Three women and a baby have crossed the Atlantic for the first-ever meeting of five generations of their family, writes SARAH BROWN

The quartet travelled to the home of the senior member of their clan, Mary Lines, 88, who lives in Kestrel Crescent, Blackbird Leys, Oxford.

Great-great-grandmother Mary said: "They've come specially so all the five generations can be together. I'm very proud of them and I love all my children.

"I've got 27 grandchildren, 55 great-grandchildren and two sets of five generations in my family. My secret is a happy marriage - I had a perfect husband."

Barbara Thelin, 65, who was brought up in Glympton, near Woodstock, married an American in 1957 and went to live abroad in 1960. She now lives in Texas.

She said: "My husband was in the US Air Force and I was working at Upper Heyford so when he came and did his shopping we met. "We've lived in different countries, in Japan and the Philippines. This five generations meeting has come up very quickly. Time goes by so fast."

Pamela Ethier, 37, who lives in Oklahoma, organised the meeting. She said: "Not very many people have five generations and things like heritage and genealogy are all important. With us, because we live in the US, we don't have family close around us.

"When we can, we get as many together as possible to get pictures to preserve our heritage for the children."

Michelle Floyd, 20, who also lives in Oklahoma, came with her six-month-old baby Victoria, aged six months. Neither have been to the UK before. She said: "It's a bit overwhelming. I've never been to England before. It's very cold. Victoria loves all the attention."

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