https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-13719265/Long-Lost-Family-Adopted-woman-spent-40-years-searching-biological-sister-having-childhood-shrouded-loneliness-reveals-joy-finally-meeting-sibling.htmlLong Lost Family: Adopted woman who spent 40 years searching for her biological sister after having a childhood shrouded by loneliness reveals her joy after finally meeting her sibling
Liz Allward, 60, from North Somerset, was adopted as a young baby
SPOILERS AHEAD
READ MORE: Long Lost Family viewers are left 'broken' and 'sobbing their hearts out' as woman, 71, reunites with her son 55 years after she was forced to give him up for adoption by her ashamed mother
By Alanah Khosla For Mailonline
Published: 15:22, 8 August 2024 | Updated: 17:03, 8 August 2024
A woman who spent nearly 40 years longing to find her biological sister has revealed her joy at finally meeting her, adding that it still feels 'surreal'. Part-time hairdresser and counsellor Liz Allward, 60, from North Somerset, was adopted as a baby and always had a strong 'intuition' that she had a birth sibling, despite never being told so. Though Liz had a happy childhood, she always felt a sense of 'loneliness', exacerbated by her adoptive family moving around a lot, making it difficult for Liz to maintain friendships. It was on her wedding day in 1996 at the age of 23 that her adoptive mother informed her that she had an older biological sister, but with few other details, Liz was unable to locate her. After years of failed attempts to locate her biological sister, Liz contacted ITV's Long Lost Family on a whim, unexpectedly leading her to the information she had longed to know for years and, most importantly, her biological sister, Deborah. Talking to FEMAIL, Liz recalled: 'When I was younger I didn't know if it was a brother or a sister; I just knew something was missing. I was adopted in Leeds at a very young age, and then we moved quickly down to Surrey, then we moved to Bristol. I had a lovely family and a lovely mother and father, I can't fault them, [they were] very traditional and very honest.'
She added: 'I had a nice life, I was bit lonely during childhood, the moves were difficult for me.'
It wasn't until Liz's wedding day at the age of 23 that her adoptive mother confirmed the intuition she had always had. Liz recalled: 'When I got married, I asked my mother, I said: '"Am I one of a twin?" She hesitated and told me that there was a daughter born to my birth mother a couple of years before [me]'.
Her instinct was confirmed, but Liz knew nothing more about her biological sister other than her existence. 'I got and married life went on I tried for a quite a few years [to find Deborah], always with the support of friends,' she said.
The mother-of-two sought information online and applied for her adoption papers from North Somerset Council. It was in the document that Liz discovered the name of her birth sister. She said: 'There was one line that read "Deborah", it was just overwhelming, it was frightening as well'.
When Liz turned 60, she decided enough time had gone by without knowing her biological sister, and with encouragement from her daughter, she sent an application to ITV's Long Lost Family. 'I think after turning 60, I thought: "I've got to do something", my daughter told me to go on Long Lost Family, I thought I'd never get on, but I did'.
'Within two weeks someone replied with the process it was brilliant,' the mother-of-two recalled.
The Long Lost Family team located Deborah, now known as Debbie, and discovered that, unlike Liz, Debbie was adopted within the family by her maternal aunt and that although she knew her birth mother as a child, she had long since lost contact. Debbie said: 'I was adopted into the family, so I knew a lot of the relatives. Growing up, we didn't have a lot, but we never went without. We'd had a holiday to the seaside every year and at Christmas, it might have been second-hand things that we got, but we didn't mind, we appreciated everything we got'.
Unlike Liz, Debbie discovered she had a birth sister at the age of eight, explaining: 'I thought about her quite a lot over the years I had never forgotten."
She explained that while she would have loved to find her biological sister, she 'wouldn't know where to start'. In October last year, she was surprised to come home to a letter from Long Lost Family. 'Everything was going through my head', she recalled.
'It took me all day and I rang the number on it, and that's when I found out that it was real, and I was thrilled to bits'. There were a few similarities in life along the way, but I think we're both quite sensitive underneath but feisty in other ways.' She added: 'I think we're very similar in lots of ways'.
The mother-of-two continued: 'It filled that hole, and it made me feel complete really, I had this urge to do it at 60, and I acted on it, and it was brilliant, and it's just been a bit of a whirlwind since then it still feels a bit surreal.'
Debbie added: 'It was brilliant, I felt like I had known her all my life'.
The pair are now enjoying getting to know each other and making up for lost time, with the pair chatting weekly on the telephone. Liz and Debbie are planning on getting to know each other face to face in October, when Liz is planning a visit to Debbie's Yorkshire home.
