York: Woman seeks long lost family after meeting stranger in Durham

Susan Winch, from Somerset, explained that her daughter, Sophie, had a strange encounter with a woman on a bus in Durham on October 21, 2021.

She had sensed somebody was staring at her, and saw it was an elderly woman, "smartly dressed, with white hair tinged purple or blue".

Malcolm and Susan with her late brother Steve in the 1970s (Image: Susan Winch)

The woman asked Sophie, in a "strong Yorkshire accent", if she was "Malcolm's grandaughter", to which Sophie said "yes". The woman then said: "Thought so, you definitely have a look of the Forwards about you."

• READ MORE: York artist's Queen Elizabeth II bust in memory of Hollyoaks director

Malcolm Forward, from Wales, who died in 2003, had been based in Alcaster Malbis in the RAF from 1949 to 1951.

He frequently reminisced about his time in York and said he had a girlfriend there who worked at Terry's Chocolate Factory.

Malcolm Forward (Image: Susan Winch)

On August 5, Sophie, who studies at Durham University, saw the woman again, in Durham, and approached her to ask how she knew her grandad.

The woman said: "Yes, I knew your grandfather. I remember him very well. I was only four or five but I remember he was very kind to me.

"We lived in South Bank in York, he was very friendly with my older sister.

"I shouldn't have said anything, this is not my story to tell."

Malcolm (far right) during his National Service (Image: Susan Winch)

The woman refused to tell Sophie her name or number and then left on the bus.

The family have tried finding the identity of the woman on Durham community Facebook groups, but to no avail.

Susan said: "My Dad may have left behind a girlfriend who had fallen pregnant by him.

"Bless her with all my heart, in the 1950s it would have been so frightening for her if that was the case, unmarried, boyfriend gone back to Wales, no known address.

Malcolm (left) in the RAF, in York, between 1949 and 1951. (Image: Susan Winch)

"Somebody knows the identity of a girl who lived in South Bank in the late 40s to early 50s, and probably worked at Terry’s Chocolate Factory, somebody knows her younger sister who now lives in Durham.

"If I have a half-sibling, they were probably born around 1952 so are now 70 years old. They know who their father’s family is and probably looked us up on social media – how else did the woman know Sophie?

"Perhaps they feel afraid to reach out to us, not wanting to cause upset. I can assure them, they would not. Too much time has been lost. They would receive a warm welcome from people who may be their blood.

"I hope, with all my heart, that someone in York reads this and decides, finally, it is time to reach out and take the hand that is offered.”

Susan is keen to speak to anyone who has answers. Please email: suelwinch@gmail.com.