Norfolk brother and sister reunited after 45 years

The last time he saw his sister and niece was in 1979.

After 45 years of living on opposite sides of the planet, Mr Beckett was finally reunited with his family on Tuesday afternoon.

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

A lot has changed since the days Mr Beckett and his family grew up on Heath Farm in Postwick. The family has seen its fair share of births, deaths and marriages, and the farm where they were raised has since been claimed to form part of the city's northern distributor road.

Mary Dunstan, left, was last in the UK 45 years ago. (Image: Denise Bradley)

"We had a great childhood and we were very close," said Mr Beckett, who now lives in Cantley.

"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."

Tony and Mary in Postwick in the early 1960s. (Image: Tony Beckett)Mrs Dunstan's late husband, Alan, was a toolmaker by trade and found work in Adelaide, Australia in the late 1970s. The last time the couple visited their hometown was in October 1979, shortly after the birth of their daughter, Sam.

Mary Dunstan and her daughter, Sam Raven, coming through the barriers at Norwich Train Station. (Image: Denise Bradley)"We left as we thought we'd have a better life for our kids in Australia," said Mrs Dunstan, 72. "And we didn’t make a mistake. 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."

REUNITED: Sam Raven, Tony Beckett and Mary Dunstan at Norwich Train Station. (Image: Denise Bradley)For more than a decade, Mrs Dunstan cared for her husband who was living with dementia. The strain prevented her from even considering an earlier reunion, and Mr Beckett said his mortgage and living costs had prevented him from taking a trip to Australia.

Following the death of Mrs Dunstan's husband in 2021 and Mr Beckett's wife in 2023, the siblings knew they had to be reunited soon. Mrs Dunstan "began getting the pennies together" to take the 22-hour flight back to the UK and arrived two weeks ago.

For the next week, the family will be getting together, reliving memories and making more together.

Tony and Mary, Pakefield in 1962. (Image: Tony Beckett)Tony and Mary in Carlton Colville in 1962. (Image: Tony Beckett)Tony and Mary in the early 1960s. (Image: Tony Beckett)