https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/long-lost-siblings-finally-meet-24748308Scots gran reunited with long-lost sister after 50 years apart following lockdown search
As Josie Drages-Dawes, 75, tearfully pulled little sister Sylvia McCulloch, 69, into her arms, she said the missing piece of her family jigsaw puzzle was finally in place.
By Jenny Morrison Feature Writer/Advance Content Writer
04:30, 15 AUG 2021
A gran who used lockdown to search for her long-lost sibling has finally been reunited with the sister she dreamed of finding for more than 50 years. As Josie Drages-Dawes, 75, tearfully pulled little sister Sylvia McCulloch, 69, into her arms, she said the missing piece of her family jigsaw puzzle was finally in place. The Sunday Mail revealed in April that Josie had tracked down her missing sibling five decades after she first suspected her mum may have had a secret baby. For the last four months the reunited sisters have only been able to get to know each other over the phone due to coronavirus restrictions. The pair finally met at an emotional family gathering that included older siblings Bridie Tummon, 89, Gussie Fisher, 84, and Eric McKenna, 77. Mum-of-six Josie, of Paisley, said: “To finally be able to meet Sylvia to hold her in my arms was such a wonderful moment. I thought because we’d been talking over the phone for these last few months that I would be fine when I saw her. I’m the one who usually holds things together but I immediately felt a catch in my throat and in my chest. I couldn’t hold the tears back.”
Sylvia, who now lives in London and travelled to Scotland for the reunion, said: “I can’t believe that just six months ago I didn’t know any of these siblings even existed and now I’ve met them all and been so welcomed into the family. To meet Josie and the rest of the family was so emotional. I feel like my life has just started again.”
Josie, who grew up in Paisley, always believed she was one of 14 brothers and sisters. But an accidental slip of the tongue 55 years ago by her mum, Mary McKenna, led Josie to suspect she may instead be one of 15 children. Neither Josie’s mum nor any other older members of the family would speak about what Josie realised was a family secret. It was only years after her mother’s death that Josie learned from social work records that her widowed mum had been briefly married to another man, Alexander Hillhouse, who was jailed for a year for bigamy. Her mum had given birth to their daughter Sylvia but she was taken into care at three months old as Mary couldn’t afford to properly care for her. Sylvia grew up believing the foster family who raised her were her birth parents. She was 18 when she learned the truth but was given little detail about her family and knew nothing of her 14 siblings. Josie said: “It’s been 55 years since I first suspected I might have another sister after my mum accidentally called my daughter Sylvia, then wouldn’t explain who Sylvia was. I’d always wondered if she was out there but it wasn’t until 20 years ago that I found out from social work records that she did exist. I didn’t have the right information to find her at the time but during lockdown my daughter Beverley used everything we knew by then to track her down on social media. From the day my mum used the name Sylvia, I knew there was a story there. It’s not in my nature to leave things unresolved. If there’s a missing piece of the jigsaw puzzle, I have to find it. Now we’ve found Sylvia the missing piece of our family jigsaw puzzle and I couldn’t be happier.”
Josie grew up in care after the sudden death of her dad George McKenna in 1949 when he was 45. She remained close to several of her siblings and received occasional visits from her mum, who hadn’t been able to cope, financially or practically, with raising so many children on her own. Josie and her family organised the gathering to meet Sylvia at a restaurant in Linwood, Paisley. They even arranged for a surprise limo to bring Sylvia to the party and for a piper to play as she stepped out of the car As well as meeting Josie, Bridie, Gussie and Eric, she met her extended family of nephews and nieces, including children of several siblings who have died. Josie also took Sylvia on a visit to lay flowers at their mother’s grave, who died in 1968 aged 58. Sylvia said: “Everything about the trip was emotional but so lovely. As we met and shared our stories, it was like chatting to people I had known all my life. I wish I had known them all my life."
Josie added: “When I think of all the years we could have been in each other’s lives, it makes me sad but we have found each other now and that’s what matters.”
