I was a Ten Pound Pom like Michelle Keegan’s character but shock tragedy ruined our life…now I can never leave Australia

WHEN seven-year-old Karen Stilwell’s family left drizzly Southampton for a new life in Australia in 1965, she was filled with excitement.

She and her parents and younger siblings - Gary, six, and Linda, four - dreamed of starting a new life in the sun as part of the Ten Pound Pom scheme, just like Michelle Keegan’s character in the new BBC series.

But within a few years of them arriving their lives were shattered beyond repair – after Linda was abducted and murdered.

Karen, who was in charge of her little sister at the time she was taken, was wracked with guilt and has spent a lifetime trying to come to terms with what happened to her sister and best friend.

She fought for 48 years to bring Linda’s killer - Derek Percy, considered Australia's worst serial child killer - to justice.

But twisted Percy would never reveal what he had done with Linda’s body or admit his guilt.

Now 65, Karen won't return to the UK, determined she will never leave Linda alone.

Speaking from her home in Melbourne, Australia, Karen said: “For many, many years I blamed myself for Linda’s death, and convinced myself that everybody else did too.

“I was looking after her that day and she never came home.

“When Derek Percy was finally convicted of Linda’s murder, it gave us some closure, but he went to his grave without ever telling us what he had done with her body.

“My mother Jean died without being able to lay her daughter to rest. It gives me some comfort knowing they’re together now.

“I thought if we’d never come to Australia it wouldn’t have happened and used to wish we could go back to our old lives.

“Over time I realised the country wasn’t to blame and there is evil everywhere in the world.

“I have thought about going back to the UK a few times - I even went as far to buy a plane ticket once. But I couldn’t do it. I won’t leave Linda on her own.”

New adventure

The Stilwell family's journey from England to Oz took six weeks.

The three children were desperate to begin their new adventure, and learned to swim in the ship’s pool.

Karen’s dad got a job at a Melbourne firm and the family rented a house there.

In 1967 Karen’s parents had another baby girl, Laura, but they separated not long after and her dad took her baby sister to live in New Zealand.

“It was a really tough time on us all,” Karen recalled.

I have thought about going back to the UK a few times - I even went as far to buy a plane ticket once. But I couldn’t do it. I won’t leave Linda on her own

Karen Stilwell

“We were all on our own, Mum missed her own mother and sisters terribly – we didn’t have a phone so she had nobody for support.

“She had to work a lot, so I became a second mother to Gary and Linda.

"Mum got a job in a pub, so I would often make dinner for the younger ones, and really relished looking after them.

“Linda and I were especially close. We had a bed each, but we always slept together in the same single bed. She was so much fun, always laughing and smiling.

“We were like the three Musketeers. We’d left our friends behind, and we stuck together. I don’t ever remember a cross word between us."

Vanished

Karen said she remembers the day Linda vanished like it was yesterday.

“We had been playing down at the pier in St Kilda, where we lived," she recalled.

“We’d climbed into someone’s tin boat and he shouted at us, so we went off to the park.

“I knew my mother was working that evening and that we’d been told what time to come home by.

“But Linda and Gary didn’t want to go home and I was worried that I’d get into trouble, so I went home and left them.

“Gary came home about an hour later and said he couldn’t find Linda. He had been looking into a Kaleidoscope and when he looked up, she had vanished.

“My mother went down to the park to look for her, and when she couldn’t find her, we called the police.”

'Dismissive'

Police officers took four hours to arrive at the family home, and had alcohol on their breath when they did arrive.

“They were very dismissive, telling us that Linda had probably run away. We knew that a seven-year-old had not run away.”

Police have since issued an apology to the family for the way the case was handled, with officers allegedly failing to follow leads or take the disappearance seriously.

They were very dismissive, telling us that Linda had probably run away. We knew that a seven-year-old had not run away

Karen Stilwell

As news of Linda’s disappearance spread, the family were hounded by media, with local newspapers publishing horrendous stories claiming Linda’s mum was a prostitute.

“I remember a reverend coming to the house and telling my mother that this would never have happened if she had not left her husband,” Karen recalled.

“I know now my mother probably blamed herself, but I was convinced she blamed me.”

No support

The family were left with no answers as to what had happened to Linda, no support and no counselling.

Struggling to cope, Karen found herself in care, and for some time, cut herself off from her family completely.

“In my teenage years, I went off the rails a little bit," she said.

“As an adult, when I requested my social worker’s notes, she had written that Gary and I were acting out because we missed all the media attention.”

Police had initially ruled out Percy as a suspect, despite him being convicted of several other child murders and molestations in the area within months of Linda’s disappearance.

Turning point

He continued to deny being involved in Linda’s disappearance until he died in 2013 – but a state coroner then ruled that he was responsible for her death.

“The case coming to court was really a turning point for us,” Karen said.

“When mum got older, we really had chance to talk about everything that happened, and I’m happy that we both finally knew how each other felt.

“Linda’s killer being behind bars was some comfort, but it still breaks my heart that she is not home with us.

“I’ve come to accept that I may never find out what happened to Linda’s body, but I want to make sure that everybody knows that she lived.

“If she is found long after I am gone, then I want people to know who she was. It’s time she came home.”