Hello, my name is Sam, and I’m the eldest granddaughter of an 80-year-old man whose life changed after a DNA test revealed a long-hidden family in Canada. I’m now helping him plan a very special trip to meet them. I’ve set up this GoFundMe to help make this once-in-a-lifetime journey possible, please read his story below.

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After 80 Years, We Found the Missing Chapter of My Grandfather’s Life

For 80 years, my grandfather believed he knew his story.

He grew up in England without a father. The man he believed was his father left when he was still a young boy, and he never imagined there was another chapter of his life waiting to be discovered.

As a child, he survived a tragic railway accident in which he nearly lost his life and lost his left arm and eye. Despite this, he built a wonderful life, becoming a devoted husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather.

Then, just a few months ago, everything changed.

A DNA test revealed that his biological father was actually a Canadian soldier who served in the United Kingdom during the Second World War. We believe he was stationed in Aldershot, Hampshire, before returning home to New Brunswick after the war.

At 80 years old, my grandfather discovered he has siblings and nieces and nephews. Even more incredibly, they had always known about the baby conceived whilst serving in England during the war. But they never knew his name or how to find him.

For more than eight decades, two families lived separate lives on opposite sides of the Atlantic, connected by a story neither side could complete. Now, thanks to DNA, they have finally found each other.

Since making contact, we’ve shared stories, photographs and many conversations. Our Canadian family have welcomed us with such love and kindness that they have even offered us a place to stay when we visit.

We are hoping to travel to New Brunswick, Canada to meet them in person. We are currently planning the trip for June 2027, but if we can raise enough funds, we would love to go sooner while my grandfather is still fit enough to enjoy every moment.

This journey is about so much more than travelling.

It is about an 80-year-old man finally meeting the siblings he never knew he had.

It is about bringing together two families separated by history.

It is about visiting the grave of his father in Salisbury, New Brunswick—a father he never knew, and who never had the chance to know his son.

Sadly, my grandmother is unable to travel, so I have the privilege of accompanying my grandfather on this extraordinary journey.

We are doing everything we can ourselves and have written to airlines, hotels and car hire companies in the hope they may offer goodwill support. Every donation will go towards flights and travel costs around Canada so my grandfather can spend precious time with his newly discovered family.

If you are able to help, thank you. If you aren’t, simply sharing our story would mean the world to us.

With your help, we hope this final chapter will be one filled with family, memories and the chance to finally come home to the part of his story he never knew existed.

Thank you for reading. x