Man abandoned as baby on Christmas Eve finds brother after 81 years - one mile away

After 81 years, a man abandoned as a baby on Christmas Eve has discovered that the brother he never knew existed had been living less than a mile away. He was left as a newborn on Christmas Eve 1944 during the London Blitz.

The man was found by a passing policeman and taken to St Thomas' Hospital in central London, where nurses affectionately nicknamed him "Bobby", slang for a policeman, a name that later became his middle name.

With no birth records, John Moore, 81, grew up as a foundling, spending most of his life wondering about his origins and whether he had any surviving family. The answers finally came decades later, all thanks to a Christmas gift.

Despite the unanswered questions, he built a full and happy life. He married in 1971 and became a father in 1973. His son now works as a firefighter and has a daughter of his own, making John a proud grandfather to a 22-year-old.

John spent most of his working life in the building trade and retired 15 years ago. Still keen to stay active, he continues to help family and friends where he can and now lives with his son in East Sussex.

The mystery of his origins was finally solved thanks to a Christmas gift, an at home DNA test. A MyHeritage at home DNA test, given to 26-year-old Ella Bourg, revealed a strong genetic match. Further testing confirmed that John and Ella's father, Lucas Bourg, 70, are brothers.

The discovery was all the more astonishing given their proximity. Lucas lives in Kennington, south London, less than a mile from where John was abandoned as a baby. Lucas grew up in Kennington and attended Kennington Primary School, followed by Kennington Boys' School in Brixton. He left school at 16 and began an apprenticeship with BT in telecommunications. After leaving BT at 21, he continued working in telecoms, including time spent on oil rigs in the North Sea.

At 24, Lucas moved to the Middle East to work as a telecommunications engineer. Two years later, he turned a lifelong hobby, restoring classic cars into a full-time business, opening a workshop in Guildford, Surrey, specialising in classic Datsun and Nissan sports cars.

He met his wife, Leigh, in Guildford when he was 29, and they married five years later. He then moved to Nottingham to and continued running his classic car business and, although he semi-retired at 60, still works on restorations today.

Lucas and Leigh have three children: Lucas, 34, Georgia, 30, now married and living in Melbourne, and Ella, 26, and whose DNA test changed the family forever.

The results also identified the brothers' father for the first time. He was a Maltese immigrant who served in the British Merchant Navy during the Second World War and never knew John existed.

Since finding this out, the brothers have met and were struck by their remarkable resemblance and immediate bond.

To mark the reunion, Lucas gave John their father's ring, a ring he used to wear every single day and which has now become a deeply meaningful symbol for the family John spent 81 years searching for.

MyHeritage is an online genealogy platform that helps you uncover your ancestry and ethnic background across 2,114 regions and connect with relatives you may not have known existed.

Using the MyHeritage DNA kit is straightforward. All you need to do is provide a saliva sample or cheek swab, return the kit, and receive your results by email within a few weeks.

Alongside exploring genetic origins, you can expand your family tree and search through billions of historical records to trace your family history in depth.