Long Lost Family (UK) S08E07

for thousands of people across Britain someone is missing from their lives I miss so I need to be able to say the word dad Tim she's my mother I have carried the gills thinking that I hope I haven't ruined her life three children kept together one taken away so where is he finding someone when the trails gone cold can feel like an impossible task but that's where we sent him offering a last chance to people desperate for help that's the first time in 73 years I've seen my mum with searches taking us to surprising places we've unearthed hidden secrets solving family mysteries and finding people that nobody else could trace this is wonderful although the answers aren't always what people expect we resolve questions that have haunted entire lives I only know that she's not dead because of you this week an extraordinary double search within one family it begins with a sister looking for her half-brother Keith to tell him the truth about their father he should know that his dad actually wanted him and didn't just abandon him and ends with Keith searching for answers about the birth mother who gave him up for adoption I need to know what happened to her that's the bit that's become incredibly important all of a sudden [Music] for the first time on long-lost family we endeavor to bring both sides of a family together our search begins with a woman desperate to find her brother to tell him about the father he never knew if my brother's caught his birth certificate there'd be a bank space on their father and he would just think he wasn't interested in him I have to find him I have to tell him he was wanted and he still is now [Music] Maurine sluice has four children and five grandchildren and lives near Cheltenham where she grew up and what would you like with it a sausage on there there everything really my family the importance of family has been passed down the line from my mum and dad when I was growing up there was me my mum and dad and my brother Julian and all so many foster children my mum was a very loving man my dad I always knew that he really loved me family was first with my dad but when Maureen was 14 her mum Beatrice made a surprise revelation about her dad it was in the summer and I was in the kitchen with my Merman she was talking to my auntie and she sort of said something and I said sorry mo what was that and she said which it's your dad's at the CERN I said what what you mean an another son she said he's got another son older than you your father would have left have known him her mum revealed that soon after she'd met Maureen's dad he'd received a letter from Cardiff telling him he had a baby from a previous relationship and asking for maintenance my mum said dad was very keen to see his son but the babies man said no oh my dad said look I need a photograph of this boy he's my son and then that's when she said you can't because he's been adopted [Music] hearing this story Maureen was desperate to find out more about her brother but she never felt able to ask her dad about him there were times when my dad and I were alone and we just be chatting about things I could almost feel he was going to tell me didn't I think you had a thought that I would be disappointed in him ashamed despite their dad's silence Maureen and her younger brother Julian couldn't stop thinking about his other son we wondered where he was what his life was like if he'd look like our dad it was in 2015 after her parents had passed away that Maureen felt able to travel to Cardiff and search for her brother the only information she had from her mum was that he'd been born here around 1949 and his mother's name was Betty Thomas I just thought that's so little to go on if I find anything it would be an absolute miracle Maureen began searching the archives for a birth record of her brother this really sweet girl after what she could do and she said oh yes we've got to pay people he's born in that period and I could have fallen through the floor I thought wow this is too good to be true further investigation ruled out one of the birth records even only one that had to be Maureen's brother getting that birth certificate was wonderful I couldn't believe it was real to actually see his name in black and white on paper Keith Thomas my brother on August the 16th 1949 he's there he's real but there was a line through where it said father's name and surname it was nothing there I thought if Keith's seen this he would just think his father and didn't care and that made it even more important to find him to tell him our dad really wanted to be part of his life the birth certificate revealed that Keith had been born in a Salvation Army home for unmarried mothers though I rang they told me that because he had been adopted the records were actually closed to me I thought this close it was like I was walking up to a door and somebody slapped shut just as I was going to go through it with the support of her brother Julian who doesn't want to appear on camera Maureen has remained determined to find Keith I just couldn't give up looking for my brother one selfish reason was for me and for Julian because we've got we've got a brother that we don't know but also for my dad he should know my dad was a good dad to me and he would have been a good dad to him as well I just can't let it go I just can't let him go [Music] Maureen has been desperate to find her brother for more than 40 years but when she found out he'd been adopted she reached a dead end so that's where we could help to go any further we needed to access Keith's adoption records to see if his name had been changed we turned to a specialist social worker who's legally allowed to see this information they discovered it unusually kids parents had kept his full name but added their surname he was now called Keith Thomas Joseph so we began trawling electoral rolls but our searches drew a blank there was no trace of a Keith Joseph of the right age living in the UK we needed a new tack we began searching for Keith's adoptive parents but discovered it sadly they both passed away but his adoptive mother's death certificate had the crucial piece of information her death had been registered by her son Barry Ernest Joseph Keith's adoptive brother we trace Barry and he put us in touch with Keith who was living more than 10,000 miles away in Australia we contacted Keith and he agreed to meet me in his hometown of bowel Mehring not far from Melbourne I'm on my way to tell him about his younger brother and sister on the other side of the world morick has been searching for years to try and find her big brother so she can tell him but their father was a good man and didn't willingly turn his back on him what will that news mean to Keith I'm catching up with him with an Aussie Rules football match where Keith is a keen supporter hey Nikki how are you very good nice to meet you too welcome to Australia I really love this it's great it's good fun yeah my granddaughter's playing my eldest grandchild to play and it's fantastic is keith moved here over 40 years ago from Brecon Beacons in wales now retired he worked here for 30 years as a mental health nurse he has four grown-up children and lives with his partner Heather how did you actually find out that you were adopted I found out when I was 8 in a schoolyard tussle with another boy in school and he called me a bastard and I said we'll saw you and he said well no you're a real one I had a really fabulous loving family so it was never an issue within my family I felt within me it was an issue within the community that my local community knew and I would always be seen as a bit second-rate I suppose so by coming to Australia were you trying to escape yes yeah come in somewhere where nobody knew my background therefore I couldn't be judged on that and I could just forget about it so how was it when you find out you were being looked for it was quite a shock not something I'd expected ever ever no no no why because of that little bit that was inside hidden within me about not being wanted being rejected well now you know that you were wanted so much and sort by Maureen I've got photographs to show you your sister it's an awful lot to take in hmm here are your brother and sister together J when did they find out both Maureen was 14 years old and her mother mentioned her father's other child so ever since then she's been on a quest to find you all the time can I tell you about your birth father please he had a very brief relationship with your birth mother and he got this letter saying that she had had a baby and it was a bolt out of the blue Maureen says that he wanted to see you but he wasn't allowed to see you and the next thing you know it is that you've been put up for adoption and Maureen really needs you to know that he didn't turn his back on you willingly Wow I always thought my father didn't want anything to do with me so that's what I was that's what I believed it's the opposite it's a very different story Maureen wants you to know he did think about you she believes all his life gee that changes everything I've ever thought about him Maureen has written you a letter to our dearest brother I can't find the words to say how wonderful it is to be able to write this letter to you Julian our younger brother and I have talked about you through the years our dad was such a gentle man he wanted so much to be part of your life always your sister and brother Maureen Julian Wow yes that's beautiful just changes the world you Maureen sluice came to us searching for her brother Keith her dad's oldest son who was adopted as a baby Maureen's been desperate to find her brother for over 40 years she needs to tell him that their father wanted to be part of his life and so does she she doesn't need to look anymore because Keith's been found [Music] thank you thanks very much thank you you found out about your brother quite early on did you ever talk to your dad about him no for your dad must've felt so powerless like there's nothing he can do and nothing then then the baby was adopted yeah and suddenly his sons gone yeah terrible yeah really really sad so what would you say if you found him your biological dad love to are you gonna be able to tell him because he's been found and does he know about Julian and me he was very surprised that you'd come looking because he didn't know about his dad who his dad was but he knows now you've gone looking for him and he's really pleased about it it's been life-changing for him Jesse what does he know good got family he's got four kids oh and eight grandchildren what's his name Keith it's still key he had a fantastic adoption oh good he went into a very loving family oh yeah that's so good that's so good and I've got a photo if you'd like to see it there's your brother back I want to see him so much even a photograph II want to see he looks going to like my dad the job like I decide perhaps it like my dad he's written me a few words I'm Laureen why water war will the past few weeks have been I am really excited at the prospect of sitting down with you and getting to know you and to sharing stories to find out you have been sutured you have been aware of my existence has been very special a very important for me thank you so much Keith that's so good so good isn't it I can't wait to tell Julian Oh Julian I've got some news to tell you they found our brother I'm curious Australia no no but he's coming cc yes I know I know today a week after hearing that her brother has been found Maureen is meeting Keith for the very first time Julian will also meet Keith but away from the cameras there's such a long long time we've been waiting to tell him about his dad our dad it's really I just it's unbelievable absolutely unbelievable that it's going to happen today [Music] good how you doing good nervous yeah yeah let's go thank you thank you [Music] Keith has made the ten thousand mile journey from Australia back to the UK the country of his birth I wake up in the middle of the night and lay there and think about what this all means open up to things that I'd shut down all my life about being adopted [Music] hey Nikki hi come here oh good just be excited I am very excited yes very excited accessories folk how's that adjustment being it's been quite amazing it's changed my whole life Ron I've had 60 odd years of believing something and then all of a sudden it's the exact opposite meeting more in what's it gonna be like that the moment where you see her she sees you it seems a bit surreal that it's actually happening but I'm about to meet this person who that is she is a we share a part of each other [Music] so it's been a week since I saw you and there's been so much to process doesn't have you been feeling it's it's gone by in a blink of an eye I've woken in the night and thought about it I've had his picture by my bed so excited to see him all that I thought would never be is actually coming true the moment arrives eh yeah good luck thank you [Music] brother and sister are meeting at a pub near to Maureen's house [Music] and this is what I'm gonna say goodbye so Buffy said sure [Music] good luck [Music] [Music] no it's not he was a good man a good man I know he was linked what it finds my one regret is that he's not you if I need to say that it's okay I've been very lucky about a great life I've been fabulous thank you thank you for looking thank you very brave to visit all those years I mean I had not wanted to search before because I didn't know anything about I would have hearing him say are with that Oh dad because it is a know it out if he's not just my dad and Julianne start he's Keith that as well he's Howard that it's just more than I could ever wish for do you want to see picture things yes please I'd love to I'd love to yes bhai about 21 very handsome he was was not there can you see can you see all this yeah I haven't had the chance to meet him to be able to shake his hand give him a hug tell him that it's all ok but I can tell more reading Julien instead it was a wonderful dad a wonderful dad he was so gentle to be able to now have the chance to get to know more about him just blow me away so glad I can tell you these things so my you you do know how important it be for me to hear this because I thought that he had not wanted anything to do with me it just changes totally my whole understanding of who he was I've got something for you because we wanted you to have something ok thank you that's really lovely yeah I'm not gonna let him go I think her where it is in the world he's our brother who's not going away you can't stop [ __ ] me and that's that [Music] often on long-lost family the reunion isn't the end of the story it's just the beginning and for Keith finding his sister Maureen and learning more about his birth father brought a new desire to understand his past so he asked us to try and find out a bit more about his birth mother I never wanted to search for my birth parents they were a part of my life that I had denied myself and God convinced myself that I didn't want meeting Maureen finding out that they were people from my hidden life who actually didn't want to know about me changed everything I want to know more about my birth mother to complete the story that's the bit that's become incredibly important all of a sudden [Music] 68 year-old grandfather of 8 Keith Joseph went to live in Australia over 40 years ago to escape the stigma of being an adopted child having been reunited with his birth father's side of the family now he's travelling back to Wales where he grew up to find out more about his birth mother uniquely for long-lost family we're following Keith as he delves into his past for the first time moving to Australia was certainly about wanting to be honest would be someone who was adopted or someone who were been unwanted but now I have the opportunity to find my family on my birth mother side make peace with my past make peace with myself Heath was adopted as a baby in 1951 by Arthur and Florence Joseph who he's always known with distant relatives of his birth mother Betty he grew up with an adoptive brother and two sisters Nell and the day that you arrived each other and we said oh and from that day on the family lived together on this farm in the Brecon Beacons rich in so many other ways yeah this but although his family life was happy keith was treated differently by the wider community it was at this local village school that he first learned about his adoption this is the place where our boy obtained under me and said you're a bastard your real mother and father didn't want you they gave you away it's where that doubt about myself again the sense of shame about being adopted being back in I think I realize now how much it has played on me throughout my life revisiting places from his childhood has triggered one haunting memory for Keith that I remembered being on the steps of a church with my mum holding my hand and this other woman who I didn't know told her my other hand and being pulled between both I'm being quite frightened by the whole thing talking to my mum about it when I got hold her she said well yes that was your mother she had made numerous attempts to have contact to see being but after that was formally adopted she was no longer allowed to come just stay away I want to know who she was and what happened Keith knew that his mother Betty was a distant relative of his adopted mothers but with the older generation all having passed away the trail to Betty had gone cold through our intermediaries we access to Keith's adoption file and find a vital clue Betty's date of birth we couldn't find any records for the right Betty in Wales or indeed in England but we did find one in Scotland however this revealed some heartbreaking news Betty Thomas had passed away in 2005 we told Keith this news away from the cameras I am disappointed that I won't have the opportunity to jest to sit down with her just just talk about our lives and I would have really loved to been able to show her my family my children my grandchildren yeah I feel really sad about the fact that I won't be able to do that it's always devastating when we find out that the person we've been looking for has passed away but we can at least give Keith more information about Betty through his adoption file today keith is seeing his paperwork for the very first time legally a social worker must be present when an adopted person accesses their file so our specialist intermediary Charlotte Bruce Lloyd is with Keith I've got with me records that were kept from the time when your birth mother was in the mother and baby home Oh in Cardiff mm-hmm date of entry 4th of May 1949 this all relates to - Betty - Betty yes personal appearance very small brown eyes pale face nondescript color hair pathetic face attended school from five into ten years when her mother died she was placed in an orphan until she was 15 yeah cause of present difficulty immorality yes yes at that time in 1949 when she became pregnant without family support she would have had no other options but to go to it mother and baby home landlords would not rent to women who were not married never ecology she would not sure got a job then the decision she made weren't her decisions they were decisions made for her yeah Betty is a poor little forlorn girl she has had a lot of unhappiness you're doing yeah I just feel really sad for her wouldn't know I don't like some of the stuff intended it's really good to have it I've got a little bit of her it's all I've ever seen to find out that she'd struggled with five is an orphanage and then gone to that dreadful experience of giving birth to a child and having to give it away she must have gone through incredible pain I wish I could put my arm around her and say that it's okay but I won't have that chance soon I want to know more about her not just the bits that were on that piece of paper [Music] [Music] Keith's adoption file paints a picture of a lost young woman but after she gave Keith up what happened to Betty with Betty having passed away 13 years ago our only hope of finding out more about her for Keith was to find any living relatives the first place to look for any leads was on Betty's death certificate death certificates always include an informant for the death usually a close relative Betty's certificate named her daughter Karen Dolan Keith had another sister the death was registered in Scotland so we scoured Scottish electoral rolls and found an old address for current living with her daughter Kathleen in Glasgow we contacted them and Karen and her daughter agreed to meet me [Music] Heath has started to paint a picture about his mother Betty's early life but he still has questions what happened to her after she gave him up now that we found her daughter Karen and granddaughter Katherine will they be able to fill in the blanks [Music] [Laughter] [Music] hello hello hi I'm Karen nice to meet you I'll follow you ah so was this a huge surprise yes what kind of surprise a good surprise a fantastic surprise yeah when did you first find out about Keith I've always known about him wanted to meet him a long time ago you've always known about him yeah my mum talked about him all the time it really hurt her when she gave him up but she knew he was going somewhere in the family so she knew he would be safe she looked at very much she's never stopped loving him and she's really proud of him for what he's done in life did she know what he'd done in life what she knew II wish that I knew this she knew that yeah and she knew he lived in Australia this is because of the family connection that's incredible she knew yeah was it a fight to them he's had a better life she could tell me about your mum she was a wonderful person very kind what was like as a granny she's always happy always me in this man I've got some for to suffer what can I see five photos oh look at she's got a lovely face okay both look like her after she gave Keith up for adoption what happened then she had a hard life a lot of heartbreak but I think she was happy Indians she had a lot of regrets in our life main one was Keith giving Keitha not what are the biggest regret yeah that was the biggest one you ain't [ __ ] or something wow that's your brother no so magical thank you so much O'Shea Kenda can't wait to see him now we're just sorting my mom's not used to see it [Music] [Music] this is a first of a long-lost family having reunited 68 year old Keith Joseph with his sister Maureen just two weeks ago I'm on my way to tell him we found more relatives this time on his birth mother Betty's side sadly he's never going to get to meet Betty but I can tell him that he has another sister underneath and they want to tell him how much his mother loved him and that she never forgot him [Music] [Music] hi thank you come in thank you thanks very much I'm sorry we couldn't bring you better news about your mum I have to admit I worried because that might be the result anyway just because of her age I would have loved the opportunity I just give her a hug I have got a little bit more information about your birth mother the fact that you were adopted by distant relatives meant that she could keep tabs on you and she did throughout your life yeah so she she had information about you Wow hmm she knew you'd gone to Australia what yeah and she knew that you were a nurse and she was so proud of that she was she was very proud oh it just goes from one amazing thing to another do you just when I thought it couldn't get any bigger yep one hell of a lot to take in she went on to have three healthy children after you and we spoke to Karen your sister and she's got a daughter called Kathleen and Kathleen and Karen have known about you all of that eyes so this is Karen and Kathleen your niece [Music] how you feeling I feel really good surprising I feel really good to find out that I was talked about I was wanted just as much as anybody else has been really very freeing up for me a phone call seven weeks ago and boy of my life being turned around within the space of a few weeks he's been on a remarkable journey as his family has tripled in size he's met his sister Maureen on his father's side and today he's finally meeting his sister Karen and niece Kathleen on his mother's side [Music] [Music] I've got to meet my brother I wish our mom this year right now just say it good to meet you at last I hate you too let's better wait I've got this huge family and the fact that they want to be connected is just really special this is Maureen and my search started the pieces all over the place and they've gradually been brought back together and made home all of the sense of shame and guilt it's all gone it feels like I'm at peace with myself and now complete [Music] [Music] [Music]

Channel: Cinelic

Views: 364,711

Rating: 4.8522224 out of 5

Keywords: abandoned, adopt, ancestry, birth parents, children given up, davina mccall, documentary, family reunion, family search, full documentaries, full documentary, full episode, heritage, genetic, long lost family, long lost family uk, long lsot family, lost family, mini documentaries, mini documentary, dna, reality show, reunion, separated at birth, short documentaries, biological, watch online, documentaries, 23 and me, documentary 2018, 2018, finding family, long lost family s08e07

Id: 9xXGba_IWFY

Length: 46min 36sec (2796 seconds)

Published: Fri Dec 27 2019