Photo feature 10 and

A mission of reconciliation

Lyn Woods finds out about the work of the Army’s Family Tracing Service

CHRISTMAS can be a difficult time for anyone with loved ones missing from their lives. The Family Tracing Service is committed to meeting the UKI Territory’s mission priority of seeking justice and reconciliation by reconnecting people with missing or estranged family members – and connecting people with the Army, often for the first time.

In today’s digital age, one might expect that searching for a missing loved one would be easy without a professional tracing service, but that isn’t always the case. Although there is more information in the public domain, the type of data needed to trace people is often protected and not widely accessible. Older people and those who do not have the means to access the internet are also somewhat at a disadvantage.

The Family Tracing Service has nearly 140 years of experience of using tools and methods of investigation not at the general public’s disposal. In the UK, the team comprises Team Leader Karen Wallace and three caseworkers – Billy Harrington-Roberts, Lorraine Phillips and Grace Neilson.

‘Estrangement can happen in any family and it’s usually the not knowing that is the hardest part for any searcher,’ says Karen.

Of the thousands of enquiries the service receives each year, about one third become formal applications. Of those, 8 out of 10 result in ‘knowledge’. Knowledge can be a successful search and reunion or other news about a missing loved one, which at the very least may bring some closure and peace of mind to the searcher.

Billy says: ‘Every search is different in the reasons behind it, the result of it and the reactions to it. Even if it doesn’t have a good outcome, it brings hope in trying and it’s essential to give people time to talk throughout the process and to be a listening ear.’