Eastbourne man reunited with sister after 60 years
A 65-YEAR-OLD Eastbourne man has tracked down his sister and travelled to Australia to be reunited with her after they were abandoned by their mother 63 years ago.
There were emotional scenes as Bill Leathley and his wife Jo stepped off the coach in Bathurst, New South Wales, and were greeted by Bill's sister Annie Schirn and her family.
The Leathley couple had spent nearly 30 hours travelling to Australia from their home in Eastbourne and Bill said, "We weren't too sure what to expect because we were strangers. But we were given an unbelievable welcome."
And wife Jo added, "They hit it off immediately and were like two peas in a pod.
"I just knew they were going to bond because she ran up and threw her arms around him."
Bill, a retired hotel worker who has lived in Eastbourne since 1969, decided to try and find out about the family he never knew when he got a laptop. He was a novice but after a few computer lessons he was carrying out extensive research.
Bill, his sister Annie and brother John were abandoned by their mother in June 1947. She locked the three youngsters in the single room they all shared and the oldest child John, who was seven at the time, was left trying to break free with his five year-old sister and two-year-old brother as they had no food. John went to live with his grandmother, leaving Annie and Bill in an orphanage. Bill was then adopted at the age of four and brought up in Yorkshire.
Bill said, "I knew I had a sister because I had these vague childhood memories of her."
Bill applied for his birth certificate, his parents' marriage certificate and then the birth certificates of his siblings. He sometimes spent all night researching on his laptop at the home he shares with wife Jo in Upperton Road. When Bill had the information he needed he hired a private investigator. The investigator gave Bill two addresses, thought to be those of John and Annie, on his 65th birthday in August last year.
Bill wrote to both the addresses and five days later he received a telephone call from his brother John.
"He said, 'hello Billy it's your brother John Scrivens here' - I will never forget it," said Bill.
John contacted Annie, as they were already in touch, and 12 months later Bill and Jo had made the long journey to Australia. The couple also plan to visit John at his home in Stoke soon.
Bill and Jo thoroughly enjoyed their time in Australia and Bill said, "As soon as we get enough money together we will be going back."
While Bill and Jo were in Australia they were featured on the front page of the local Bathurst newspaper and on the radio.
At the same time, here in the UK, Prime Minister Gordon Brown was issuing an apology to the children who were sent to Fairbridge Farm School, which is not far from Bathurst, between 1938 and 1974. Thousands of struggling parents were persuaded to signed over legal guardianship to Fairbridge to address the problem of child poverty in Britain.
Many of the children were abused and the standard of education was poor.
Bill and Jo were told about a book called the 'Forgotten Children' which is about the life of a child sent to Fairbridge.
They bought the book while out in Australia because they were interested to read about the children who, like Bill, had been separated from their families.
When Jo started to read the book by David Hill she realised that he was originally from Langney in Eastbourne. She said, "I really couldn't believe it when I started to read that he was from Eastbourne. What a coincidence.
"Bill wasn't sent to Australia but it was a similar situation because he was separated from his family."
Bill is delighted to have been reunited with Annie and is now appealing to others to search for their families.
He said, "I am hoping that my story will give people hope and encourage them to keep looking.
"If I can find my sister after 63 years, anything is possible."
Bill is happy to give advice to anyone wanting to find relatives and can be contacted on 07886225457.
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Weather for Hastings
Sunday 27 May 2012
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