A Brit has been reunited with his long-lost American brothers, 77 years after his mum was forced to put him up for adoption.
Craig Dunderdale’s mother had an affair with an American GI during the Second World War.
Now – after 46 years of searching – he has met up with two half-siblings he never knew existed, 4,500 miles away in Colorado, US.
The former RAF technician managed to find older brothers Dan Allnut, 81, and Frank, 83, after researching his family tree.
In an emotional meeting this summer, all three brothers were together for the first time.
Dad-of-two Craig, who spent 30 years in the RAF, said: “It’s unbelievable.
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“My journey started with me trying to find who my father was but I never expected to find two brothers.
“I had no leads at all for so many years but I never gave up.
“It was like an out-of -body experience when I finally met them. I felt a bond with them like I’ve never felt before. They welcomed us with open arms and other relatives drove for miles to meet us. I feel as if I belong with them. I’ve never felt that warmth.
“It has been the happiest time in my life. There’s nothing else I wish for.”
Craig’s birth mother, Eliza, was married with two kids when she had a fling with an American soldier.
She thought her husband was not returning from the war.
When he came home to find his wife pregnant with another man’s child, he insisted the baby be put up for adoption.
Craig had a happy upbringing and only found out he was adopted when his foster mother told him aged 11, a week before she died.
He later learned he had been taken away by nuns at birth before being adopted in 1946. Craig first tried to contact his birth mother in his 30s, but her husband refused to accept a letter from him.
The search then shifted to trying to trace his father. Craig joined the website Ancestry.co.uk in 2009 and took a DNA test in 2017.
Two years later, the site emailed to say it had found a match to a man in America, who turned out to be his half-brother Frank.
After jetting out to the States with wife Jill, 72, to meet his brothers, Craig, 77, from Oakham, Rutland, now plans to visit his new-found family as often as possible.
He added: “Now I’ve got real brothers, I plan to make up for lost time. All I would say to anyone in a similar position, is just do it and never give up hope.”
