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Eastbourne woman to finally meet long lost brother
A 65-YEAR-OLD Eastbourne woman who has never left the country is making a long journey to Australia to be reunited with the brother she has never known.
Maggie Huggett told the Herald her story after reading about Eastbourne man Bill Leathley who featured in last week's Herald following his return from an emotional reunion with his sister in Australia. Bill, who hadn't seen sister Annie for more than 60 years, encouraged others to search for long-lost relatives.
Wheelchair-bound Maggie, who suffers from a number of different health problems, has recently got her first passport and is braving the journey to Adelaide in October to meet her brother Michael, who she spent nearly 12 years looking for.
She said, "When I saw the story in the Herald about Bill I couldn't believe it and it brought a few tears. I phoned Bill and we had a lovely chat and has given me some websites because I am still trying to find my sister Sonia."
Maggie says a question mark had been hanging over her family history. Although she was brought up in Birmingham by her mother, her brother was sent away to an orphanage in Australia when he was five.
Michael, who was made to work hard in the children's home, escaped from the orphanage when he was 12 and married an Australian woman many years later.
Maggie, the eldest sibling, had vague childhood memories of her brother Michael but never knew what had happened to him.
She started trying to find him in the mid-1990s with her carer Lyn but hit a number of stubbling blocks. However, around two years ago she received a letter from the Child Migration Trust and was told that Michael had also been trying to find her.
"I don't think I came down from the ceiling for about three weeks," said Maggie.
The trust put Maggie and Michael in touch and they now exchange letters, emails and telephone calls on a weekly basis.
Maggie is travelling with her son Mark and daughter Amanda and they will be able to attend Maggie's niece's wedding during their stay.
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Weather for Eastbourne
Saturday 11 February 2012
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Temperature: -6 C to 2 C
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