LilMtnCbn
03-18-2004, 07:23 AM
http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk/news/stories/Detail_LinkStory=84470.html
Brother and sister to meet at last
Michael Byrne
A BROTHER and sister who grew up a mile apart without knowing the other existed
have finally found each other, half a world away.
Fifty years ago, Geoffrey Phillips grew up in Rochdale less than a mile from a
girl named Suzanne Bradley.
They did not know they were brother and sister because the girl - named
Winifred by her birth parents - was given up for adoption before Geoffrey was
born.
Geoffrey, 50, found out about the existence of his sister in his twenties and
it was his mother's dying wish that he find her.
And last week, Suzanne finally rang - from Australia.
Suzanne, 53 tomorrow, said: "I just couldn't believe it when I heard about
Geoffrey. You hear about these stories but you never think it will happen to
you.
"My parents gave me up because they thought I would have a better life with
someone else and I had a good upbringing. But it's very cruel that we were
never told about each other, particularly as we grew up living so close
together. It would have been great to go out with him and do all the things
that brothers and sisters do together."
Geoffrey began searching for Suzanne about 10 years ago when her adoptive
parents died.
He knew she had been renamed Suzanne Bradley and had got married in March 1971.
But every time he got another lead it became a dead end.
But in December there was a breakthrough when he was contacted by Suzanne's
former best friend, Linda Potter.
Linda hadn't heard from Suzanne for more than 20 years, since she moved to Rio
de Janeiro with her second husband, Ron Ramswell.
Geoffrey then began the lengthy task of writing to all Bradleys and Ramswells
living in this country to see if any of them knew Suzanne.
Then, out of the blue, Suzanne rang from her new home in Australia to say that
Geoffrey's letter had been passed on to her from her now ex-husband Ron
Ramswell.
Until that point, Suzanne never knew that Geoffrey existed.
Geoffrey, a long-distance lorry driver who now lives in Weston-super-Mare,
said: "I was away working and my daughter, Callie, rang me to say that my
sister had been on the phone.
"I thought it was my step-sister but it was Suzanne. I was so happy and I just
couldn't believe it after all this time.
"We're hoping to go and see her in about a month, provided we can get
everything sorted out."
There is a lot to catch up on - Suzanne moved to London from Rochdale in 1975
before emigrating to Brazil with her second husband. There she adopted a
Brazilian girl called Cecilia and had a son called Bradley.
When she left her second husband Ron, Suzanne moved to Sydney, where she now
works as a care nurse.
She has married again and has a third child, also called Suzanne, aged 17.
She said: "Geoff has gone to incredible lengths to find me and he could have
been saved an awful lot of that trouble.
"There were a lot of tears when Geoff and I were on the phone and I'm dying to
meet him."
-------------------------
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail . . . but, a true friend will
be sitting next to you saying, "Damn . . . that was fun!"
-----Unknown
Brother and sister to meet at last
Michael Byrne
A BROTHER and sister who grew up a mile apart without knowing the other existed
have finally found each other, half a world away.
Fifty years ago, Geoffrey Phillips grew up in Rochdale less than a mile from a
girl named Suzanne Bradley.
They did not know they were brother and sister because the girl - named
Winifred by her birth parents - was given up for adoption before Geoffrey was
born.
Geoffrey, 50, found out about the existence of his sister in his twenties and
it was his mother's dying wish that he find her.
And last week, Suzanne finally rang - from Australia.
Suzanne, 53 tomorrow, said: "I just couldn't believe it when I heard about
Geoffrey. You hear about these stories but you never think it will happen to
you.
"My parents gave me up because they thought I would have a better life with
someone else and I had a good upbringing. But it's very cruel that we were
never told about each other, particularly as we grew up living so close
together. It would have been great to go out with him and do all the things
that brothers and sisters do together."
Geoffrey began searching for Suzanne about 10 years ago when her adoptive
parents died.
He knew she had been renamed Suzanne Bradley and had got married in March 1971.
But every time he got another lead it became a dead end.
But in December there was a breakthrough when he was contacted by Suzanne's
former best friend, Linda Potter.
Linda hadn't heard from Suzanne for more than 20 years, since she moved to Rio
de Janeiro with her second husband, Ron Ramswell.
Geoffrey then began the lengthy task of writing to all Bradleys and Ramswells
living in this country to see if any of them knew Suzanne.
Then, out of the blue, Suzanne rang from her new home in Australia to say that
Geoffrey's letter had been passed on to her from her now ex-husband Ron
Ramswell.
Until that point, Suzanne never knew that Geoffrey existed.
Geoffrey, a long-distance lorry driver who now lives in Weston-super-Mare,
said: "I was away working and my daughter, Callie, rang me to say that my
sister had been on the phone.
"I thought it was my step-sister but it was Suzanne. I was so happy and I just
couldn't believe it after all this time.
"We're hoping to go and see her in about a month, provided we can get
everything sorted out."
There is a lot to catch up on - Suzanne moved to London from Rochdale in 1975
before emigrating to Brazil with her second husband. There she adopted a
Brazilian girl called Cecilia and had a son called Bradley.
When she left her second husband Ron, Suzanne moved to Sydney, where she now
works as a care nurse.
She has married again and has a third child, also called Suzanne, aged 17.
She said: "Geoff has gone to incredible lengths to find me and he could have
been saved an awful lot of that trouble.
"There were a lot of tears when Geoff and I were on the phone and I'm dying to
meet him."
-------------------------
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail . . . but, a true friend will
be sitting next to you saying, "Damn . . . that was fun!"
-----Unknown
