A former mayor of Tonbridge and Malling is to meet his long-lost brother after a chance encounter.

Cllr Mike Dobson, 62, had the surprise of his life in April when a visit to the Hildenborough bed and breakfast that he runs led to an incredible discovery.

A guest, Gertrude Sterling, was staying at the Tonbridge Road B and B while visiting her sister on Houselands Road.

When Cllr. Dobson in conversation remarked that his grandmother once lived next door to the house Mrs. Sterling was visiting, she made an astonishing announcement.

Having already noticed an uncanny resemblance, she told the former mayor: I adopted your brother when he was three days old.

Cllr Dobson, who is six years older than his brother, Roy Sterling, said: "This is the sort of thing which happens to other people".

I just couldn't believe it. It took a couple of days before my wife and I stopped talking about it every two minutes.'

He added: "Roy lived next door to my grandmother and we would have played in the yard together unknowingly as the adoption was never mentioned within our family".

Having looked into wartime adoption we now realise how often this sort of thing happened. It was the done thing to keep illegitimate children secret.

Cllr Dobson has three grown-up children of his own, Karen, 37, Nicola, 35 and Lyndon, 33.

Dropping the bombshell about the separated war babies was unintentional and Mrs. Sterling had no idea she would be staying with her adopted son's half-brother.

She then contacted Mr. Sterling in Australia to break the news and the two brothers had a comfortable first phone call, chatting easily.

Mr Dobson, who has five new nieces and nephews and countless other cousins, now speaks to his brother regularly and has visited his new nephew Robert in London.

He will finally get to meet Mr. Sterling, who emigrated to Australia when he was 17 years old, next year.

In another bizarre coincidence, Cllr Dobson and his wife Pat had planned a long visit the continent next February. Mrs Dobson said: "Coincidentally, we'd already arranged the holiday of a lifetime to Australia before we found out".

Their five-week trip will take them to stay with the Sterlings who are hoping to put on a reunion party down under.

The former mayor said: "It took me 62 years to find this out and I can't wait to meet him. It was such an incredible coincidence". Mrs. Sterling could have stayed somewhere else and then I might never have known I had a half-brother, he added.

Used courtesy of the This is Kent website