 0:35:10and it's great to have another member of the family.
0:35:12 > 0:35:13At the meeting,
0:35:13 > 0:35:16her newfound relatives had some sad news for Janet.
0:35:16 > 0:35:20She said, "Your mum died when she was 68."
0:35:22 > 0:35:26And I realised that was only four years after I'd met her.
0:35:28 > 0:35:31She couldn't remember my sisters' names.
0:35:31 > 0:35:34She thought one was called Joy but she wasn't that sure.
0:35:34 > 0:35:37But it was a real breakthrough that she did actually know
0:35:37 > 0:35:43where my mother settled, because it pinpointed where to look for them,
0:35:43 > 0:35:46and she said that she came from Nottawa.
0:35:50 > 0:35:53It was exactly the sort of extra detail Janet needed
0:35:53 > 0:35:58to progress the search and today, four months after they first met up,
0:35:58 > 0:36:02Janet's seeing Tony, Jane and their mother, Ann, again.
0:36:02 > 0:36:05Today's meeting also marks another milestone.
0:36:05 > 0:36:07Janet's daughter, Deborah, is meeting
0:36:07 > 0:36:10her mum's long-lost cousins for the first time.
0:36:10 > 0:36:13How are you feeling about meeting them today?
0:36:13 > 0:36:16I'm really excited, yeah, really excited.
0:36:16 > 0:36:20Yeah, it's, um, it's been a long time waiting for this,
0:36:20 > 0:36:26for this moment. And I'm going to treasure this moment.
0:36:26 > 0:36:30Ah, that's lovely. I can't wait for them to meet you.
0:36:30 > 0:36:32- She's coming with her daughter, Deborah.- Yes.
0:36:32 > 0:36:34So that will be lovely to meet her.
0:36:36 > 0:36:38- Here we are.- Yes.- Lovely.
0:36:50 > 0:36:52Janet, hello, darling!
0:36:54 > 0:36:56Good to see you.
0:36:57 > 0:37:01THEY ALL LAUGH AND TALK OVER EACH OTHER
0:37:07 > 0:37:12Introductions over, cousin Tony has a surprise for Janet.
0:37:12 > 0:37:17- A family member has discovered some photographs.- Oh!
0:37:17 > 0:37:19Let me just show you.
0:37:19 > 0:37:22There's a photograph of your mother,
0:37:22 > 0:37:24which we believe was taken in Canada.
0:37:24 > 0:37:30- In Canada?- Indeed.- In Canada? Oh! - Oh, wow. Oh, look, Deborah.
0:37:32 > 0:37:36It's the first time Janet's seen this image of her mother
0:37:36 > 0:37:38and there's more to come.
0:37:38 > 0:37:43One here of Madge, your mum, and your sisters.
0:37:43 > 0:37:49- Oh, look! Oh, my sisters!- That's a lovely photograph.- Oh, my gosh!
0:37:49 > 0:37:54It was the fall, September, 1954. She'd only just got there then.
0:37:54 > 0:37:58- Aren't they like her?- So that's... - Oh, my goodness.- So that's Joy?
0:37:58 > 0:38:02- That's Joy. Oh, look. - And that's Glenda.
0:38:02 > 0:38:04She looks so happy there as well.
0:38:06 > 0:38:09- Oh, gosh, you look like her!- Yeah.
0:38:11 > 0:38:13- Wow, you really look like her. - Oh, my God.
0:38:13 > 0:38:15JANET SNIFFLES
0:38:15 > 0:38:17Oh, that's... Oh, I can't believe it.
0:38:27 > 0:38:30Thank you so much. Oh, I, I...
0:38:30 > 0:38:33I can't begin to say how wonderful that is of you.
0:38:33 > 0:38:36Janet is one step closer to knowing the family
0:38:36 > 0:38:38that's taken her decades to find.
0:38:38 > 0:38:43I can't believe that I've actually seen my sisters on photo
0:38:43 > 0:38:46and my mum in Canada with them. I'm just overwhelmed.
0:38:46 > 0:38:49Today was absolutely fantastic, to meet everyone.
0:38:49 > 0:38:53Today went brilliantly. It was magnificent.
0:38:53 > 0:38:54It's made the family whole.
0:38:56 > 0:39:00Not only has Janet discovered family she never knew about,
0:39:00 > 0:39:03the cousins have also helped fill in some crucial gaps
0:39:03 > 0:39:05in her family history.
0:39:05 > 0:39:08Janet had already enlisted the help of a family finding company
0:39:08 > 0:39:10to trace her sisters.
0:39:10 > 0:39:13Now armed with the information on a possible location in Canada
0:39:13 > 0:39:17and their own extensive research, Janet was relying on them.
0:39:19 > 0:39:21Although I didn't have very much information to go on,
0:39:21 > 0:39:25this company felt that they would be able to help me
0:39:25 > 0:39:27and they were willing to take on the search.
0:39:27 > 0:39:32They have been able to trace the whereabouts, through certificates,
0:39:32 > 0:39:34of where my sisters might be,
0:39:34 > 0:39:36that they're still living,
0:39:36 > 0:39:39and the search seems to be getting quite close
0:39:39 > 0:39:44and I'm beginning to be very, very excited
0:39:44 > 0:39:47and yet trying not to be too excited
0:39:47 > 0:39:53in case it just, somehow, doesn't come to fruition.
0:39:54 > 0:39:57I think, with Janet's case, this had been a long time.
0:39:57 > 0:39:59Janet had not heard from them,
0:39:59 > 0:40:01had not had any contact for about 50 years.
0:40:01 > 0:40:06When it's like this, where there's good information in one respect,
0:40:06 > 0:40:08but little information on another side,
0:40:08 > 0:40:13it may not go as quickly or as smoothly as you hope it will.
0:40:15 > 0:40:19But today, three weeks after Janet found a possible location,
0:40:19 > 0:40:22there's some news from the family tracing company.
0:40:22 > 0:40:25- 'Hello, Janet, how are you?' - I'm fine, thank you.
0:40:25 > 0:40:28I'm just ringing to see if you've got any news about them yet.
0:40:28 > 0:40:32'We've been able to find contact details for Joy,
0:40:32 > 0:40:35'who was the older of the two sisters.
0:40:35 > 0:40:41'And, very excitingly, last night, I placed a call to Joy
0:40:41 > 0:40:47'and gave her the news that you had been trying to find her.
0:40:47 > 0:40:50'And her first reaction was,
0:40:50 > 0:40:52'"Oh, my goodness, that's my half-sister, isn't it?"'
0:40:52 > 0:40:55JANET GASPS AND LAUGHS
0:40:55 > 0:40:59- Oh, wow!- 'Which was incredible.' - Oh, my gosh!
0:40:59 > 0:41:03'And she straightaway said,
0:41:03 > 0:41:06'"Yes, we've always known about Janet,
0:41:06 > 0:41:08'"we've always thought about her
0:41:08 > 0:41:11'"and wondered where she was and how she was getting on."'
0:41:11 > 0:41:16- Thank you.- 'Isn't that wonderful?' - Oh, my God, I can't believe it.
0:41:16 > 0:41:18'She's really keen to get in contact.
0:41:18 > 0:41:21'She still sees your other half-sister, Glenda,
0:41:21 > 0:41:26'so I'm quite sure by now that Glenda will also know the good news
0:41:26 > 0:41:28'and she's keen to hear from you, Janet.'
0:41:28 > 0:41:31Oh, Jennifer, I don't know how to thank you.
0:41:31 > 0:41:35- You've just completed my life for me.- 'Oh, you're so, so welcome.
0:41:35 > 0:41:39- 'It really genuinely was our pleasure.'- Thank you so much.
0:41:39 > 0:41:44- Bye. I'll be in touch.- 'Bye-bye.' - Bye. Thank you.
0:41:45 > 0:41:48I told you. I knew you would find them.
0:41:52 > 0:41:58Janet's 50-year search for her family is finally over.
0:41:58 > 0:42:01I just want to tell everybody, I just want to ring up everybody
0:42:01 > 0:42:04and tell them I've found my sisters. It's so wonderful.
0:42:04 > 0:42:08I don't know whether to cry or laugh or... Just so emotional.
0:42:08 > 0:42:11I can't wait to see them now. I can't wait to be with them.
0:42:11 > 0:42:13For someone like Janet who, for 50 years,
0:42:13 > 0:42:17has wanted to just meet these sisters or speak to these sisters,
0:42:17 > 0:42:21and now she can have that, I'm absolutely thrilled for her.
0:42:21 > 0:42:24To play a part in that is wonderful.
0:42:24 > 0:42:27It makes coming to work really, really special.
0:42:29 > 0:42:33And Janet can make contact with the sisters she's never known.
0:42:33 > 0:42:36"Dear Joy, I'm so excited to find you.
0:42:36 > 0:42:40"I really can't believe it and I'm longing to get to know you.
0:42:40 > 0:42:42"We have got so much to share together.
0:42:42 > 0:42:46"I have been searching for you both for many years
0:42:46 > 0:42:48"but everything I tried came to no avail.
0:42:48 > 0:42:51"I'm so looking forward to you emailing me back
0:42:51 > 0:42:56"and making contact with Glenda too. Take...care."