Colin Fairclough

I served for a short time in the Royal Navy, and also in the Civil Service. I have been married for 45 years, and have four children and five grandchildren. I live in Bromley, Kent.  Before my retirement, I spent over forty years as an officer (minister) of  The Salvation Army.   
During that time, I served in the United Kingdom, the Island of St Helena, South Africa, the Philippines (as principal of The Salvation Army's Officer-Training College) and Zimbabwe.  
In 1983, I was appointed to The Salvation Army's Family Tracing Service, and served as head of that department from February 1986 until April 2002.

During my years in the service some 91,000 new enquiries were started, of which 75,000 were concluded successfully (over 80%).  Every working day of the year, an average of 10 to 12 people are found by the Family Tracing Service, and reunited with their families.  The department has a staff of twenty.

In 1990, I was elected to membership of the Association of British Investigators, and on my retirement was appointed as an honorary Affiliate Member of that association.

I have spoken on family tracing and missing persons issues to many organizations (more than 60 talks in both 2004 and 2005). These include Rotary Clubs, Probus Clubs, Women's Institutes, Townswomen's Guilds, ARP/O50 groups, Soroptimists, U3A, Civil Service Fellowships and many more.  In addition, I have been a keynote speaker at international conferences in Australia, the USA and the UK.  I have taken part in a large number of radio and television programmes, and have been interviewed by all forms of media at home and overseas. 

I am now available to undertake speaking engagements, in a private capacity, at service clubs, luncheon clubs, women's groups, and other organizations - to tell some of the fascinating stories of people found and families reunited during my years with the Family Tracing Service.  (Despite the sad situations which can arise, there are many touches of humour along the way!)   My talk - 'People who need people' - can be tailored to last for 30 minutes to an hour, depending upon each group's requirements.  (Because there is so much to tell, it is difficult to prepare for periods shorter than 30 minutes.)

My fee is £35.00.    Travel expenses are as follows:  For venues up to 40 miles from my home in Bromley, Kent - 25p per mile (up to a maximum of £18.00).  For venues between 40 and 50 miles - £22.00.   Beyond 50 miles, by prior agreement.  (Increases in costs of fuel may necessitate an increase in mileage expenses.)
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