It was 1945, the Second World War had just ended and Robert Henry Willmott, who was stationed in Singapore, decided to accept an offer of a job in India rather than return to England. He asked his wife to join him with their sons, John and Peter, but she refused because she didn’t want to uproot the family.

Two years later, he returned to England for reconciliation, but his wife refused to see him. Hoping to speak to his sons, he went to their school. But the headmaster, on instructions from the boys’ mother, refused to allow him access. Distraught and seeing no alternative, he returned to India.

Peter and John’s mother eventually divorced Robert and remarried, “but we never referred to him as “Dad,” says Peter. “There was never any doubt that we had a father, and that he was in India.”

Over the years, both boys moved away from the family home, married and raised families of their own. Peter left England and settled in Canada. While they occasionally speculated on their father’s whereabouts, discussions with friends who were familiar with institutions in India led them to believe that attempts to search records in that country would be fruitless.

“This is your son”

Much to their surprise, in early 2006 – 59 years after they last saw their dad – John received a letter from The Salvation Army in London, England. It brought the emotional news that their father was still alive and, at 92, was living near Sydney, Australia. He had moved there from India in 1950 and remarried soon after. According to the family tracing service in Sydney, he wanted “to make peace with his two sons after all these years.”

“We thought he was dead,” says Peter.

Despite initial reservations, Peter and his brother decided to make first contact with their father by telephone that February. “I didn’t know quite what I was going to say,” recounts Peter, “so when I dialled and he picked up the phone I just asked him if he was Robert Henry Willmott and when he said, Yes, I replied, ‘Well, this is your son, Peter.’ It was an emotional chat and I could tell he was near tears.”

One telephone call led to another and before long, on October 18, 20006, Peter stepped off the train in Springwood, New South Wales, Australia, to a long-dreamed of meeting with his father.

Healed wounds
Robert had told his Australian family, two sons and a daughter, that he had two other sons in England but he had never given them any details about his previous marriage, his parents and siblings in England (three sisters and two brothers) or where he grew up. Unsure about the status of his marriage to John and Peter’s mother – he had heard she wanted a divorce but since he had severed all ties with family and relatives in England, he had never confirmed it – he was worried any inquiries from him might expose him as a possible bigamist and devastate his new family. Having lost one family, he didn’t want to risk losing another. “He felt so very guilty that he never contacted us over the years,” says Peter.

When his wife died, Robert remarried and continued to hide his secret from his new wife for another 25 years. Racked by remorse, he finally confessed. He and his wife then began a search through The Salvation Army’s family tracing service in Australia, which brought Robert and his sons together again after all those years. “As it turns out, Dad was somewhat surprised and quite proud to find out my brother and I hadn’t turned out too badly after all,” chuckles Peter.

The reunion has been positive for the extended family. They keep in touch with one another on a regular basis, and John and Peter plan to visit Australia in 2008. Their new half-brothers and half-sister have also expressed an interest in visiting England and Canada. The wounds of a lifetime have finally healed.

“Our only regret is that it took so long,” concludes Peter, who is now writing a book on the history of The Salvation Army’s family tracing service.

by Ken Ramstead