Family TIES

Former child migrant DORIAN THOMAS REECE on searching for his roots

- STEVEN PERKINS

LONG LOST FAMILY SPECIAL: SHIPPED TO AUSTRALIA

NEW MONDAY, 9PM, ITV FACTUAL

Between the 1920s and the 1970s, Britain's child migrant programme promised new lives and prospects overseas for children in our care system.

But as ITV's Long Lost Family Special: Shipped to Australia reveals, the reality was often very different. Children were placed in orphanages or care homes, where some were separated from their siblings, cut off from relatives back home and even abused.

Dorian Thomas Reece, now 76, was sent to Australia as a child. The special, hosted by Davina McCall and Nicky Campbell, follows his quest to learn more about George Thomas, the father he never knew back in Britain.

Here, Dorian tells TV Times about his moving story...

Why did you decide to get in touch with the Long Lost Family team?