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Chorley brothers reunited after 50 years
A Chorley man has been reunited with his long-lost brother after 50 years – thanks to an article in the Guardian.
A string of events meant 74-year-old Gordon Maguire lost contact with his younger brother Colin after he emigrated to Australia in the early 1960s.
But the former miner and textile worker have been reunited after Colin read an article in the Chorley Guardian about wheelchair user Gordon having problems with his front door.
He has now sent a letter to his brother who has spent more than seven years trying to trace him.
Gordon, of Eaves Lane, said: "When the big envelope came through the door I thought it was from the bank. It was a very nice surprise when I saw it was from Colin.
"A friend of his had contacted him through the internet and mentioned he had seen someone called Gordon Maguire in the Chorley Guardian and sent him a copy.
"I received a phone call not long after and the gentleman asked me a few details about what school I went to and where I had lived and he told me my brother was trying to get in touch.
"He asked for my address and he must have sent my details because the letter arrived."
The brothers grew up together in Horwich before mill worker Colin decided to emigrate to Australia as a '10 Pom' aged 18.
Gordon said: "Colin told me I was stupid for working down the mines, but I told him it was stupid he was moving to the other side of the world.
"In the early days our mother kept in close contact with him and when she was 85 she flew out to see him. When it got to February she decided to come back because she said it was too hot for her over there!"
Colin did make a failed attempt to contact Gordon on the eve of the Millennium.
"I had been out celebrating and had got in at about 1am," Gordon recalled. "At three the phone rang and when I answered the man asked if it was Gordon Maguire.
"I said it was and he said 'Gordon it's your brother from Australia mate' and I told him I would ring him back in the morning, but when I put the phone down I couldn't retrieve his number.
"Not long after I suffered a stroke and whilst I was in hospital BT cut off my phoneline as I hadn't paid my bill so he wouldn't have been able to ring again."
When Gordon's wife Barbara died in 2004 all chance of a reunion seemed lost for good.
"I never thought I would ever hear from him again," added Gordon. "The only clue I had about where he might live was on the back of the wedding photo he sent me. There was a logo on the back for the photographer and I tried contacting him asking if he had a billing address.
"I had looked up where he might have been living through the address of the photographer, but that was the closest I got."
Gordon is now hoping to save up enough money to visit his brother who lives in Werribee, Victoria.
He said: "I always wondered what had happened to him and I am so happy that we have been able to find each other.
"My mum went to Australia when she was 85 so I'm hoping to get there before I reach that age. I will save up, but I know it will take some time on a pension – whatever happens I'm definitely going to get there."
Included in the letter to Gordon were pictures of his nieces and great nephews who he has never met.
It described how Colin had given up working in the textile industry to take up a job at a refining plant before taking over a gymnastics club which his daughter belonged to.
Opening the letter he wrote: "Ell mate, I finally found you. I located an article in the Chorley newspaper that referred to Gordon Maguire and a story about a wheelchair, then I couldn't find any more info."
He explained how he'd married Mary in 1974 and had two daughters, Kirsty and Kylie, and along with his wife had beaten cancer.
Gordon said: "The Guardian article not only sorted out the problem with my front door, but also found my brother."
Do you want to find a long lost relative you think might be living in Chorley? Contact the Guardian on 01257 264911 or email: natalie.banks@lep.co.uk
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Weather for Chorley
Wednesday 08 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: -3 C to 1 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: South east
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Light sleet
Temperature: 0 C to 1 C
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