Two cousins who were torn apart shortly after emigrating to Australia under the ‘Ten Pound Pom’ scheme have now been reunited 72 years later.
Linda Candy, 75, and her cousin Valerie Linden, 76, traveled down from the UK in the aftermath of World War II because their fathers, who were brothers, wanted to build a better life for their families .
But the couple became lost when their fathers had a falling out after arriving in Australia and the families moved thousands of miles apart.
Although Linda often thought of the cousin she grew up with, she thought they would never see each other again – until Valerie found her, more than 70 years later.
The couple were finally reunited at the exact spot where they entered the country in 1951, at Pier One in the shadow of Sydney Harbor Bridge recently.
Two cousins (pictured) who were torn apart shortly after emigrating to Australia under the ‘Ten Pound Pom’ scheme have now been reunited 72 years later
Linda said: “It was such an incredible feeling to see her again after all this time. I had given up hope of a reunion decades before because we had no way to contact each other.
“I often thought about the fun we had on the boat en route to Australia. We both had brothers, so we gravitated toward each other and were more like sisters than cousins.
“Even though a lifetime had passed, it felt like we had never been apart. We got along like a house on fire. We went to Valerie’s daughter’s house near Sydney and we were dancing at 2am, behaving like when we were four and five, I guess!
“I am so grateful that she managed to find me. We have a lot of lost time to make up for now.
Valerie managed to track down her cousin using an ancestry website – and hesitantly messaged her on Facebook.
Linda’s father, Charles Rossiter, had been a seasoned soldier and had served in Africa and the Middle East before and during World War II.
His brother, Les, had worked in the mines in County Durham throughout the war. But in 1950, they found themselves in the same room with their parents, spouse and young children.
Desperate for accommodation and job opportunities, and with Charles longing for sunshine and adventure, they decided to travel together to Australia under the Ten Pound Migration Scheme, which was the Australian government’s offer. to transport Britons to Oz and provide them with subsidized housing and jobs for £10 a person.
Linda Candy (pictured left, five), 75, and her cousin Valerie Linden (pictured right, four), 76, traveled downhill from the UK following World War II because that their fathers, who were brothers, wanted to build a better life for their families
But the couple (pictured when they were reunited) became lost when their fathers had a falling out after arriving in Australia and the families moved thousands of miles apart In the photo, Valérie (left) and Linda (right)
Although Linda often thought of the cousin she grew up with, she thought they would never see each other again – until Valerie found her, more than 70 years later. In the photo from left to right, Charles, Linda, Valérie, Linda’s brother Neil, Valérie’s brother Ian, Les
Officially titled the Assisted Passage Migration Scheme, it ran in various forms from 1945 to 1972 and attracted over 1.5 million Britons, who could apply for Australian citizenship after one year.
If they decided to return to Britain within two years, they had to repay their £10 and fund their own trip (about £120 then, £6,000 in today’s money).
The brothers boarded the SS New Australia at Southampton on August 29, 1951, when Linda was four and Valerie five.
Linda recalls: “I remember the boat trip very well, our mothers were always terrified of us falling overboard, so we were kept on our toes during the trip.
“When we finally landed in Australia, I remember being thrilled to be able to play on grass, and my mum having a hard time getting me on the train to Bathurst.”
Both families lived in migrant hostels, corrugated iron huts with basic amenities and no fans, let alone air conditioning in the scorching heat.
“It was very difficult for all of us,” Linda recalls. “It was scorching hot, in the middle of summer, we had no money and we all got measles.
“There was no medical care other than calamine lotion – I remember my mother putting paper on the windows of the hut because we couldn’t stand the light.
“Our mothers must have thought they had made the worst mistake of their lives.”
The couple (pictured) were finally reunited at the exact spot where they entered the country in 1951, at Pier One in the shadow of Sydney Harbor Bridge recently
Within two years of moving to South Australia, Linda’s family fortunes (pictured on the deck of the ship she traveled to Australia) took a turn for the worse after winning £15,000 in the lottery (Australian currency was still in £ at that time)
The brothers were both planning to travel west to South Australia for work – but their plans were disrupted when Les persuaded Charlie to loan a friend £70 so they could buy a lorry to make the trip together.
Somehow it didn’t work out and there was a heated argument that resulted in Linda’s family leaving on their own. From then on, the two families separated.
“There was no way to keep in touch, we moved south to Salisbury, South Australia, and they stayed in Fairy Meadow, New South Wales.
“We used to be playmates. It was a huge change to get used to living without them,” Linda said.
Two years after moving to South Australia, Linda’s family fortunes changed after winning £15,000 in the lottery. (Australian currency was still in £ at this time).
They returned to England and bought a farm – but within three years the Australian way of life was too appealing and they moved back to South Australia, where Linda went to university and completed an arts degree and is became a teacher.
Valerie’s family also returned to England in 1959, but she and her brother Ian eventually returned as adults after being educated in England. She lives there now along with her children.
The two cousins discovered that they had spent their lives yo-yoing between places.
Valerie said: “I had built my family tree on a genealogy site and tried to find Linda’s family branch. Over the years, my mind had often wandered to what Linda was and where she was.
“I couldn’t believe it when I found her husband. The rest is history! It may have taken 70 years, but it was worth the wait.
