So pleased family found each other

A FEW months ago I mentioned ‘ancestry’ websites and DNA and confessed I really don’t want to find new relatives. Now, A writes: ‘You must receive so many sad letters, so here is one that is amazing, unbelievable and, most of all, happy.’

She continues: ‘I was an illegitimate child, born in 1946. My mother died when I was 12 but I had my grandfather, my uncle and my much older brother in the house, so never lacked male presence.

‘When Mum died, I lived with my uncle and aunt, who were like parents to me. On the whole I’ve had a pretty happy life.’

A’s cousin is keen on DNAbased genealogical research, so the two women took tests and A discovered a first cousin, M, she had no knowledge of.

‘Since a first cousin can only be related through parents or grandparents, we reached the obvious conclusion — that the relationship must be through my father,’ she adds.

The only thing A ever knew about her father was that he was in the Royal Air Force. She made contact with M — and discovered his father was in the RAF for 25 years, and had been stationed for a while in the county where A lives.

‘Having got his name and a bit of history, I then checked second and third cousins on the DNA list — and found that through these more distant cousins I shared DNA with M’s grandfather,’ she writes.

‘I feel like I’m in the middle of an episode of Long Lost Family! I have the occasional moment of sadness that I never knew my father (he died in 1996), but most of the time I am walking round with a smile on my face. I am also very thankful that both M and I decided to put our DNA results on Ancestry.’

In wartime and post-war, A’s story wasn’t uncommon. Now, she’s so happy to see photographs of her father and discover more about her new family members.

Reading her story made me happy, too. A reminder always to be open to pleasant surprises.

Bel answers readers’ questions on emotional and relationship problems each week. Write to Bel Mooney, Scottish Daily Mail, 20 Waterloo Street, Glasgow G2 6DB, or email bel.mooney@dailymail.co.uk. Names are changed to protect identities. Bel reads all letters but regrets she cannot enter into personal correspondence.