Adoption

Stories this week...(listener names changed to protect identities)

Glenys made a startling discovery about her family over morning coffee when she was 70 years old. Glenys’ 93-year-old mother placed a photograph in front of her saying “That’s your brother. He was born before your father and I married and my mother made me give him away”. Glenys grew up as a lonely only child and wishes her brother knew how much he is missed.

Anne’s tireless search for her biological father, a French officer serving in the Polish army during WW2, has seemingly come to a dead end. In response to an appeal on Anne’s behalf, Radio 4 audiences are offering their help. Listener Laing Spiers shares his memories of the Polish White Eagle Club in Knightsbridge where Anne’s parents first met in 1942.

Tom was adopted as a baby in 1971. His birth certificate gives his mother’s name but the box for his father’s details is blank. Upon finding a physical description of his father and details of his occupation amongst court papers, Tom imagined that the search for his paternity would be simple, but he was wrong.

John is struggling to find his adopted mother’s biological parents. The search for adopted ancestors from an earlier generation is complicated, as John and genealogist Jeanette King explain.