The most touching tale on the internet this week is two elderly siblings who were split up for 80 years before they were reunited.
You’ll need Kleenex for this one, people. a lot of tissues, perhaps.
Even Australian ABC News 24 morning show host Joe O’Brien sobbed when reporting on the tale live on air because it is so moving.
The SS Iron Crown, a torpedoed ship, was attacked by the Japanese in 1942, about 100 kilometers off Victoria, Australia’s south coast.
Along with 38 other people, Frank Stewart, who was 64 at the time, perished in the shipwreck.
Bill and Beryl, Stewart’s two small children, were now orphans due to their mother’s recent death.
As their father joined the merchant navy after losing his wife, the children were already residing at an orphanage while he was at sea.
Bill and his sister were both adopted by families after their father passed away, while Bill was taken to the Boys’ Home in Adelaide.
Because it was thought that when children were adopted, they needed a “clean break” from their biological families, siblings were frequently divided during this time.
According to the Daily Mail, authorities really prevented them from communicating with one another.
The two of us embraced one another and sobbed uncontrollably. Bill tells ABC News Australia in a poignant recollection, “I was told to leave the room and I never saw Beryl again.
Bill and Beryl both had the hope of being together again at some point.
The orphanage provided little assistance to Bill and me while we searched for one another. “Every year, I would return to Adelaide in search of Beryl.”
Beryl claimed that despite years of searching, she was unable to locate any information on her brother.
In her words to ABC, “I quit trying and started thinking maybe he’s gone, but in my mind, I always imagined one day we would find one another.
Before they came across one another again, eight decades had passed.
When a memorial was established upon the location of the sunken SS Iron Crown being located, it inspired their reunion.
The event was attended by more than 50 family members of those who died on the ship.
Kylie Watson, a distant relative who attended the memorial, was connected to Bill.
She also just so happened to be a volunteer researcher who helps individuals locate missing relatives.
She immediately began looking for Beryl, who was now going by the name Beryl Johnson, and placed an advertisement in The Advertiser’s Sunday Mail section.
Beryl read the advertisement and phoned Watson.
Beryl claims that when she found out that her brother was still alive, she broke down in tears.
She added, “My life used to be full with desire and desiring, but now I’ve reclaimed it.
A brief phone call between Bill and Beryl was followed by a face-to-face meeting.
They were reunited for three weeks after the pandemic kept them apart for 18 months. Every morning at 8 a.m., they now speak on the phone.
Watch the video below to see Bill and Beryl’s touching reunion!
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