Siblings Find Long-Lost Big Sister Over 70 Years After Their Mom Was Forced to Give Her Up

Yahoo

13-05-2025

Sisters Trish Caller and June Thompson grew up hearing about their older half-sister Geraldine Ratcliffe, but never met her until a DNA test changed everything
The test helped the siblings track down the child their mother was forced to give up in 1952
Caller admitted that she "couldn't believe" they finally found each other, and just wished the happy moment could have taken place while their mom was still aliveTwo English sisters finally met their oldest sibling — and it's all thanks to a DNA test.
Trish Caller, 61, and June Thompson, 63, spent decades trying to find their long-lost half-sister Geraldine Ratcliffe, 77, the siblings told SWNS.
Their mother, Mary Willis, was also dedicated to trying to find Ratcliffe, who was just four years old when Willis was forced to put her up for adoption in 1952, according to the Somerset County Gazette, where Caller works as a columnist.
"Having Geri in my life is something I've always wanted," Caller told SWNS.
Although their mom, who died in 2011, didn't live to see the happy day, the reunion was set into motion in 2023, when Caller's daughter, Laura Polley, submitted a DNA sample to Ancestry.co.uk.
When a match turned up in April 2025, Caller sent an email to Ratcliffe — and assured her that despite the timing of the message (literally April 1 ) she wasn't pulling a prank.
In fact, Ratcliffe wasn't the only one who needed a little convincing.
"I thought Laura was playing April Fool's on me," Caller told SWNS, "turns out Geri thought the same thing too."
Caller and Thompson chatted with Ratcliffe over Zoom before meeting in person for the first time later that month. Caller told SWNS she felt "instant love" for her biological half-sister.
"Meeting for the first time was emotional," Caller said, noting that the three siblings share "similar" features and all have "the same laugh."
Together, the sisters learned that their late mom was a survivor of the Bessborough Mother and Baby Home in Ireland, according to SWNS and the Somerset County Gazette.
Wills, who died at the age of 84, was just 21 when she gave birth to Ratcliffe in 1948.
A 2021 investigation by the Irish government found that the home, which was run by a religious order of Catholic nuns called the Sisters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, forced adoptions on the "vulnerable women" — and treated them with cruelty.
Between 1922 and 1988, around 900 babies died at the home, which is no longer in operation, according to the Gazette.
"Mum never told us any lies, she just never told us the truth as she was made to feel that she'd committed the worst sin against God," Caller told the outlet.
After Wills had to give up Ratcliffe, she left Ireland and later met and married Peter Wills, with whom she welcomed Caller, Thompson and their brother Stephen, according to SWNS.
Since finding each other, Caller said that all the sisters took an "emotional" visit to pay their respects at their mother's grave. They have a happier trip planned too.
"We're planning to take a trip to Ireland to see where mum spent her earlier years," said Caller.
Although it was "a shame" they couldn't reunite with their sister while their mother was still around, Caller told the Somerset County Gazette that discovering Ratcliffe was "a complete miracle."
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"We do feel like Mum is with us now, and she's been with us every step of the way," she said. "This is what mum would have wanted."
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