Long Lost Family

basilio · 8 January 2023

Watch it now..

Yesterday my wife came across this UK series called Long Lost Family. The program started in 2011 and two presenters (and a team of researchers) have helped people find children, parents, brothers and sisters who have disappeared from their lives for decades.

It is stunning. Each story is unique. They are heart breaking but heart warming. Humanity shines through each individuals search for the people they have never forgotten.

There are so many outstanding elements to these 45 minute documentaries.

1) Each back story tells us what life was like for these families that led to separation. There is much to learn about life in the 50's/60's and 70's

2) The editing is superb. They do capture the interactions exceptionally well

3) The producers and the presenters are exceptionally respectful. They are warm, supportive and loving. But they stand back and let the people do the talking.

4) They don't wring out emotion. The reality of the situation has its own momentum. For once we don't have the overblown BS hype that seems to characterise so much TV.

The stories are so different and each is very moving.

As I watch the shows I'm aware they are rapidly going off air. The ABC has Series 3-7 on air and they are only online for a few weeks. These are such great stories they deserve to be seen and reflected on by as many people as possible.

I'm certain many of us have friends or relatives who have had these experiences. It is deeply profound to be reunited with a child or sibling who for whatever reason has gone out of our lives.

If you want to see these docs on the ABC you need to get your skates on and set aside some serious viewing time. But IMV they are absolutely worth it.

Cheers

Long Lost Family: Series 10 Episode 1

A mother and father who, having fought in vain to get their son back through the courts, have lived with a lifetime of loss; and a son's search for his birth mother, who disappeared from his life when he was a baby.

iview.abc.net.au

farmerge · 9 January 2023

basilio said:
Watch it now..

Yesterday my wife came across this UK series called Long Lost Family. The program started in 2011 and two presenters (and a team of researchers) have helped people find children, parents, brothers and sisters who have disappeared from their lives for decades.

It is stunning. Each story is unique. They are heart breaking but heart warming. Humanity shines through each individuals search for the people they have never forgotten.

There are so many outstanding elements to these 45 minute documentaries.

1) Each back story tells us what life was like for these families that led to separation. There is much to learn about life in the 50's/60's and 70's

2) The editing is superb. They do capture the interactions exceptionally well

3) The producers and the presenters are exceptionally respectful. They are warm, supportive and loving. But they stand back and let the people do the talking.

4) They don't wring out emotion. The reality of the situation has its own momentum. For once we don't have the overblown BS hype that seems to characterise so much TV.

The stories are so different and each is very moving.

As I watch the shows I'm aware they are rapidly going off air. The ABC has Series 3-7 on air and they are only online for a few weeks. These are such great stories they deserve to be seen and reflected on by as many people as possible.

I'm certain many of us have friends or relatives who have had these experiences. It is deeply profound to be reunited with a child or sibling who for whatever reason has gone out of our lives.

If you want to see these docs on the ABC you need to get your skates on and set aside some serious viewing time. But IMV they are absolutely worth it.

Cheers

Long Lost Family: Series 10 Episode 1

A mother and father who, having fought in vain to get their son back through the courts, have lived with a lifetime of loss; and a son's search for his birth mother, who disappeared from his life when he was a baby.

iview.abc.net.au

I will certainly be tuning to this. My father was a child "forced" migrant when he was very young under the Fairbridge foundation. It was only through my both of my son's investigating "ancestry" and a few years after my Dad's passing that we actually found out the truth behind his leaving Mother England. He had a mother and 3 brothers and a sister The siblings he never knew of. He always thought he was an orphan as was the way of these child migrations back in the 1920-30's.

farmerge · 10 January 2023

I might add that with my Dad's migration to here, his others like him, there past was a tightly held secret. He could not even get a birth certificate. It was through my son's efforts by using my name as the eldest son that we found out the truth, 10 years after his passing. All he could get from the foundation was the year he was born in, with no reference to his parents, or what county he was from. Even when he joined the Army in WWII, even the Army bureaucracy couldn't get the necessary proof. Given all of that he made a good life for himself and his family but I guess he always had that gnawing fact at the back of his mind "who am I really" Something he never got to find out.

basilio · 10 January 2023

farmerge said:
I will certainly be tuning to this. My father was a child "forced" migrant when he was very young under the Fairbridge foundation. It was only through my both of my son's investigating "ancestry" and a few years after my Dad's passing that we actually found out the truth behind his leaving Mother England. He had a mother and 3 brothers and a sister The siblings he never knew of. He always thought he was an orphan as was the way of these child migrations back in the 1920-30's.

Horrific story. It did come out much much later. This article does a decent summary.
It would be interesting to see if any of the Long Lost Family episodes cover incidents like the deportation of children overseas. They could

The child abuse scandal of the British children sent abroad

For several decades, the UK sent children across the world to new lives where many were abused.

www.bbc.com

basilio · 10 January 2023

There was an excellent docudrama made about the Fairbridge forced migration and abuse system. I think it may be on SBS at the moment.

The review at least goes into detail.

Oranges and Sunshine: Review

Sad chapter in UK history makes for fine debut.

www.sbs.com.au

basilio · 10 January 2023

farmerge said:
I might add that with my Dad's migration to here, his others like him, there past was a tightly held secret. He could not even get a birth certificate. It was through my son's efforts by using my name as the eldest son that we found out the truth, 10 years after his passing. All he could get from the foundation was the year he was born in, with no reference to his parents, or what county he was from. Even when he joined the Army in WWII, even the Army bureaucracy couldn't get the necessary proof. Given all of that he made a good life for himself and his family but I guess he always had that gnawing fact at the back of his mind "who am I really" Something he never got to find out.

That was very sad. It certainly highlights the feelings of the scores of people who were transported from orphanages in England to Canada and Australia.

There might be a chance that Long Lost Family could follow up on your father. They do invite people to send in family history requests. You never know.

basilio · 10 January 2023

There are more films on the history of the Forgotten Australians on you tube.

farmerge · 10 January 2023

basilio said:
There are more films on the history of the Forgotten Australians on you tube.

Hello Bassillo That photo of children is very similar to the one my sons got of my Dad when he was exported from the Old Dart to WA. Life wasn't easy at Fairbridge but it had a sort of family structure in the "cottage" he was assigned to

farmerge · 10 January 2023

basilio said:
That was very sad. It certainly highlights the feelings of the scores of people who were transported from orphanages in England to Canada and Australia.

There might be a chance that Long Lost Family could follow up on your father. They do invite people to send in family history requests. You never know.

I will have to talk to other family members about your suggestion. I know 1 sister would not agree as she is a bitch, snob and looks down on our Dad's upbringing as beyond her station in life and never mentions his past.

basilio · 10 January 2023

farmerge said:
I will have to talk to other family members about your suggestion. I know 1 sister would not agree as she is a bitch, snob and looks down on our Dad's upbringing as beyond her station in life and never mentions his past.

It is hard to get everyone to agree. Maybe if they saw a couple of the episodes they might appreciate what it could mean and how respectfully it can be presented. Alternatively one can suggest they stay out of the story entirely as is their right.

Frankly they don't do disrespect on the show.
It would be a big stretch . However the opportunities to show how families have evolved from children being sent to another country would be a big draw card.
Nothing ventured nothing gained.

basilio · 10 January 2023

farmerge said:
Hello Bassillo That photo of children is very similar to the one my sons got of my Dad when he was exported from the Old Dart to WA. Life wasn't easy at Fairbridge but it had a sort of family structure in the "cottage" he was assigned to

Yes... I can see how a hard but warm environment could be the making of the children. I'm not sure that was the experience of many child emigrants .

basilio · 25 January 2023

Been watching more and more episodes of Long Lost Families. My wife ended up contact the researchers to get some help locating her grandparents on her fathers side. He had been sent as a baby to a Bernados orphanage a few days after birth.

I asked the researcher about how the Long Lost Families episodes were produced. Short story is that only about 10% of the people who begin end up as a story. There are so many factors involved in final selection of shows. People who don't want to be on the program. People who aren't happy with being discovered . People who become very upset with who they discover was their parent.

It is a beautiful series with much real warmth and love. But the show does focus on the better side of human nature. I also suspect the intention is to encourage people to be more accepting of the frailties and conditions that lead to the situation.

Long Lost Family

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