Please help reunite these brothers after 70 years!
Donation protected
This is my dad and his brothers. A great family photo, and yet little did they know that some of them were about to spend a lifetime apart.
There were 4 brothers, with 2 years of age between each one. John was the oldest, pictured 2nd left, followed by my dad Ted (furthest right), then Barry (far left), then Geoff the youngest (3rd on picture).
As you can imagine, raising 4 young boys is enough of a challenge for any family, but sadly their mother died in 1944 when youngest brother Geoff was only a year old. It must have been an agonising decision but, to try to place him in the care of people who could better provide for him, Geoff was adopted in 1945 aged just 2 years old.
Following the Second World War the Australian government ran a campaign encouraging people to emigrate there, and Geoff’s new adoptive family ended up doing exactly that - starting a new life with him in Australia in 1951 when he was 8 years old. That was the last that he saw of the UK and so he has spent most of his life on the other side of the world. He now lives in Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia.
John, Ted and Barry continued growing up together and living their lives in the UK. But obviously they never forgot their baby brother.
They tried numerous times to try to find Geoff but the enquiries always seemed to lead to a dead end. But then, in 2014, out of the blue, after repeated failed attempts over the years, there was a breakthrough; Geoff managed to track his brothers down.
Sadly it was all too late for eldest brother John, who’d died in 2010. But the remaining 3 were absolutely elated to be back in touch, and couldn’t believe that they were back in contact after all these years. They now love speaking to each other regularly by phone.
However, it would be a dream come true to actually meet up again in person, nearly 75 years after they were last together.
Obviously they’re all pensioners now and, with the high cost of plane tickets, I think they’ve resigned themselves to it not happening. But my dad turns 80 in August this year so it would be a fantastic surprise if we could make this a reality.
With your help, if we can raise £1000 over the next few weeks it would pay for Geoff’s return flights to the UK, enabling them to have the emotional reunion that they would so desperately love. Any amount is greatly appreciated - let’s make this happen! Thank you.
There were 4 brothers, with 2 years of age between each one. John was the oldest, pictured 2nd left, followed by my dad Ted (furthest right), then Barry (far left), then Geoff the youngest (3rd on picture).
As you can imagine, raising 4 young boys is enough of a challenge for any family, but sadly their mother died in 1944 when youngest brother Geoff was only a year old. It must have been an agonising decision but, to try to place him in the care of people who could better provide for him, Geoff was adopted in 1945 aged just 2 years old.
Following the Second World War the Australian government ran a campaign encouraging people to emigrate there, and Geoff’s new adoptive family ended up doing exactly that - starting a new life with him in Australia in 1951 when he was 8 years old. That was the last that he saw of the UK and so he has spent most of his life on the other side of the world. He now lives in Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia.
John, Ted and Barry continued growing up together and living their lives in the UK. But obviously they never forgot their baby brother.
They tried numerous times to try to find Geoff but the enquiries always seemed to lead to a dead end. But then, in 2014, out of the blue, after repeated failed attempts over the years, there was a breakthrough; Geoff managed to track his brothers down.
Sadly it was all too late for eldest brother John, who’d died in 2010. But the remaining 3 were absolutely elated to be back in touch, and couldn’t believe that they were back in contact after all these years. They now love speaking to each other regularly by phone.
However, it would be a dream come true to actually meet up again in person, nearly 75 years after they were last together.
Obviously they’re all pensioners now and, with the high cost of plane tickets, I think they’ve resigned themselves to it not happening. But my dad turns 80 in August this year so it would be a fantastic surprise if we could make this a reality.
With your help, if we can raise £1000 over the next few weeks it would pay for Geoff’s return flights to the UK, enabling them to have the emotional reunion that they would so desperately love. Any amount is greatly appreciated - let’s make this happen! Thank you.
Organizer
Chris Nobbs
Organizer