A PENSIONER has described seeing his mum for the first time at the age of 69 as, "a dream come true."
Our sister title The Evening Times issued a public appeal in December to help Davie Garrity trace a photograph of the mum he never knew.
The 69-year-old was taken into care at 14 months in the Glasgow area and was desperate to know what his late mother, Elizabeth Ramsey looked like.
He was told from a very early age that he was abandoned by his mum, who worked as a bus conductor in Glasgow in the 1930s and 40s.
But it was only after tracking down his care records a few years ago he discovered that his mum - who was known as 'Aunty Betty' by friends and family had looked after him until he was 14 months old.
It was only following a period of ill health for Davie, that the single mum took the heart-breaking decision to put him into care.
In later life Davie , who is from Glenrothes, applied for copies of his care records and was both delighted and devastated to find out his mum had also made several attempts to visit him in care and get access to him, but these had all been denied.
He started to look for his mum but received the sad news that she had passed away in 1978. His next step was to find out what she looked like, and the search for photos began.
Now, family members have come forward with photographs including a treasured picture of his mum holding him as a baby.
He said: "I never thought that I would see this day, I am so happy.
"Seeing what my mum looked like has been a dream come true. There are even photos of us together, which is amazing.
Davie's mum lived with her parents William Turnbull, a butcher, and Isabella Turnbull in the Linwood area.
She married Thomas Garrity, a motor mechanic, at St Margaret's Chapel, Stanley Street, Glasgow on 7 October 1939.
However, she later married James Ramsey a general labourer at Maxwell Church in Glasgow on December 30 1954 and the couple lived on Paisley Road West.
She worked as a bus conductress for Glasgow Corporation buses in the 1930s and 1940s before going on to work in a bond warehouse store.
She spent the majority of her life living in the Linwood and Paisley areas, however also spent time staying with friends at various places with in the North and West of Glasgow during the 1950s, particularly the Scotstoun area.
Davie was helped to find pictures of his mum by Future Pathways, which offers support to people who have been in care.
Flora Henderson, Head of Future Pathways, said: "I am absolutely over the moon for Davie, this is a wonderful, heart-warming story and I am so pleased that Future Pathways has been able to help him to reach his goal.
"We aim to provide tailored support to help survivors of abuse or neglect lead full, healthy and independent lives. Although over 600 survivors have already registered with us, we know there are many, many more people out there who have had similar experiences and who could really benefit from our help and support.