Cousins reunited after spending lifetime apart

Doris Olden was reunited with Hilda Dawson nearly 80 years after they last saw each other.

Their emotional meeting at Doris's bungalow in Winston Crescent saw them fill their first day together since the 1920s with lively chatter about their missing decades.

Doris (85) said: 'It's lovely to see Hilda again. We have not stopped talking.'

Hilda (87) commented: 'We have talked about everything. We are so happy to see each other again. We will make sure we will not lose touch with each other once more.'

The cousins' early years were spent in North London. They were frequent visitors to each others' houses in Camden Town and Gospel Oak.

But their lives changed dramatically when Doris's mother died. She went to stay with Hilda's family initially.

'It was the 1920s and they were poor times,' said Doris. 'We used to sleep four in a bed but they were happy days.'

'I was taken away and adopted. We just lost touch with each other after that. The Second World War then came along and that was that.'

Still, the memories of each other never faded from their minds. Doris explained: 'I thought about Hilda a lot but London got bombed so much during the war that I thought I would never see her again.'

But that all changed thanks to the internet.

Her son, Fareham resident Graham Olden, began to search websites for information, and leave messages about Hilda, having heard his mother talk about her.

Four years later and a visit to a Middlesex genealogy website revealed a message from one of Hilda's relatives.

It was then a case of putting the cousins in touch.

Hilda, who lives in Morden in Surrey, recalled: 'It was exciting that we had found each other.'

Doris remembered: 'I couldn't believe it was Hilda. She said, '˜You don't know who I am' and I didn't. When she said she Hilda, I just sat there with my mouth wide open. I couldn't say anything.

'It was such a surprise.'

Hilda, however, is familiar with the Bognor Regis area. She is a regular guest at the Russell Hotel in King's Parade.

'I could have seen Doris over the decades and never known it,' she added.