Touching moment brother and sister are reunited after 45 years

SWNS
·2 min read
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This is the touching moment a brother and sister were finally reunited after 45 years of living on opposite sides of the planet.

Tony Beckett, 69, and Mary Dunstan, 72, last saw each other in 1979 before Dunstan moved to Adelaide, Australia.

The pair emotionally reunited at Norwich train station after 45 years of living apart on April 16.

Beckett, from Cantley, Norfolk, said: “I didn’t realize it had been so long.”

Tony Beckett (R) and Mary Dunstan were finally reunited after 45 years apart. Newsquest / SWNS
Tony Beckett (R) and Mary Dunstan were finally reunited after 45 years apart. Newsquest / SWNS

“Now the moment is here, I am nervous as hell.”

“We had a great childhood and we were very close.

“Our father was a herdsman on the farm, Mary trained as a nurse at the old Norfolk and Norwich, and I became a porter at St Andrews Hospital in Thorpe.”

The brother and sister last saw each other in 1979 before Dunstan moved to Adelaide, Australia. Courtesy of Anthony Beckett / SWNS
The brother and sister last saw each other in 1979 before Dunstan moved to Adelaide, Australia. Courtesy of Anthony Beckett / SWNS

Following the death of Dunstan’s husband in 2021 and Beckett’s wife in 2023, the siblings knew they had to be reunited soon.

Dunstan “began getting the pennies together” to take the 22-hour flight back to the UK and arrived two weeks ago.

She said: “We left as we thought we’d have a better life for our kids in Australia and we didn’t make a mistake.

Beckett and Dunstan in the early 1960s. Courtesy of Anthony Beckett / SWNS
Beckett and Dunstan in the early 1960s. Courtesy of Anthony Beckett / SWNS

“All our children have done well – there are no regrets.

“But I’ve missed my family a lot, especially Tony as we were the closest out of the siblings in terms of age. We fought like cats and dogs, but we were all very close.”

The last time Dunstan visited their hometown was in October 1979, shortly after the birth of her daughter, Sam who accompanied her on this year’s trip back.

Following the death of Dunstan’s husband in 2021 and Beckett’s wife in 2023, the siblings knew they had to be reunited soon. Newsquest / SWNS
Following the death of Dunstan’s husband in 2021 and Beckett’s wife in 2023, the siblings knew they had to be reunited soon. Newsquest / SWNS

Dunstan cared for her husband, who was living with dementia for the last ten years, with the strain preventing her from even considering an earlier reunion.

Beckett said his mortgage and living costs had prevented him from taking a trip to Australia.

The family will be getting together and reliving memories over the next week.