Memories of family day trips to the seaside are part of the fabric of many of our childhoods.

Eastern Daily Press: Steve Wylie is trying to trace his father Richard Wylie, who he last saw when he was living in Norwich in the 1960s. Picture: submitted by Steve WylieSteve Wylie is trying to trace his father Richard Wylie, who he last saw when he was living in Norwich in the 1960s. Picture: submitted by Steve Wylie (Image: submitted by Steve Wylie)

But for one man who embarked on the search for long-lost relatives, thought to be living in Norwich, these distant memories are all he has of a father he last saw in 1963.

Steve Wylie was born in 1959 in Portsmouth, to parents Audrey Hole and Richard Wylie.

The couple, who married in Southampton in 1958, split up in the early 1960s - and Mr Wylie last saw his father in Norwich, in 1963, when he was just four years old.

But the 60-year-old said he knew the time had come to track down his father while clearing out his 95-year-old mother's house.

Eastern Daily Press: Steve Wylie is trying to trace his father Richard Wylie, who he last saw when he was living in Norwich in the 1960s. Picture: submitted by Steve WylieSteve Wylie is trying to trace his father Richard Wylie, who he last saw when he was living in Norwich in the 1960s. Picture: submitted by Steve Wylie (Image: submitted by Steve Wylie)

"It's been over 60 years since I saw him," Mr Wylie, who now lives in Towbridge, Wiltshire, said.

"It's been nagging and nagging at me - I wanted to pin it down.

"I found the address in Norwich and thought it's about time.

"I know remarkably little about my father and nothing of his life.

"He married my mother and they honeymooned in Dunoon in Scotland where they visited Richard's brother in Edinburgh.

"I know Richard had a younger sister, Isobel Wylie, who by now must be in her 70s or 80s."

He added: "This August I had a few days in Edinburgh with my wife to celebrate my 60th birthday.

"I looked up the Wylie clan tartan and reflected that it really was time to try to reconnect with my lost paternal family.

"It has been a long time, I know, but I would like to try to find out what became of my father - and my children would like to know about their grandfather. I was told that he loved egg and chips."

And Mr Wylie, whose full name is Stephen John Wylie, said while he knew there was a possibility his father may have died, he was keen to track down any relatives who living in the Norwich area.

"If my father remarried I may have half-brothers or sisters with children of their own," he added.

"His father was Thomas Bell Wylie but I don't know his mother's name. I believe they also lived in Norwich in the 1960s."

Mr Wylie believes his father, who served in the Royal Navy on H.M Yacht Britannia, and was chief telegraphist from 1958-61, was born in December 1933, possibly in Lanarkshire, Scotland.

His last known address was 27 Varvel Avenue, in Sprowston.

- Anyone with information should write to Steve Wylie, care of Jessica Frank-Keyes, Eastern Daily Press, Prospect House, Rouen Road, Norwich, NR1 1RE or email jessica.frank-keyes@archant.co.uk