THEY are two people who spent years trying to find their long-lost father but had no idea one another existed.

That was until a chance encounter and help from our sister title put the siblings in touch for the first time. Mike Inkster, 74, met half-sister Helen Brown shortly after she came across The Gazette article featuring his pleas to find his “real dad”, a Second World War veteran from Renfrewshire. 

For nearly two years, it seemed his search for answers had reached another dead end until Helen, 77, discovered the piece and reached out. In a fresh twist and following DNA testing, it turned out the pair both shared the same mysterious father. 

 

John Lorimer, who was born in Paisley in 1923, married Helen’s mother Sabina Sedgwick in 1944 but the relationship was short-lived and by 1947 it’s believed he was courting Mike’s mum, Mary, only to later disappear again. 

Both Mike and Helen have spent years trying to track down John’s movements in the hopes of meeting their real dad but have now told of their joy after meeting one another for the first time at the latter’s Derby home. 

Helen, a former schoolteacher and mother to one adult son, said: “We are both so grateful to have had this chance to meet each other.

Glasgow Times: Mary Miller with John Lorimer back in the 1940s and Mike Inkster (inset)Mary Miller with John Lorimer back in the 1940s and Mike Inkster (inset)

“I just could not have asked for a better brother than Mike. When he first came in we just looked at one another then before I knew it we were hugging. It was amazing. He is such a wonderful person. Our only regret is that we forgot to take a picture together!”

Second World War veteran John is understood to have been chased away by Mary’s dad Peter Miller, who ran a fashion empire in Kirkcaldy and didn’t approve of the match. Mary later married another man who would bring Mike up as his own and they spent many happy years together.

John is believed to have flown for a number of airlines in the 1950s – including Aer Lingus – but the trail goes cold in around 1958. 

While the two agree it is likely he will have now passed away – given he would be around 98 – they still hold out hope and say generations of the Lorimers have lived in Paisley through the years. 

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“It is a really strange thing and doesn’t feel quite real,” said Mike, who lives in Canterbury. “I always knew there was a possibility there would be others but it’s still amazing.

“My partner has been saying she can see the similarities in us already. We know he might be dead but there’s still a chance. All it takes is one person to read this and reach out.” 

If you have any information you would be happy to pass on, email jack.haugh@newsquest.co.uk