After 44 Years He Discovers His Birth Mother And Half Sister Lived Nearby

Steve Darling with adoptive mother Penny Darling (left)
and his birth mother Pamela Johnson

Back in 1969 Pamela Johnson, when she was just 17 years old, felt she had to put her three month old baby up for adoption. She explained her reasoning at the time, "In the sixties, if you were an unmarried mother, you didn't really bring a child up on your own. I felt I was really young to be a mum, and I didn't know that I could provide for him properly."

In the 1960s Pam was living in The Midlands (the middle part of England).

The young baby was adopted by Penny Darling and her husband who, at the time, also lived in The Midlands. She remembers collecting her baby, Steve. "He was absolutely sobbing when we went to pick him up. We went outside and got him in the car and he stopped crying. He was the most amazing baby from then on."

Much has happened over the years since the adoption. Steve now lives in Devon, on England's south-west coast and is a Torbay councillor. He also does research for the local Liberal democrat Member of Parliament, Adrian Sanders.

Being a researcher he decided to try and trace his birth mother, Pamela. Much to his surprise he found that she was living at Kingsteignton - just six miles from where he lived.

Mr Darling says he was, "Absolutely flabbergasted. Not only that she was living so near, but also by the number of coincidences. He discovered, for example, that:

His birth mother, Pam, had taught at Coombe Pafford School, which is in his council ward.

He also discovered he had a half-sister living in Upton Road, Torquay - a road he walks along every day to go to work.

Mr Darling said of finding his birth mother, "It's really great - they are both my mums. One of them has cared for me throughout my life. The other is just an excellent person to have in my life now, so it's really good."

Other Similar Coincidences:
After 28 Years She Met Her Unknown Twin In Sweden
More Than Just a Coincidence Reunites A Mother And Daughter
The Adoption Coincidence