Genes Reunited Blog
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Official Blogs
The British Newspaper Archive
Read about historical events at the time they were happening. Perhaps you'll discover your ancestor in their local newspaper?
It’s been a brilliant series so far and episode 5 of Long Lost Family was no exception. This week we saw the stories of twins Gail and Juliet looking for their twin brothers. We also saw Robert who was looking for the mother who disappeared from his life when he was just a toddler.
Gail and Juliet’s father left their mother for another woman when the girls just 3, leaving their mother to cope with the girls and two other children. Unbeknown to them their mother then gave birth to twin boys when the girls were four and had them adopted. It wasn’t until Gail went to live with her father when she was 15 that she discovered the family secret.
Pauline broke her silence about the boys only once in the years that followed.
Gail says: “My mother felt genuine pain for the loss of her children. She told me there was never a night that she went to sleep without thinking about them first. When she would hear a knock at the door, her first hope would be that her sons had looked for her.”
It wasn’t until both their parents had died that the girls felt able to search for their brothers. Their started their own search for them but this was where the trail ended. Working with a specialist intermediary, Long Lost Family was able to trace their brothers Paul and Michael. The two sets of twins had a very emotional reunion.
In the other story, Robert told the show that he’d never known his mother. He couldn’t speak to his father about her either so he has no idea why she left. His father was a gambler who also worked long hours, so Robert’s upbringing was a very lonely one.
Robert did find a small photograph of her when he was young which he treasured. However, his father found it and tore it up. When his father died that he then discovered a wedding photo of his parents. It was during this period that Robert’s need to find his mother grew.
The search to trace Robert’s mother was one of the toughest Long Lost Family has ever undertaken but, eventually, she was found living on the other side of the world in Brisbane, Australia.
When she is found, Jean explains to Nicky that she had to leave because of the violence she suffered at the hands of Robert’s father. She tried to blot out every memory she had of Robert, as this was the only way she felt she could have survived. But she could never forget one image of Robert from the last time she saw him, blond, blue-eyed and smiling, and Jean is visibly moved when she is shown a recent photograph of her son.
Robert and Jean meet on the shores of Brisbane where Jean finally gets to hold her son again.
You can watch this episode here.
We love this series and would love to know what you think. Please add your comments below.