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FAMILY TRACING SERVICE
Stories of Families Reunited
In country Victoria there is a little dog who waits for his master to come
home. He waits year after year. His master had had a bad experience in the
work place. This ground him down so much that he went to his mother’s to
take what turned out to be a last look at his matchbox collection of cars.
Then he made his way to the highway. That is the last time anyone saw him.
The Family Tracing Service urges people to keep in touch. People say that
"not knowing" is the hard part to bear. Just a modest Birthday card or
Christmas card says, "Hey, I'm still alive!"
Some good news from our casework records:
- The Simple Joys
We found Ken's youngest sister and he was so, so happy. He wrote "This
puts new meaning to the words of the song My cup runneth over with joy!
"
- Separated by War for 60 Years
When Maude looked at her photo, taken when was a baby with her two little sisters,
she would think "Where is my oldest sister? " The sisters were separated
because of WWII. She was found very quickly indeed. Amazing considering
one sister was in Australia and the other in Great Britain!
 Please Pass a Message
Sandy phoned in to ask us to apologize to his parents for all the upset he
had caused. He said "Tell them I'll phone when I am sorted out."
- Ecstasy in Knowing
A care worker wrote to our service saying thank you on behalf of her
client. "Felicity is ecstatically happy that you found her loved ones."
- Happy Valentine!
Reg wrote to tell us that on Valentine’s Day he would be on the bus
heading for Queensland
to see his long lost daughter. She bought him the ticket and promised he
could stay as long as he liked.
- Birthday Surprise!
Glenda phoned to say her long lost father had written to her and the
letter arrived on her 50th birthday. She was overjoyed at this birthday
surprise.
- Much Better Than A Bill!
Sally painted her letter box one weekend. On the Monday when she came home
from work she stood for a moment and admired her good work. Then she
reached in and found a letter from the Salvo’s Family Tracing Service. She
who had no relatives that she knew of was being sought by a cousin in
Sydney. She rang to tell us how happy she was to be found!
- A Near Miss
A father in South Australia contacted us to help find his son after 25
years. Six months later, the son replied to a re-directed letter, and we
phoned to let him know that his father was looking for him.
The son was overjoyed with the news, and immediately bought a train
ticket to South Australia. When we tried to notify the father about the
upcoming visit, we learnt that he had bought a bus ticket and was about
to depart for Melbourne. Fortunately we reached him in time to have him
wait for his son.
The son arrived in South Australia the next day, supported by a
Salvation Army officer, for a happy and emotional reunion with his
father.
 Meeting
For The First Time.
A 75 year old woman named Nancy came from the UK to Australia to
find her two half-brothers. The last-known address for one brother was
near Ballarat. A quick search of the Electoral Roll showed there was
indeed a person by that name still living in the town.
For legal reasons we couldn't provide the details, but recommended that
she check the Electoral Roll at the public library.
Nancy found the information, rang directory services for the phone
number, and was soon talking to him, asking questions, and learnt they
were indeed brother and sister. The next day they met for the first time
(see photo at right).
- Never Too Late.
Imagine our consternation when we received a request from an 85 year
old lady who was looking for her aunt. One might reasonably expect that
the elderly aunt had passed away, but we held onto the chance that we
might still be able to find her.
The enquiry was sent to our UK office, and within 6 weeks received a
reply that the dear old aunt was alive and well at age 101.
- Miracle or Coincidence?
Last year we received a call from a
man who asked for help tracing his sister in Canada. He told us he was
inspired by a surprise phone call he received from his brother in the
UK, whom he had not heard from in 35 years.
It seems the brother in England called the international operator and
asked for persons with his surname living in Melbourne. The operator
told him the list was quite extensive, so he asked the operator to pick
a name at random and give the person a call.
Lo and behold, the person the operator chose to call was the man's
brother, living in Melbourne, and together they were now searching for
their sister in Canada.
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