An Angus man has been reunited with his long-lost son for the first time in 41 years thanks to a Brexit debate on social media.
Geoff Bray, 68, from Letham, said he would have taken the regret of not finding his son to the grave if he hadn’t tried to make things right.
Mr Bray’s first wife Ella gave birth to their son Donald after the relationship ended in the early 1970s.
He didn’t know she was pregnant and it was only by chance that he eventually met Donald for the first time in 1975 long after the ink was dry on the couple’s annulment.
Unfortunately, he had to return to his station as a marine engineering artificer on a submarine at Chatham in Kent and circumstances dictated that Mr Bray never saw his former wife or son again.
He spent years tirelessly trying to track him down through various agencies but it was only after setting up a Facebook account earlier this year he finally found Donald after coming across a post by a woman who looked like his ex-wife on a debate about the EU referendum.
Eventually finding other comments and posts, and not being able to hold back any longer, Mr Bray contacted his former wife, who agreed to become a Facebook friend.
Mr Bray said: “She then asked why it had taken me so long to make contact.
“I cited the problem of adoption and the fear of rejection, to which she replied that Donald had not been adopted, merely his name changed and she would inform him of my contact.
“Conversations developed and I learned so much more than I could ever imagine and also that he was fully aware of his parentage and similarly they had made an unsuccessful Facebook search to locate me.
“This was all a big shock to him, but we became Facebook friends, allowing a few words to be swapped before he went on holiday.
“My wife Anne Marie and I eventually met up with Ella and Nigel, her husband, in a local hotel in Wiltshire, shortly after which, a discreet text message summoned my son, his wife and my eight-year-old grandson, to finally unite us after 41 years.”
Mr Bray said he is planning a further visit down south at Easter.
“Had I not found the courage to press a button and ask the question, it would have deprived a son of knowing his father, and a father taking a regret to the grave,” said Mr Bray.
“I had always held hope of a meeting and faith that God would show me the way and give me the courage to make things right.
“I must however extend gratitude to Ella and Nigel, for their help in allowing me to realise this happy ending and also for the way in which they have raised Donald, who has two brothers and a sister.”
Mr Bray later remarried and has two other sons with his wife Anne Marie.
