A FACEBOOK message has reestablished family ties between Burnham, Chile and Costa Rica after nearly 70 years.

And, as a result, Richard and Guiza Harbottle travelled from Costa Rica to Burnham last week to visit the grave of Richard’s great uncle, Robert James Harbottle, who died in 1946.

Janet Young, of Burnham, whose exhusband is a Harbottle, had been researching the family tree for her children.

She discovered that Robert Harbottle, born in 1878, and his brother, John, moved to Chile in 1904 to start a new life working on the railroads – Robert settled in Taltal on the Chilean west coast, and John moved on to Costa Rica. Janet said: “I had already sent friend requests on facebook to Harbottles in Chile and then I got a message from Guiza Harbottle, in Costa Rica, wanting to know more about the family name.

“Apparently, her husband Richard’s parents wouldn’t tell him anything about it when he was growing up so she had taken it upon herself to find out for him.”

Janet told Guiza how, at the age of 14, Robert’s son, John, had moved back to Burnham to become an engineer.

Robert would have six months off from the railroads every five years so he could come over from Chile to visit and he would stay in Burnham.

He came over for the last time in 1946 and unfortunately died a few weeks later and is now buried in Berrow churchyard.

Richard, whose family descended from Robert’s brother, John, after he moved to Costa Rica to become a bellmaker, came to see the grave with Guiza and his sister Juliet, who now lives in California.

The visit to the UK also included stops in Scotland and Newcastle to visit other members of the Harbottle family.

Janet said of meeting Richard and Guiza for the first time: “It was such a wonderful day and you could tell they were moved to see the grave.

“We took them along the seafront, and to see where Robert’s son, James, used to live.

“I was too busy getting things ready to be nervous about them coming really but, from the moment I first met them it was just so comfortable – it was just like seeing old friends.”

“They are such warm people and they’ve invited us all over to Cost Rica to visit.”