Brexit helps father and son reunite after 41 years

INTERNET: Facebook account led to Angus man meeting Donald again

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 had not 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 did not know she was pregnant and it was only by chance he eventually met Donald for the first time in 1975 – long after the ink was dry on the 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.

It was only after setting up a Facebook account earlier this year that 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.

Mr Bray contacted his former wife, who agreed to become a Facebook friend.

He said: “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.”

Mr Bray later remarried and has two other sons with his wife Anne Marie.

Picture: Steve MacDougall. Geoff Bray with some pictures from his recent reunion with his long-lost son.

From left: Donald, grandson Archie, 8, and Mr Bray.