Bloomfield woman crosses the ocean to visit her birthplace

Williams, a native of England, was born in 1946 shortly after the conclusion of World War II. During that period London was being bombed regularly and London Hospital had sustained heavy damage and was unable to be used.

As a result, alternate sites had to be found for medical procedures like childbirth.

So, during World War II, Lord Brocket turned over a portion of his home, Brocket Hall, to the War Office for use as a hospital.

"All I knew before was that I had been born in a stately manor," Hazel said as she began the story of her recent trip. "I knew very little about it at all."

Knowing that she and husband Mike were planning a trip to England this summer to visit family she decided it would be nice to visit the place of her birth.

Soon after, she pulled out her birth certificate and was excited to find an address inscribed. Following a little research on the Internet, she was floored when she saw the first pictures of where she was born.

The house, built in 1440 sits on a massive piece of land and even includes two PGA Championship golf courses on the property.

"My mother and I never spoke of it," she said noting that her mother had passed away two years ago. "This would have been a neat trip to have made together."

Only about half of one floor in Brocket Hall was transformed into the hospital that was run by the Red Cross. The rest of the home was still occupied by the family.

Once she learned that she was a 'Brocket Baby,' Hazel knew she had to visit the place during their visit.

Upon first arriving at the wrought iron security gates that guard the property, the Williams' were turned away and told they would have to make an appointment.

"That afternoon we called and made an appointment for the next week," she said. "It's a good thing we didn't wait until the day before we left England or I might never have seen it."

Making the appointment was tricky enough, because not just anyone is allowed to tour Brocket Hall because it is now reserved for fancy weddings and high-priced corporate gathering-type events.

Hazel recalled visiting Lord Melbourne's room from where she had entered the world on October 24, 1946 in what must have been one of the fanciest birthing suites in the world. A nearby room, Prince Regent's Chinese Room was also turned into a makeshift recovery room.

Some mothers recall being startled as they awakened by the Chinese-style wallpaper that adorned the walls.

Being a 'Brocket Baby' herself, Hazel did finally receive her personal guided tour of the home and learned all about its history and the amazing house itself.

"It was my first trip back to Brocket Hall in 61 years," she said acknowledging that the trip back was important for several reasons.

"I wanted something for our three daughters and grandchildren to remember me by. And, for me, too for that matter."

Over the 10-year period from 1939-1949, 8256 mothers gave birth to 8,338 'Brocket Babies.'

Brocket Hall plays host to regular organized reunions of both Brocket Babies and mothers to give that special group an opportunity to meet others who share that same historical bond.

During their trip, the couple also saw a number of other interesting sites in addition to a 150 mph trip in the Eurostar train through the chunnell from England to Paris, France and getting to visit the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame Cathedral.

Another high point on the four-week trip was the chance to see the Queen and other members of the royal family during the Queen's official birthday celebration.

"This was our first trip back since my mother died and I knew it would be tough so I wanted to keep busy," she said. "This time we stayed on our own a bit and got the chance to visit some new places while we were there."

In 1981, Hazel gained her U.S. citizenship. Admitting that she really hadn't thought it was that big of a deal up until their children started school.

"A school bond issue was going to be on the ballot and I found out I couldn't vote," she said. "That's when I decided that if my daughters were going to go to school here, then I needed to be able to vote."

The whole process took about one year from start to finish.

Despite having lived, worked and paid taxes in the U.S., that was not enough to make her a U.S. citizen.

Hazel and Mike married in England in 1967 during his tenure with the U.S. Air Force. After leaving the military, the couple moved to the United States in 1968 where they would raise their daughters and live for many years to come.