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Episode 2

Documentary series. One woman discovers a South American side to her family, and another finds her older sister who she had only met once before.

Belinda O'Brien recently modelled for a genealogy website, which inspired her to research her own family history. A search through her family's 'Bible box' led to her discovering an old letter from Peru. Belinda embarked on some genealogical detective work, which revealed a South American side of her family, who she never knew. After many dead ends, Belinda finally contacted her Peruvian cousin Rosemary, who had always wondered about the lost English side of her family. Now Rosemary's son Alex is coming over to London to meet Belinda for the very first time.

Barbara Cohen grew up in the Jewish community of east London after the Second World War. Barbara met her older sister Sybil just once, as a young child, but never saw her again. With the help of her husband Michael, Barbara set about trying to trace Sybil. Michael's genealogical research led to birth and death certificates which revealed that Barbara's father had been married before - to a Christian girl, which meant that their child Sybil was ostracised from the local Jewish communities. Sybil had then got pregnant with a Danish sailor, and her family insisted she go to Denmark to raise the child with him. Michael and Barbara finally traced a now old and frail Sybil to a remote town in northern Denmark. They visit Sybil and her son Rene, taking with them a video they have made of the house where both Barbara and Sybil had grown up.

29 minutes

Credits

Role Contributor
Narrator Angellica Bell
Executive Producer Sam Wilson
Executive Producer Rob Butterfield
Series Producer James Christie-Miller
Production Company Ricochet

Broadcast