Women reunited with long-lost sister through DNA test thought it was April Fool’s
Sisters Trish Caller, 61, and June Thompson, 63, spent their lives searching for their eldest sibling, Geraldine Ratcliffe, 77.
Geraldine, from Horwich, Bolton, was only four years old when she was put up for adoption by their late mum, Mary Wills, 84.
After having Geraldine at aged 21 in 1948, she was forced to give her up in 1952, and went on to meet Peter Wills, who died aged 69, whom she married in 1956.
The couple welcomed three children – Geraldine’s younger half-siblings – Trish, June and Stephen Wills, 65, whom they raised in Taunton, Somerset.
Despite always knowing they had an older sister, Trish and June weren’t able to find Geraldine before their mum Mary died from terminal liver cancer in 2011.
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It wasn’t until Trish’s daughter, Laura Polley, 34, took a DNA test in 2023 from Ancestry.co.uk, which matched with Geraldine in April 2025.
On April 1 2025, Laura reached out to Geraldine through email and had to reassure her it wasn’t an “April Fool’s joke”.
The sisters video called before meeting in person for the first time, April 23 2025, and felt “instant love” for their long-lost sister.
Trish, a writer, from Taunton, Somerset, said: “It has been a real rollercoaster.
“I thought Laura was playing April Fool’s on me – turns out Geri thought the same thing too.
“Meeting for the first time was emotional, and I felt an instant feeling of love for Geri.
“Me, her and June all have the same laugh – I can’t believe how similar we all look.
“We feel like Mum is with us now and this is what she would’ve wanted.
“Having Geri in my life is something I’ve always wanted.”
Trish and her husband Alan Caller, 64, gave their daughter, Laura, the DNA kit for Christmas in 2023.
They hoped to find some family members but they weren’t met with any matches.
Little did they know, biological half-sister Geraldine would upload her details onto the same website database in January 2025.
(Image: Courtesy Trish Caller / SWNS) Geraldine meeting her family in Taunton.
A DNA match on Ancestry.co.uk uncovered that Geraldine and Laura were related “without a doubt” – and Laura made contact via email.
“June and I had always been told about Geraldine, but we hadn’t been able to track her down,” Trish said.
“I couldn’t believe it when Laura said she’d found Geri.
“It’s just a shame we couldn’t do it when Mum was still alive.”
The sisters knew that their mum had moved from Ireland after giving up Geraldine at aged four and trained as a nurse in Bolton, Manchester.
But they had not been told the details of Geraldine’s adoption, or where she was rehomed.
After Geraldine responded to Laura’s email, the trio of sisters met virtually over Zoom, and two weeks later, all reunited in Taunton, Somerset.
Geraldine learn more about her late mother, and the meeting also unveiled family secrets for Trish and June too.
Mary Wills (Image: Courtesy Trish Caller / SWNS)
They discovered their mum was a survivor of Bessborough Mother and Baby Home, in Blackrock, County Cork, Ireland, run by Sisters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, a religious order of Catholic nuns.
The home, which was subject to an investigation by the Irish Government, published in 2021, was found to have forced adoptions and treated unmarried mothers whom it deemed “sinful” with severe cruelty.
Geraldine visiting Mary’s grave for first time. (Image: Courtesy Trish Caller / SWNS)
Mary was a victim of the convent’s ill-treatment and was the reason she was forced to give Geraldine up for adoption.
Speaking about the reunion, Trish said: “I never thought we’d find her, and I never thought we’d be like a Long Lost Family episode.
“We took her to mum’s grave, which was very emotional.
“This is the start of making memories together now.
“We’re planning to take a trip to Ireland to see where mum spent her earlier years.”
Source – INDIA TV
