大象传媒

My name is Keith Harper, I am 62 years of age and I have lived with my wife Cheryl for the last 35 years in Ormskirk Lancashire. I was born on the 20th August 1943 and brought up in Hull in Yorkshire. I am the only son of Enid, Nee Lazenby and Cyril Harper.
My father Cyril was one of seven children six boys and one girl children of Bertie and Elizabeth Harper. The brothers on comming of age all joined the armed forces either the army or airforce, Alan the youngest at this time joined the RAF, 76 Squadron on the 7th April 1941 as a Pilot Observer just after his 18 birthday . My father Cyril Joined the Royal Army Medical Corps on the 1st November 1939. My father Cyril was capured by the Germans on the Island of Crete on 2nd June 1941 and was registered as a prisoner of war 25th July 1941. he remained a P.O.W. until he was repatriated when acting as an orderly to some wounded P.O.W.s who were non combatants being returned to England.
This was as much as he had ever talked to me about of his war years and was as much as I had any interest in, he died 10 years almost to the day after my Mother in May 1991.
You can imagin my surprise when in October 2004 I found out that I was adopted.
After a great deal of reserch and obtaining all birth, marriage and death certificates, Army and Airforce records etc I now feel that I understand the events, feelings and motives that occured up to and arround my birth and adoption in 1943.
The facts were my mother Enid was indeed my biological mother, but Cyril was not my biological father.
I must have been conceived around Oct/Nov 1942, Enid was then working in Woolworths, Whitefriar Gate, Hull. Cyril was still in a P.O.W. camp in Germany a fact I had never thought about until these recent events. He was only repatriated to England on the 25th October 1943, 2 months after I was born. Within 12 days of his repatriation on the 6th November 1943 he married my mother Enid. They then both adopted me as their son on the 22nd Dec 1943.
A hell of a year for both of them, but the mistery still remained, who is my biological father? Nothing in the documentation I had, gave me an answer, but during recent research I came across a photo of my mother arm in arm with Cyrils younger brother Alan. Alan was killed during a bombing raid over Hamburg, Germany in July 1943. On the back of this photo in Cyril's hand was written," My brother Alan killed over Germany 1943 - And yes that's Enid " The photograph taken pre 1943 the words on the back post 1943, it fell into place. This must be my father, Alan, Cyril's younger brother must be my biological father. Knowing Cyril's temprement and after all they went through during those awful days during the war it would make sence. To put one thing right and to commit to this for the rest of his life is just the sort of thing he would do.
If only I'd known............

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