Two cousins who were torn apart shortly after emigrating to Australia as part of the ‘Ten Pound Pom’ scheme have now been reunited 72 years later.
Linda Candy, 75, and her cousin Valerie Linden, 76, traveled to Down Under from the UK in the aftermath of World War II because their fathers, who were brothers, wanted to build a better life for their family.
But the pair lost each other when their fathers fell out after arriving in Australia and the families moved thousands of miles apart.
Though Linda often thought of the cousin she had grown up with, she thought they would never see each other again—until Valerie tracked her down more than 70 years later.
The pair were eventually reunited at the exact spot where they entered the country in 1951, most recently at Pier One in the shadow of the Sydney Harbor Bridge.
Two cousins (pictured) who were torn apart shortly after emigrating to Australia as part of the ‘Ten Pound Pom’ scheme have now been reunited 72 years later
Linda said: ‘It was really an incredible feeling to see her again after all this time. I had given up hope of a reunion decades ago because we had no contact.
‘I often thought of the fun we had on the ship on the way to Australia. We both had brothers, so we gravitated toward each other and were more like sisters than cousins.
“Even though a lifetime had passed, it was as if we had never been apart. We got along like a house on fire. We went to Valerie’s daughter’s house, near Sydney, and we danced at 2am, just like when we were four and five, I think!
“I’m so thankful she found me again. We now have a lot to make up for lost time.’
Valerie managed to track down her cousin through an ancestral website – and hesitantly messaged her on Facebook.
Linda’s father, Charles Rossiter, had been a seasoned soldier, serving in Africa and the Middle East before and during World War II.
His brother, Les, had worked in the mines in County Durham during the war. But by 1950, they were in one room with their parents, husbands, and young children.
Desperate for housing and work, and Charles yearned for sunshine and adventure, they decided to travel to Australia together under the Ten Pound Migration Programme, the Australian Government’s offer to transport Britons to Oz and provide them with subsidized housing and offer jobs. £10 per person.
Linda Candy (pictured left, aged five), 75, and her cousin Valerie Linden (pictured right, aged four), 76, traveled to Down Under from the UK in the aftermath of World War II because their fathers, who were brothers , wanted to build a better life for their family
But the couple (pictured when they reunited) lost each other when their fathers fell out after arriving in Australia and the families moved thousands of miles apart. Pictured, Valerie (left) and Linda (right)
Though Linda often thought of the cousin she had grown up with, she thought they would never see each other again—until Valerie tracked her down more than 70 years later. Pictured from left to right, Charles, Linda, Valerie, Linda’s brother Neil, Valerie’s brother Ian, Les
Officially titled the Assisted Passage Migration Scheme, it ran in various forms from 1945 to 1972 and attracted over one and a half million Britons, who were able to apply for Australian citizenship after a year.
If they decided to return to Britain within two years, they had to pay back their £10 and pay back their own passage (about £120 then, £6,000 in today’s money).
The brothers boarded the SS New Australia in Southampton on August 29, 1951, when Linda was four years old and Valerie was only five years old.
Linda recalls, “I remember the boat trip well, our mothers were always terrified that we would fall overboard, so we were held pretty tight during the trip.
“When we finally landed in Australia, I remembered how thrilled I was to be able to play on grass, and my mum had a hard time getting me on the train to Bathurst.”
The two families lived in migrant guest houses, corrugated iron huts with basic amenities and no fans let alone air conditioning in the scorching heat.
“It was very difficult for all of us,” Linda recalls. ‘It was very hot, in the middle of summer, we had no money and we all got the measles.
“There was no medical care other than calamine lotion—I remember my mother putting paper over the cabin windows because we couldn’t stand the light.
“Our mothers must have thought they had made the biggest mistake of their lives.”
The couple (pictured) were eventually reunited at the exact spot where they entered the country in 1951, most recently at Pier One in the shadow of the Sydney Harbor Bridge.
Within two years of moving to South Australia, the fortunes of the Linda family (pictured on the deck of the ship she traveled to Australia on) changed after they won £15,000 in the lottery. (Australian currency was still in £ at the time)
The two brothers had both planned to travel west to South Australia for work, but their plans were disrupted when Les persuaded Charlie to loan a friend £70 so that they could buy a truck to make the journey together. to make.
Somehow this didn’t work out and a fierce argument ensued, leaving Linda’s family to go off on their own. From then on, the two families went their separate ways.
“There was no way to keep in touch, we moved south to Salisbury, South Australia, and they stayed in Fairy Meadow, New South Wales.
“We were used to being playmates. It was a huge change to live without them,” says Linda.
Within two years of moving to South Australia, Linda’s family’s fortunes changed after they won £15,000 in the lottery. (Australian currency was still in £ at the time).
They moved back to England and bought a farm – but within three years the Australian lifestyle was too attracted to them and they returned to South Australia where Linda went to university and completed an art course and became a teacher.
Valerie’s family also returned to England in 1959, but she and her brother Ian eventually returned as adults after attending school in England. She now lives there as do her children.
The two cousins discovered that they had both yoyoed between places all their lives.
Valerie said, “I was building my family tree on a genealogy site and had been trying to track down Linda’s branch of the family. Over the years my mind had often wandered to what and where Linda was.
“I couldn’t believe it when I found her husband. The rest is history! It may have taken 70 years, but it was worth the wait.’