More than sixty years ago, Paul Garner was found in the public toilets of a park in Abergavenny at just a few days old and no one could tell where or when he’d been born. As Long Lost Family: Born Without Trace continues on ITV, the team set out to reunite Paul with his birth family. When they eventually do Paul finds out that he is the middle child of five siblings and his 'new' sister shows him photos of her and their siblings on Barry Island. Paul replies: “We could have been on the beach at the same time.”
In tonight's episode (May 24), Paul returned to the toilets in which he was found. “This is where I came to be,” he said as he wondered what the inside of the toilets look like. He describes how he was found, rested up against one of the toilets in a brown paper bag, something he says is “a pretty vulnerable position to be in as a young, little baby”
Paul, who now lives in England, is married and has two daughters. He grew up in South Wales with the Garner family, who adopted him. Paul only discovered that he was a 'foundling' after accessing his adoption file four years ago following a chat with a social worker.
“[The social worker] turned the page and there was a photo and a newspaper clipping with Baby Paul written on the bottom,” he told his wife as he recalled the moment he found out. His wife said: “It must have been the hardest thing” for her husband.
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Looking for answers - Paul launched a radio appeal on Wynne Evans’ BBC Radio show. He hoped that someone would have information regarding his biological family. He told Wynne on the show that he “holds no malice” towards his mother.
Roy Wells, the policeman who discovered baby Paul, came forward following the radio appearance. Chatting to Paul, he told him that he “wasn’t cold” when he was found and didn’t think he’d been there very long. Roy tells him his belief that Paul was deliberately left near a hospital on a busy market day - something which is a great relief to him.
Using DNA, the Long Lost Family team attempt to track down Paul’s family. Talking to the search lead, host Nicky Campbell discovers that the results for Paul have been “distant” but there has been a match. He finds out that Paul has an older sister called Alison, who lives in Wales. Through speaking with Alison, the search lead reveals that Paul also has four siblings - two older and two younger, one of whom has passed away. This confirmed that Paul was the middle sibling. She also tells Nicky that both of Paul’s biological parents have, unfortunately, now passed away but that his siblings are keen to meet him.
When Nicky makes initial contact, the surviving siblings describe their shock at finding out they have a full sibling. Paul’s brother tells him that “times were hard” for the family in the 1960s, offering some idea as to why his mother gave up a child. Paul's sister Alison calls finding her brother, “bitter-sweet,” but she intends to make many more memories with him now.
When Davina tells Paul about his family, he is baffled by the fact that he was left, considering he was the middle child. “It seems kind of funny to be left when I had an older brother and sister and two younger sisters” but he does make peace with it as his parents struggled financially. “It’s really comforting to know all this now. I’m over the moon,” he says as he prepares to meet his siblings.
Paul, desperately searching for answers about his past, heads to meet his brother and sisters. When he arrives at their house, he simply says, “come here”, to his sister Alison and the pair emotionally embrace. “Alright, bro?” he asks his brother before shaking hands for the first time. His brother replies: “I’m sorry, my friend, I’m sorry.” Paul’s brother tells him that his “first reaction was guilt” upon discovering him. He reassures him: “I don’t think that there would have been a day gone by that [our mother] wouldn’t have thought of you.”
“They’ve made me feel welcome into their family,” said Paul after an emotional meet-up. “They’ve made me feel like I belong.” His sisters mutually agreed that it was like “he was always there.” He adds: “I never had contact with them before, but I’ve got them now.” A title card at the end of the episode reveals that Paul is now in regular contact with his siblings.
Read more about the emotional first episode of the series here.
Long Lost Family continues on Wednesday, May 25 at 9pm. Catch Paul's episode on ITV Hub.
