‘Orphaned’ senior uncovers mom’s emotional letters after spending his life believing he was unwanted
The 88-year-old spent his entire life thinking he was abandoned until 14 years ago, when a clue revealed the truth.
We never know the power of being loved until we lose out on it. It’s shattering to imagine that orphans grow up thinking they weren’t wanted or loved, leaving a scar that resurfaces at the most unexpected sights. The Daily Mail shared the story of Mark Chesterfield, an 88-year-old who spent most of his life grappling with questions like this. Having spent his years in a Foundling Hospital in Berkhamsted, he often asked himself why he was abandoned. Years later, he appeared on an episode of “Long Lost Family” and revealed that he found out about his birth mother. Turns out, she actually loved him and longed to keep in touch — and she did so throughout the years with heartbreakingly beautiful letters.
Chesterfield spent his life in the hospital from the time he was left there at 11 weeks old in 1934. He often wondered why his parents would do that. “I'd spent my life up until I was 74 thinking I was an orphan when the world blew up, and I found I wasn't,” he recalled. Nevertheless, the harsh reality about life is that it doesn’t stop for your pain, so you have to keep moving on. “There were a lot of bad times, very bad. We didn't have love, we didn't have care. No sign of affection at all. The headmaster was thrilled to thrash boys. He'd cane you for anything. Very cruel, very, very cruel,” he remembered. According to SOS Children’s Village, around 15.1 million children are currently considered orphans.
Over 80% living in institutional care are not true orphans. They have at least one parent living, but are unable to have a family due to disheartening reasons. These children grow up with a lot of trauma, heartache, and longing to belong. Being in institutionalized care has serious impacts on their mental health and well-being. For Chesterfield, it was no different, but when he grew up, light surfaced at the end of the horizon. He remained at the foundling hospital until he was a teenager and then moved into the RAF at the age of 18. The man thrived and even raised his own family, but it was only 14 years ago that he learned about his birth mom, Eileen Florence Wilcox, through his care file.
He took his chance and dug deeper to figure out everything he could about her and his family. When Chesterfield was born, his father was married to another woman. So Eileen had no choice but to give up her baby to keep him and herself shielded from the judgment of society. Unfortunately, he learned that his mother had passed away a few years ago. However, he found a clue that would lead to fulfillment. He found cards his mother sent him over the years, yearning to keep in touch. “It never occurred to me that there were things to know… My first birthday card, I never saw it. My first Christmas card, I never saw that. She was also writing to the foundling hospital, enquiring about my well-being,” he revealed.
He had always thought he was abandoned, “thrown to the wolves,” but this treasure changed everything. “I was shocked when I saw these, emotionally. I read them sometimes, when I'm sort of feeling low because it showed me that she cared,” he remarked. In a video shared by Virgin Media Television, the man read one of his cards, “Loving wishes for a Happy Christmas from mummy to my darling baby.” When Chesterfield dug around, he discovered that he also had a brother, Jeremy, and a sister, Yolande. He still shares an intact bond with them. Over the span of 14 years since a life-changing discovery, he was unable to get any leads on his father. “It's like having all the information on my family tree in a box, and I can't shut the lid down because it is not full, but it would be full if I could find out who my father was,” he remarked.
Long Lost Family decided to use DNA research to help Chesterfield. Thanks to them, he learned his father’s name was Walter. Unfortunately, he too passed away, but not all was lost. The 88-year-old got a chance to meet a paternal relative, his cousin, Elaine. Speaking of his future days, Chesterfield says he’s at peace. “I've got my answer, I've had to wait 88 years for it,” he remarked. With his daughters, wife, and now sister and cousin, he is beyond delighted to have the tribe increase.
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