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Siblings meet for first time aged 79 and 86

BBC Michael Hamson and Judith Tomblin outside Mr Hamson's property. He has his arm around her and they are standing in front of some patio doors. BBC
Michael Hamson and Judith Tomblin did not know anything about each other

Long-lost siblings said their lives had changed forever when they discovered each other's existence after more than seven decades.

It was Michael Hamson, 79, taking a DNA test that led to him learning he had an older sister - shock news that resulted in the first meeting between him and Judith Tomblin, 86.

The pair, who found out they shared a dad, said they had become virtually inseparable since, speaking every night on the phone.

"It was just a normal life," Mr Hamson explained. "Then this cropped up and it was weird - I've now got a lovely sister."

The united siblings, who affectionately refer to each as "our kid", told the BBC there had been an instant connection when they first met earlier this year.

Family handout An old photograph of the father. He is wearing a suit and appears to be in front of a plane. Family handout
Their father was a serviceman in the RAF but neither sibling knew him well

Their father was an RAF serviceman.

Mr Hamson was born in Egypt following an extra-marital affair towards the end of World War Two.

He was later adopted by a family in the Midlands and grew up in Wolverhampton with no knowledge of his background.

Describing his upbringing as happy and normal, he did not realise he was adopted until the age of 24.

It is only now as an almost-octogenarian he has uncovered the full story.

Family handout Michael Hamson as a baby. He appears to be a in a cot wearing white clothing with a big smile. Family handout
Michael Hamson, who is now 79, as a baby

Ms Tomblin, from Stamford in Lincolnshire, only knew her dad briefly, explaining her mother had left him when she was a young child.

"My mother told me many years ago that my father had got somebody pregnant but that was all I knew," she explained.

"I thought maybe she was just saying that because they'd split, but it was true."

She has since shared the story and old family pictures with her long-lost brother.

Mr Hamson, who now lives in Coven, in Staffordshire, said learning more about his background had made him become a "much nicer chap".

Family handout Ms Tomblin's mother with the pair's shared father in an old photo. Family handout
Ms Tomblin's mother with the pair's shared father - they later split up

The pair said meeting each other had "changed everything".

"The first thing she said to me was 'where have you been the last 75 years?'" Mr Hamson recalled.

"We didn't burst into tears like they do on the telly."

Michael Hamson, 79, and sister Judith Tomblin, 86. They are sat on a couch in a living room looking through old photographs.
The pair are now said to be inseparable

Ms Tomblin added she had enjoyed getting to know her brother's ways and his dry humour.

"Michael said he was going to do one of those slow motion running things when he saw me," she added.

"I did wait but he didn't. Nothing happened."

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