A CARDIFF man has launched an appeal for help in finding a long-lost sister he has never met after only discovering she existed three years ago.
Michael Richards, 64, who grew up in Whitchurch, says he has made it his life’s quest to find his sibling and is appealing for local people to provide clues as to her whereabouts.
He believes his sister, who lived in the Velindre Road or Heol Booker areas of Whitchurch and may have been born in Rudry, is possibly deceased but he is hoping to find out more about her life and where she might be buried.
Michael first realised he had a sister while carrying out research for a book he was writing following a terrifying near-death experience while on holiday.
He said: “It was during the writing of Hallucinations or Reality that I discovered I had an unknown older sister.
“We grew up in the Whitchurch area that encompassed Velindre Road, Heol Booker and finally Heol Penlan and my sister would have lived around here. I moved to Violet Place when I was 18.
“The discovery is the main driving force behind the book I’m researching now and I’m hoping that local people who remember my family and my sister will help me fill in some of the gaps.”
Michael, who now lives in Berkshire, was inspired to start writing after he contracted sepsis and double pneumonia while holidaying in Mallorca which led to weeks of agonising pain and nightmarish hallucinations.
“My research has established a spider’s web of information corridors which enabled us to pursue long forgotten historical information, including rumours of the sale of still born baby bodies to America for testing on the chemical effects of mustard gas and similar poisons used during the 2nd World war.
“This was a very sobering moment for me and caused me many sleepless nights considering whether I should continue with this research or just shelve the entire project. However, I’ve decided to continue.”
Michael started his working life at the infamous Tiger Bay docks where he was nearly stabbed on his first day. He was also the youngest ever captain of the Whitchurch Rugby Club in 1973.
He launched conveyancing data supplier Richards Gray with wife Patricia in 1988 which he sold 20 years later when it employed more than 600 people.
Michael’s latest book is called My Two Sisters which he describes as a “a true story about living life with death”.
“It takes the reader on a journey that many will find hard to believe. It does not answer the question is there life after death, but it gives the reader all the facts for them to make their own decision.”
It is due to be published next year.
If you have any information that could help Michael’s research, please email [email protected].
