A pair of long-lost brothers separated as children in 1945 are to be reunited for the first time after 77 years apart.
Ted Nobbs, 83, and brother Geoff, 79, have spent more than seven decades 10,000 miles apart after their family was split up at the end of the Second World War.
Ted, along with siblings Barry and John, were all separated from their youngest brother Geoff after their mum tragically died of cancer, aged just 30, in 1945.
Their father wasn’t able to cope with caring for Geoff, who was one-year-old at the time, so offered him up for adoption to give him a chance of a better life.
Geoff moved to Australia in 1951, aged seven, with his adoptive family and has lived there ever since - going on to have eight kids and grandchildren of his own.
Ted, Barry and John had all tried several times over the years to find their little brother without any success.
But their luck changed in 2014, four years after eldest brother John passed away, when Geoff tracked down Barry and sent him a letter.
They all began talking over Skype and on the phone, finally getting to know each other after many years.
Now Ted, from Rugby, Warks, will meet Geoff for the first time since they were young boys in a heartwarming reunion this Sunday.
The retired factory worker said: “When Geoff first contacted us it was obviously quite emotional after all these years.
“It absolutely crunched me when he found us, I just didn’t think it would happen. There were a few tears shed.
“A letter from Geoff just landed on Barry’s doorstep out of the blue. We were all reunited on a phone call and it was just wonderful catching up.
“He’d done searches for us before but found us eventually, we’d looked for Geoff too but without any joy.
“He planned to come over to England for my 80th birthday but red tape at his end scuppered those plans as Covid kicked in.
“This was all being done cloak and dagger behind my back. My wife and son Christopher decided to try and get Geoff over here. I knew nothing at all about it.
“We had the celebrations anyway and there was a big tv in the hotel and Christopher had got a video off Geoff that he played. He wished me happy birthday.
“After that, I said ‘right I’ll go and see him then’. I fly out this weekend. I haven’t flown for 50 years.”
The grandfather-of-three is taking the 22-hour flight on his own as Barry is sadly too ill to travel.
Barry, 81, a former assistant manager for an engineering company, lives in Ripon, North Yorks., with his wife Winifred.
John, who was in the Navy, died in 2010 at the age of 73. He lived in Wigan, Lancs., with his wife and son.
Geoff lives just south of Sydney and has eight children himself, with his most recent job being working with horses before he retired.
His adoptive family stayed in Northampton for several years before eventually moving to Australia, where Geoff has been ever since.
Barry, who is unable to fly due to medical constraints, added: “I’m extremely happy for them but quite envious of Ted being able to go.I’m just glad we’ve found him after all these years.”
Geoff said: “It’s going to be really emotional and overwhelming but I just can’t wait to give him a big hug.
“There had always been strict laws over here about tracking down birth families but all that changed so I went and used an agent in Sydney.
“One day the phone went and she just told me ‘I’ve found your brothers’ - I can’t tell you how that feels.
“I wrote a letter and the next thing I had a phone call from them and we just caught up on the last 69 years. It took a while as you can imagine.
“I’ve certainly had a good life over here, I’ve got no complaints. I have a wonderful family here but I always thought about my brothers.
“I’m the only one of us who looks like our father. I can’t remember them as I was so young but to be back in touch after so long is quite remarkable really.”
