Bill and Beryl, two siblings who were separated when they were young, have finally reunited after being apart for 80 years.
Their father, Frank Stewart, was serving as a Merchant Marine aboard the the SS Iron Crown in 1942 when his ship was torpedoed and sunk by the Japanese about 100 kilometers off the south coast of Victoria, Australia. Frank did not survive the attack.
Bill and Beryl were now orphans as their mother had passed away a few years prior. Sadly, the siblings were not able to stay together. Bill was sent to a boy’s home and Beryl was adopted by a family.
In the 1940s, experts believed children needed a “clean break” from any biological family members once adopted. For this reason, authorities blocked all of Bill and Beryl’s efforts to find one another.
“The two of us were looking for one another but didn’t get any help from the orphanage,” Bill said. “I would go back to Adelaide every year and look for Beryl.”
Beryl was also desperate to find her brother, but no one would help her either. “I gave up and started thinking perhaps he’s dead, but in my mind, I always thought one day we would find one another,” Beryl said in an interview with ABC.
Decades passed and Bill and Beryl had no clue how to connect. Miraculously, it was the discovery of the SS Iron Crown shipwreck that brought the two back together.
A memorial service was planned after the ships discover with more than 50 family member of the deceased in attendance. One of these was Kylie Watson, a distant relative of Bill and Beryl who was also working as a researcher helping lost family members find each other.
Watch the video below and see the incredible moment Bill and Beryl are finally reunited after 80 years.