Unknown Family

My cousin, Santa, has just sent me a link on Facebook to YouTube showing a clip of a 1974 program called "The World at War." In it is a brief word from a former sergeant in the 14th Army, a Freddie Tomkins. Never heard of him? No, neither had I. But it turns out that he was my grandfather's half-brother. I didn't even know he had a half-brother.

Santa also sent me the transcript of a newspaper clipping that she found at her parents' house today (Jack Miller is my mum's dad):

"At the age of 55 Freddie Tomkins has suddenly found his family expanding. By two half brothers and a half sister, to be exact. After a break of 26 years he has re-established contact with the children of his mothers first marriage. Their reunion came by an accident of television. Mr Tomkins, appearing for the Burma Star association in the world at war series was spotted by his half brother Jack Miller from Sudbury in Suffolk. Mr Miller wrote to the series producer at Thames Television, who passed on his letter. Mr Tomkins who lives in New Cross, was delighted to learn that his half sister Lily was living just up the road at Brockley and that half brother Bill had retired to St Leonards. "We were a very close family until about 1948 when we just drifted apart" says Mr Tomkins. "It hasn't been hard to re-establish the old relationship" "When I walked into Bill's kitchen and tapped him on the shoulder he just turned and said "Well I'll be blowed,it's our Fred!" ..

I never really talked to my grandad about much, when I was young I was incredibly shy and when I was a teenager I wasn't interested. Mum never talked much about family at all either, so I know very little about my family's history. I think that is what makes this so much more interesting now.
Click here for the clip from the television show that they were talking about. Freddie Tomkins is the first face after the opening credits. It looks like he is in further slices on YouTube so I'm gonna check them out in a minute.

I can feel a personal project coming up, though I may lose interest if it gets too difficult tracking ALL my relatives and their personal stories.