A LEIGH pensioner was reunited with his sister after they were separated fir 70 years. 

Alred Ardener, 82, met his sister Margaret, 87, for the first time last year after they were separated back in the 1940s. 

Devastatingly, just weeks after they were reunited Margaret passed away.

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Alfred said: “It was lovely sunny day when I finally met my older sister Margaret.

“After 70 years of searching it was amazing. Margaret and I met in Devon, and it was like we had always known each other.

“We talked and cried, shared photos, and talked some more. It was a magical day.”

Alfred added: “I am so thankful for it now as sadly, Margaret passed away a few weeks later.

“In some way I feel robbed again, but I also feel very lucky that we managed to find each other at all.

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“I thank the researchers at Finders International for finally locating us and making this possible for us both.”

The reunion came about after their other sister Mabel Ardener died alone aged 84 in Worthing Hospital, Sussex, in August 2021.

When Mabel passed, it was found she hadn’t left a will, had never married, nor had children, or had any known relatives.

So, Finders International, the UK’s largest professional probate genealogy firm and star of BBC TV’s Heir Hunters series, was called in to track down any relatives Mabel may have had to inform them of her death and inherit her estate.

The Ardener family were first split after the unexpected death of their mother Mabel Hayter, aged just 35, and a cruel father who abused his daughter.

Alfred was just 17 days old when his mother died of pneumonia in January 1942, and she left behind him, and her three daughter Violet, Mabel, and Margaret with their father William Ardener. Just two years later Violet died aged five.

Alfred then said his father was violent and abusive, and eventually was sent to prison.

The Leigh pensioner said all the children were just “scattered”, and he went to spent time with his aunt and grandparents before leaving home at 17.

Alfred added: “For as long as I remember I have been searching for my sisters. I asked older relatives where they were and what happened, but I never got anywhere.”

Alfred is now in regular contact with his new found nephew, Margaret’s son, and both feel exceptionally lucky to now know each other and have a new family relationship.

Photo credits: Finders International