Rod Anderson spent almost 50 years searching for the identity of his soldier father after being born in Farnham, England, in 1945. Meanwhile, relatives of New Brunswick Rangers serviceman Charles Blakney pursued rumors of an overseas child for nearly two decades. The long-standing mystery ended in spring 2026 when Blakney's granddaughter took a commercial DNA test and immediately contacted Anderson's daughter to confirm the connection.
Key points
A spring 2026 Ancestry DNA test successfully linked Bethany Allen directly to her half-un…: A spring 2026 Ancestry DNA test successfully linked Bethany Allen directly to her half-uncle Rod Anderson.
Bethany Allen contacted Anderson's daughter on the very day of the genetic match to share…: Bethany Allen contacted Anderson's daughter on the very day of the genetic match to share the discovery.
The transatlantic discovery resolved an 18-year search conducted by the Canadian family t…: The transatlantic discovery resolved an 18-year search conducted by the Canadian family to honor a promise to Allen's late mother.
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For 81 years, Rod Anderson had one question that he could never quit find an answer to: who was his father? Born in Farnham, England, in 1945, Anderson grew up with his British mother, Yvonne, without knowing much about the man whose DNA he shared. He spent nearly 50 years trying to identify him, even taking a DNA test to investigate someone he suspected could be his biological father. The results, however, ruled that person out.
Little did he know that thousands of miles away, a Canadian family was trying to solve the same mystery. An 18-year search, a handful of old family documents and an unexpected DNA match would eventually bring the two sides together, revealing that Anderson's father had been a Canadian soldier stationed in Britain during the
Second World War.
A family rumour that refused to disappear
The story began with Charles Blakney, a Canadian soldier from New Brunswick. Before leaving for England, Blakney was married and had a baby daughter back home. In 1942, he boarded the HMT Andes to serve overseas, eventually working as a…
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