Siblings meet for the first time in 68 years

A grandfather has met his half-sister for the first time – 68 years after she was given up for adoption.

Mike Bedrock, who also has a twin Janet Withe, never even knew he had another sister until Janet stumbled on her birth certificate while going through the family papers.

Mike, a retired coach driver who lives in Coniston Way, Bewdley, traced long-lost sister Linda – now Brenda Sibtain – who was given up for adoption as a baby, through the charity After Adoption.

Mike made the shock discovery while his father was ill 12 years ago, but did not manage to track her down at her home in Northampton until January this year.

"My mother had died and my father was in hospital," says Mike, who is 67, and was born in Liverpool.

"He was worried about paying a bill, and he asked my sister Jan if she would sort it out. While she was looking through the paperwork she found a birth certificate in the name of Linda Bedrock for November 1943, 12 months prior to us."

Mike remembers the day his sister telephoned him to break the news.

"She said 'Are you sitting down?', I said 'no', she said 'I think you better had. We've got a sister'." They decided not to ask their father Les, who died aged 84, shortly afterwards, about the discovery.

Instead, they asked other family members, who revealed that their mother Nell had been a Wren during the Second World War, and had an affair with a sailor.

"My dad, who had been serving in Palestine, came home on leave unexpectedly, and there was a house full of people. He thought they had put a party on for him, but then they told him, the baby was in the house, and he told my mum 'it's the baby or me'.

"My dad had an aunt in Birmingham, and one of her friends had just lost her daughter, she was the same age, and she adopted Linda." Mike, who has also lived in Stourbridge and Halesowen, said "My mum loved children, and giving up her daughter would have killed her,

"We spent over 10 years trying to trace her, we went to the Salvation Army, but when we went to After Adoption, they managed to track her down within four months.

"We didn't know what to expect, but when we met in January it was like we had never been apart," says Mike. Brenda who has two adopted children herself, said the discovery of a new family has been "magical". "I was an only child and I always felt loved and wanted," she says.

"There were hints as I grew up that I was adopted. I used to wonder why this particular neighbour took such an interest in me; now I know she was my real mum's husband's aunt and the one who arranged my adoption."

She was finally told about the adoption at the age of 17. "I realised there must have been a lot of heartache when I was born so resolved to leave well alone plus I didn't want to upset my adopted mum and dad.

"But as the years went on, I'd think: 'I have nobody in this world who is my flesh and blood'. Now I'm not alone anymore."