Long-lost half-brothers reunited in Ottawa after DNA test – Ottawa Citizen

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I was just gobsmacked. I keep saying, 'I can't believe it.' He's got the same build as my Dad, the same arms."

It wasnt the unusually strong DNA match that convinced Ottawas Bob Huson that hed discovered a half-brother living in England.

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It was the photo.

The photo was of Malcolm Ives, now 76, who turned up as a half-uncle in a genealogical DNA search done by Bobs son, Geoff, in December 2019. Malcolm, as it turned out, was born in Bournemouth, England in January 1946, months after the end of the Second World War. The seaside town of Bournemouth also happened to be where Bobs father, George Huson, was stationed during the war with the Royal Canadian Air Force.

Winston Churchill famously said the war effort required blood, toil, tears and sweat. George, it seems, did him one better.

I told Dad, even before I knew the specific relationship, that there was a significant DNA hit with a man in the U.K., Geoff said.

Then Geoff said to me, You better take a look at this,' added Bob, 72. That picture Malcolm is the spitting image of my father. It blew my mind and I thought, OK somethings going on here.'

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Last week, the half-brothers met for the first time when Malcolm landed in Ottawa for a visit delayed two years by COVID-19. Bobs hardly taken his eyes off him since. Gathered together in the Husons Westboro backyard with Geoff and Bobs wife, Diane, the two men clown around like the brothers they are.

My father was my best friend, Bob said. And to see someone 10 years after my father died who looks exactly like my father I was just gobsmacked. I keep saying, I cant believe it. Hes got the same build as my Dad, the same arms. Theyre both muscular guys.

George Huson grew up in Ottawa on LeBreton Flats and enlisted with the RCAF during the war. He never talked much about his war experience, but the family thinks he was a mechanic and flew on Lancaster bombers.

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He returned to Ottawa after the war, started a taxi company, worked in computers and eventually had a career with the Department of National Defence. He married Bobs mother, Jean, in 1948 and the couple had two children, Bob and Debra, who now lives in San Francisco.

George died in 2007. Did he know he left a baby behind in England?

Thats the big question, Bob said. Im almost 100 per cent certain he had no idea, no idea he had a child. I talked about it with my sister. I said, Do you think Dad knows? and she said Definitely not.

I dont think hed be able to live with himself if he knew, added Geoff.

For Malcolm, news he had a half-brother in Canada was less of a shock. Described as a healthy, normal little boy with fair hair and blue eyes by the adoption agency, Malcolm was adopted as the only child by an English couple, whom he says were good and loving parents. And yet, he was always curious about his birth mother and father.

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My birthday would come around and Id wonder about my mother. Id think, I wonder if shes thinking about me? But it wasnt like that every day or all year long.

Malcolm submitted his DNA for testing about five years ago, not with the purpose of finding his parents, but to know about what part of the planet I came from.

To his surprise, the results showed he had other siblings, a half-brother born in 1936 and a half-sister born in 1940, both from different fathers. Malcolm met his half-sister in England, but his other half-brother died in hospital before they had a chance to meet face to face. He wasnt shocked when Geoff Huson contacted him about more family members in Canada.

I thought, Hello, here we go again,' he said.

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Malcolms mother, Joan Smith, was 30 when he was born. His adoption record described her as a superior type of woman now working as a hotel waitress. It said she put her baby up for adoption because she had to work to support herself and had no family of her own, something Malcolm now knows from a recent investigation wasnt true.

She did used to come and see me. I was too young. I dont remember. But then she went to London and that was it. She was never heard from again, he said.

She didnt really want any of us. She was troubled. A troubled woman. These things happen. Ive got no regrets. I dont blame her. I dont blame any of them. I got on with my life. Ive had a good life.

Since arriving in Canada, Malcolms spent time at the Husons Quebec cottage, toured the city and on Tuesday paid a visit to George Husons grave at Pinecrest Cemetery. Next week, hes heading to Calgary and Banff and a railway trip through the Rocky Mountains. COVID-19 made it too difficult to visit his half-sister in California, so hell save that for another trip.

The retired chef said meeting his Canadian family has fulfilled a lifelong goal to know where he came from.

Its the icing on the cake for me, Malcolm said. My story is complete.

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Long-lost half-brothers reunited in Ottawa after DNA test - Ottawa Citizen