Dave Smith of London grew up in Scotland, not having to share his toys with anyone.

He was an only child. Or, so he thought.

Now, at 68, he knows he’s not alone: A two-decades search for a sibling he never knew existed recently ended with a reunion in Scotland between he and a long-lost brother.

“It was really amazing for me,” Smith said of the call that finally solved the mystery.

“All of a sudden, you’re sitting there, phone rings and you go, ‘You’re kidding.’ It’s kind of like you don’t believe it’s happening.”

When his mother died, Smith went back to Edinburgh to sort out her documents.

There, he discovered a record that would spark a 23-year quest to find his long-lost brother.

The document revealed his mother had kept a secret her whole life. She’d given up a child two years before Smith was born.

“During my lifetime I didn’t know anything about this — I was taken aback,” said Smith, who believes his mother fell in love with an American Second World War submariner who was killed before the baby was born.

Back then, society frowned on single mothers.

“She was taken to a home in Glasgow for unwed mothers and then had the baby and had the adoption took place from there.”

“She was never allowed to keep the baby.”

Smith had a big break after looking through archived birth certificates.

“I spent the whole day going through all the records and I’d almost given up,” he said.

He thought maybe he was barking up the wrong tree. “Then I discovered this birth certificate with my mother’s name and this adopted child.”

He finally had a name: Mike White.

From there Smith placed ads in the newspaper and in grocery stores. He talked to anyone and everyone to see if he could find more information.

Smith also heard about an organization that links adopted children with their family. He signed up and hoped for the best.

After 17 long years, Smith received the call. The organization had found his brother.

Three weeks ago Smith travelled from London to Scotland to meet his brother for the first time.

If she were around today, the brothers say they’d want to tell their mother they don’t blame her for what happened.

“I really think she would be ecstatic because she had this secret all these years. She must have thought about Mike all her life,” said Smith.

After a lifetime, everything fell into place for the brothers.

“It was like we’d known each other all our lives,” said White who grew up with adoptive parents. “I’m really grateful for it.”

emanuela.campanella@sunmedia.ca

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