HAVING a wish come true is normally the stuff of Christmas stories — but that has happened to a lady in Okehampton this year.

Wendy Murrin, 57, has lived most of her life without knowing her father, whom she had last seen in 1966 when she was just ten years old.

After her parents' marriage fell apart, her father Malcolm made the difficult decision to move to Australia. At that point, Wendy's mother allowed no contact between Malcolm and his daughter.

Malcolm began working for the American Space Agency in Australia as an electrician, and his life eventually took him to the United States.

But after 47 years apart, Malcolm and Wendy have been reunited thanks to the Wish of a Lifetime organisation.

The organisation granted Malcolm and his wife Pat, who live in Greenville, South Carolina, the wish to fly to England to meet Wendy and her family, whom Malcolm has never met.

The meeting came about after Malcolm's niece Leslie Forster started researching the family history to complete the Forster family tree. After her research, she realised that Malcolm's daughter was the only family member not accounted for.

Malcolm encouraged the search after admitting he had never stopped thinking about Wendy.

After three weeks of searching the internet, Wendy was found. Delighted to hear her father was still alive, Malcolm and Wendy slowly began to exchange e-mails, phone calls and even communicated via webcam with Skype.

However, Malcolm and Pat could not afford a round-trip flight, hotel and spending money to make the trip back to England.

By chance, Pat saw a pop-up advert while surfing the internet last December, promoting the Wish of a Lifetime organisation.

The foundation grants life-enriching wishes for senior citizens. She filled out the application form in the slim hope they may get chosen.

On February 1 —Malcolm's 82nd birthday — they received word that their wish had been granted.

Wendy and Malcolm were reunited for the first time on April 6, 2013. Upon Malcolm's arrival at Wendy's home in Okehampton, they embraced in silence as they were reunited for the first time in nearly half a century.

Wendy said: 'Meeting him for the first time was nerve-wracking.

'It had been so long since I had seen him. When he arrived, I was too apprehensive to meet him at the train station, so my husband Michael went to pick him up.

'When he arrived, I did not know what to say. When we were first chatting it was like he was a complete stranger to start with.

'We have only been exchanging e-mails for a few years. Yet within about 24 hours, we were back being father and daughter.'

The visit not only gave Malcolm and Wendy the chance to reconnect, but their families too.

During the trip, Malcolm and Pat met Malcolm's three grandchildren and five great-grandchildren for the very first time.

Being found by the family she didn't know she had has meant a lot to Wendy: 'It has been strange meeting and hearing about all these new cousins and family members.

'For most of my life I have thought I was the only one, but it turns out I have a lot of family members!

'It has been strange getting to know them, but it is wonderful to find out about this family I never knew I had.'

After their eight day stay, Malcolm and Pat returned home to the United States, carrying a letter to later read on his trip back home.

The day they returned to America, Wendy and her family set up a saving fund to enable Malcolm and Pat to visit England again.

Malcolm and Pat got married in the United States on November 3, 2013.

They returned to England this December to see Wendy and her family once again, and Malcolm and Pat's wedding vows were blessed during a ceremony at Fairplace Church on December 14 —just in time for Christmas.