Tragedy brought us together after 70 years
SIBLINGS who had been searching for each other for 70 years have finally had an emotional reunion.
But it took the death of an 84-year-old woman with no known relatives to bring the brother and sister together at last.
Mabel Ardener died alone in Sussex in August 2021 having not married, without any children and without leaving a will.
Following her death, genealogist firm Finders International – stars of BBC’s Heir Hunters – was brought in to track down any relatives.
It was during this search that Mabel’s siblings, Alfred and Margaret, were traced.
The pair had been trying to find each other, and Mabel, for most of their lives.
Alfred was just 17 days old when his mother died aged 35 in January 1942 of pneumonia.
Mabel was five and Margaret six. Another sister, Violet, was aged three and died two years later. After several years with their abusive father, he was sent to prison and the children were separated. Alfred discovered their father had turned up at the hospital after his birth and taken his wife home against doctors’ advice.
Mabel’s brother and sister were finally reunited last summer.
Alfred, 82, who lives in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, said: “It was a lovely sunny day when I finally met my older sister, Margaret. “After 70 years of searching, it was amazing. We met in Devon and it was like we had always known each other. We talked and cried, shared photos and talked some more. It was a magical day.”
Sadly, Margaret, 86, died a few weeks after the joyful reunion. Alfred added: “I’m so thankful for our meeting. In some ways I feel robbed again, but I also feel very lucky that we managed to find each other at all.”