Timothy Welch had a renewed interest in learning about his birth mother. While going through some old photos, the 59-year-old teacher from London discovered a picture of the place where he was born, a church-run mother and baby home outside of the city.
Further research led Timothy to an online group of mothers and children who were born at the home and he reached out to the group’s moderator who advised him to apply for a copy of his original birth certificate. From that, Timothy learned that his mother’s name was June Mary Phelps, and that she’d given him up when she was 18. He was then able to make contact with June’s husband and Timothy’s two half-brothers.
After meeting his brothers, they took him to see June. After almost six decades apart, Timothy was finally able to meet his mother. "It was the first time I was able to see myself in my mother's eyes,” he recalls. “It was emotional but at the same time it felt natural.” Timothy is grateful to have a new family that he can learn more about and he’s finally getting to put together the details of who he is. "Now, I've got brothers so it is interesting to have this extra layer and it's exciting to me,” he says. "I shall be visiting my mother and look forward to getting to know her as time goes on."
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