A father-of-two who grew up in a children’s home has had his book about life in the care system published after 14 years in the making.
Nathan Fellows, 69, and his older sister Jean were born to an English mother and a black American soldier in Burton-On-Trent during the Second World War.
Their mother was unable to care for them, so the two mixed-race children were taken in by the Children’s Society and went to live in St Agatha’s Care Home in Princes Risborough.
Nathan, who now lives in Shabbington with his wife of 50 years – also called Jean – said he was always curious about his heritage, but the care home did not have any information about his past.
In 2000, he and his sister Jean began going to post-adoptive meetings in London and they discovered that they had a long-lost older sister and younger brother.
After an emotional reunion, it was around the same time that Nathan began writing his book.
Nathan – who went on to have son Terry and daughter Cathy, five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren – is in regular touch with his siblings via phone calls and visits, as is his sister Jean.
The great-grandfather said: “We can’t help the past, but it’s what we have now that’s important.”
Though Nathan and Jean never met their mother again before she passed away, their siblings say she would have been pleased her children had found each other again.
Nathan said: “When I first spoke to my older sister, she said ‘we’re all mum’s children’ – so that was where the title of the book came from.”
All Mum’s Children – published by Aylesbury-based Shieldcrest Publishing – is available on Amazon and will soon be on shelves in WHSmith and Waterstones.