One day, the phone rang.
It was Sally Vincent, a wonderful woman who has worked voluntarily for GI Trace for the past 26 years with an amazing team.
GI Trace
GI Trace is an organisation that helps people find their birth fathers (sometimes mothers). Originally, babies were born in WWII and every subsequent decade, i.e. children born to American fathers. As you know, the Americans were in Europe in their thousands during WWII, and inevitably, many babies were born. Over 100,000, in fact, in the UK, GI Trace knows of – the same in the Netherlands and Germany. GI Trace is international due to the power of the internet and act, now with the aid of DNA in the past 10 years or so, to unite families… people who would never have had the chance of knowing their roots otherwise.
For Sally, it’s a self-funded, selfless act of giving back and helping people. She says, “In life, if one has been fortunate, then I feel one has to put in something. Helping others in this way has been reward enough.” Sally is a diamond! There is no cost to families, it’s free, as many can’t afford to buy the DNA kit, let alone research fees.
We met Sally because she saw us at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London in 2005 and subsequently booked us to perform for a special dance for VE Day celebrations in Frinton-On-Sea later that year. “I was determined that our friends and guests should experience the surprise and wonderful singing/drama that we did. It was sensational!”
19 years later, on a bright August day in 2024, Sally called again to ask if we could generate our inimitable magic of love and connection for another event for her families. Possibly their last and biggest conference because as the years roll by, the War Babes of WWII are fast reaching their middle/late seventies. This event is very special and emotional for them, also because they meet Sally who has found their family for them, for the first time…
A Heartfelt Reunion
Fast-forward to October, just before the big event, and we received an excited email from Sally explaining, “Today I found a GI WWII still alive in the US (aged 99) who is very happy to meet the son he left behind in Germany. He knew there might be a chance he had fathered a child but never thought he would live, and hopefully meet, this son who is now 78! This kind of result makes all the time and work worthwhile.”
So, it was an honour and a joy for us to perform again for Sally’s patrons and families at the Cambridge Belfry Hotel. The audience was so warm and receptive, it made our job very easy. One man wanted to join our team, and another was a very willing and eager participant in New York, New York. People were springing up out of their chairs with tears in their eyes.
Such is the power of music.
Sally told us, “You couldn’t have stopped them from joining in and taking to the floor. That’s what was so amazing: some elderly jigging about, and one almost blind lady just upped, and off she went! Another woman said it had been the best time of her life for so many years. It was a 100% success.”
What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.
– Nelson Mandela
What a heart-rendering example of the beauty and love in the world, in case you need reminding.
With gratitude,
Geoff + Simone
