Woman given up for adoption in Australia reunited 60 years on with family she never knew she had
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A woman whose unwed mother was sent to Australia and then gave her up as a baby shared how happy she was to find her long-lost British family after 60 years apart.
Suzy Frazer, 64, was given up for adoption after her pregnant mother packed up from Portsmouth, Hants, Down Under to give birth to her in 1958.
Her mother Janet Hall had asked not to be contacted, but was determined to break the rules to track her down and discovered that she had two half-sisters and a half-brother through her father in the UK.
And she used a DNA search through MyHeritage.com to track down a cousin in Gibraltar who then put him in touch with her unknown two half-sisters and brother.
And Suzy has now been introduced to sisters Sharon Day, 57, and Eileen Bond, 54, and brother Steve Bond, 61.
They recently had an emotional meeting after they all flew to Bangkok, Thailand to meet.
Suzy Frazer (left), 64, has now been introduced to sisters Sharon Day (center), 57, and Eileen Bond (right), 54, and brother Steve Bond, 61
They recently had an emotional meeting after they all flew to Bangkok, Thailand to meet
Suzy Frazer (pictured as a baby) was given up for adoption after her pregnant mother packed up from Portsmouth, Hants, Down Under to give birth to her in 1958
Her mother Janet Hall had asked not to be contacted but decided Suzy was breaking the rules to track her down and discovered she had two half sisters and a half brother through her UK father (Picture: Suzy with sister Sharon)
Australian mother of two Suzy said: ‘I just feel loved now.
“We walked together and held hands and hugged each other.
“There’s nothing strange or uncomfortable about it.
‘It’s just great. Me and Steve look alike.’
Her husband Tim, 60, said: ‘Suzy is now complete. She knows who she is.
“She knows where she comes from and she never knew that.
“It’s a complete life changer.”
Mother of two Eileen, from Brierley, South Yorks, said: ‘It’s great to have an older sister.
‘It’s just great. I’m so made up.
‘We got along so well. It was nonstop laughing from the moment we met.
Pictured: Suzy with Eileen, Sharon and Steve holding a sign that reads: ‘Ready to BOND. Thanks MyHertage.’
Her husband Tim (pictured), 60, said: “Suzy is now complete. She knows who she is. She knows where she comes from and she never knew that. It’s a complete life changer.”
Pictured: The four siblings wearing t-shirts that read: ‘It’s just a BONDing thing’
Pictured: Suzy hugs her brother Steve at the airport as they say goodbye after their trip to Bangkok
“I thought I would cry at the airport, but I was so excited to meet her.
“However, there were tears when we had to say goodbye.”
She added: “I was very surprised when she got in touch, but when I saw her, all doubts disappeared.
“She looks just like our sister Suzy who died when she was 19.
“I never doubted it because they both look so similar.
“I love having a big sister. We lost one Suzy and won another.
“When we met, it seemed like we’d known Suzy all our lives.
“She fit right in and we said the same things at the same time.
“It feels great.”
Suzy’s mother Janet was put on a boat to Australia when she became pregnant at the age of 19.
Mother of two Eileen (center-right), from Brierley, South Yorks, said: ‘There were tears, however, when we had to say goodbye’
Eileen said that Suzy looks just like her other sister Suzy (left) who died when she was only 19 years old
Suzy’s mother Janet was put on a boat to Australia when she became pregnant when she was only 19 years old
Suzy went to see her mother Janet, who died three years ago, in 1991 in Narooma, New South Wales
She said: “There was a terrible stigma surrounding unmarried mothers at the time.
“My mother knew I was going to be adopted.
“I don’t think her family thought Raymond was good enough for her, since he was in the merchant navy.”
Suzy went to her mother Janet, who died three years ago, in 1991 in Narooma, New South Wales.
The manager said, “She paid $50 not to be able to contact her.
‘I was devastated.
“There was a veto and six months in prison for breaking it, but I did it anyway and I went and knocked on her door.”
The mother of two added: ‘I rubbed her arm and said, ‘I don’t mean to hurt you, but I have to tell you I’m your daughter’.
“She started to cry and I started to cry. She told me I was breaking the law and I told her to call the police if she wanted you.
Suzy said her mother paid $50 for her not to contact her and there was a veto and six months in prison for breaking it, but she did it anyway (Picture: Suzy and her sisters say goodbye to each other)
Pictured: Suzy, Steve, Sharon and Eileen sing their version of The Beatles Abbey Road cover
Pictured: The siblings and their partners eat dinner during their vacation to Bangkok
But she said no and said, ‘I’ve been waiting for this. I just wanted this day to come.”
“She wouldn’t show me a picture of my father. Every album she showed me was missing photos.
“Her husband had cut out every picture of my father. That was the only time she mentioned his name.
She said, ‘I forbid you to find him. I’ll tell you on my deathbed. He’s probably drunk in a corner.’
“That’s when I knew I had to take it upon myself to go find my father.
“We have birth certificates and all sorts of things and Tim told me to do a DNA test.
“Then we used my.Heritage.com and found a cousin in Gibraltar who had also done a DNA test.
Suzy used MyHeritage and found a cousin in Gibraltar who put her in touch with her siblings (Photo: Brother and sister Steve and Suzy)
Pictured: The siblings and their partners in Bangkok at the Nongnooch Tropical Garden
It is not known if Suzy’s father Raymond knew that Janet had given birth to a daughter, as she never returned to the UK (Pictured: Family dining out in Bangkok)
“He told me more about the family and then everything opened up.”
It is not known whether Raymond knew that Janet had given birth to a daughter, as she never returned to the UK.
Raymond became a milkman and settled in Eastbourne, East Sussex, and was married for 58 years to Deanna Bond, who is now 76.
He died 12 years ago at the age of 75.
Shop assistant and mother of four Sharon, from West Dereham, Norfolk, said: “Ma was very upset when she heard about our new sister Suzy.
“She looked at my father’s photo and cried because she didn’t know about it.
“Mommy looked at his picture and said, ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’
“She thought our father had led a double life, but that’s just not true.
‘But now she’s happy. She was very happy that we all went there to meet Suzy and make new memories.’