Leighton Buzzard

So, now I had both the address, on my birth certificate, of where my mother lived when she registered my birth, and her maiden name of Cook.

The address was at a house in Leighton Buzzard, only twenty miles from where I live today.  So one Sunday my wife Maria and I drove to find the house where I had stayed briefly as baby.  When we got there I was too embarrassed to knock on the door but Maria asked someone passing by if they knew of the Cook family.  He said no, but suggested we try the house on the corner as the family had lived there for many years.

To our amazement they did know of the Cook family that used to live at number eleven and an even greater surprise was to come.  A surviving sister was still living at the other end of the road.

Her name was Dolly.

She would be my mother's sister.  Rather than try to call on the old lady, who was a bit deaf, we were told to go across the road and talk to the people there as they looked after her and would be the best people to talk to about arranging to visit her..

Unfortunately there was no-one at home so rather than knock on the old lady's door, we left a note explaining our quest, and asking if they could contact us so we might return and meet her...

Dolly's Friends

Having left the note at the house across the road, we wondered if the people would contact us.  I think it was on the Tuesday a nice lady called and we arranged to go and see her and her husband one evening in the week.  It was then I learned that Dolly was the last survivor of the family and her sister, my birth mother and my father were both dead.  But they were wrong as I found later!

They told me I had a cousin John, who often visited Dolly and that it would be best if he were there when we met in case she became confused or worried.  So we agreed to meet at the old lady's house a couple of weeks later.