Follow UK Immigration and UK Life: 76-year-old British man Fred Hodgkins spent decades searching for his long-lost younger brother and sister. When he was finally reunited with them, he discovered that they had all once been neighbors living just a short distance apart.
Younger Siblings Given Up for Adoption
Hodgkins grew up in Birmingham, UK, with his mother Gladys and other relatives, including his grandmother. During World War II, the family survived three bombing raids. In those turbulent times, his mother gave birth to a younger brother and sister for Fred, but gave both children away to be raised by others.
After growing up, Hodgkins married, had children, and became the owner of several pubs. After his mother passed away, he began searching for his younger siblings, hoping to reunite with them, but had no leads. It was not until 2008 that he received a call from an agency specializing in finding missing persons, informing him that they had located his brother, Fred Ford, who was six years his junior.
Brothers Lived Just Steps Apart
After Fred Hodgkins and his brother Fred Ford reunited, they discovered they had many things in common, including the fact that they were both named Fred. Ford said that his adoptive parents raised him in another city. However, when he got married, he purchased a property in Birmingham. At the time, he did not know that the house was just a stone's throw from his birthplace, where his older brother Hodgkins was living.
Older Brother "Watched" Sister Grow Up
Later, the brothers managed to find their sister, Carol. Hodgkins said: "The three of us gathered at my home. That was when I learned that Carol grew up not far from my house and would pass by my door every day on her way to school, but I never knew who she was. Years later, she and her husband would often go for a drink at a place called the 'Marston Green Tavern,' and the landlord of that tavern was me."
