manchesterwired
Wales
Millionaire quiz winner Dawn Harkins reunites with son
Published: 14th Aug 2012 08:24:25
A mother has described being reunited with the son she had to give up for adoption 45 years ago as "amazing".
Dawn Harkins, 61, from Anglesey, went to Brisbane, Australia, to meet son, Glyn, after her daughter was able to track him down.
Mrs Harkins funded the trip after winning £75,000 on TV quiz show, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? in July.
She said was glad she had got the chance to meet her son and he agreed that it was "fantastic".
"I'm so glad I got the chance to meet Glyn and to give him a great big hug," she said.
It was just before my birthday and she said 'happy birthday mum, I've found him”
Mrs Harkins was 15 when she gave birth. She spent six weeks with her baby, saying it was "a taboo" to be a single woman with an illegitimate child in the 1960s.
Her parents gave their permission for her son to be adopted.
"I had no say on it at the time. I was just 15 and in 1967 you didn't have an option," she said.
The grandmother-of-six went on to marry and have two other children but never forgot her first born so daughter Samantha, 41, began searching for Glyn using adoption forms.
He had been adopted by a family from Manchester and emigrated to Australia as a teenager.
"I can't begin to tell you how I felt when Sami told me she'd track him down," said Ms Harkins.
"When she told me she had found him, I just couldn't believe it.
"It was just before my birthday and she said 'happy birthday mum, I've found him."
It is fantastic to be with my mother after all those years. I'm so glad she got those questions right”
Mrs Harkins had named her baby Keith - but he was renamed by his new family.
"My children have always known they had a brother and Samantha decided to track him down. It took three months but eventually she found him," she said.
"I was worried that we might face rejection but, fortunately, he wanted to get to know us too.
"But going on Millionaire made it possible for me to go down to Australia to see him for the first time since he was a six-week-old tot."
She flew out to Australia with daughter Samantha and son Brian, 40, and they met with Glyn and his wife Alison and their two daughters Jessica, 15, and Natalie, 14.
Glyn, who runs a flooring company in Brisbane, said: "It is fantastic to be with my mother after all those years. I'm so glad she got those questions right."
Harvard Citation
BBC News, 2012. Millionaire quiz winner Dawn Harkins reunites with son. [Online] (Updated 14 Aug 2012)Available at: http://www.manchesterwired.co.uk/news.php/1446046-Millionaire-quiz-winner-Dawn-Harkins-reunites-with-son [Accessed 17th May 2013]
Latest News
-
At 20:05:39 in Other
Jade Anderson death: New dog laws 'will not prevent tragedies'
Proposals to tighten the law governing dangerous dogs will not prevent further tragedies like the death of 14-year-old Jade Anderson, an MP ... -
At 19:49:09 in Other
Manchester's The Cartwright Group creates 300 new jobs
Three hundred new jobs are being created at a Greater Manchester manufacturing firm. ... -
At 13:29:23 in Other
Baha Mousa book and Marie Colvin honoured by Orwell Prize
The £3,000 Orwell Book Prize for political writing has been won by AT Williams for his book A Very British Killing: The Death of Baha Mousa.... -
At 13:25:39 in Other
Peel Energy Trafford incinerator plan gets go-ahead
A £70m biomass incinerator will be built in Greater Manchester despite residents' health fears.... -
At 13:25:11 in Other
Jobs saved at collapsed mining firm Aardvark
More than 230 coal jobs have been saved after an energy and waste services group bought parts of collapsed surface mining firm Aardvark (TMC... -
At 11:30:09 in Other
Bradford teenager arrested on suspicion of raping boy
A 14-year-old youth has been arrested in Bradford on suspicion of raping a six year-old boy.... -
At 07:54:41 in Other
Woman rescued after Strines river fall
A woman who was washed downstream after falling into a river in Greater Manchester has been rescued by the emergency services.... -
At 07:24:40 in Other
Arrests in Greater Manchester mephedrone drug ring raids
Twelve people have been arrested after raids in Greater Manchester by officers investigating a £3.8m internet-based drugs ring.... -
At 06:40:10 in Other
Oxford rape and trafficking: Two sides of the city
To many, the picture postcard city of Oxford is all about its universities, ancient cobbled streets and dreaming spires.... -
At 04:26:13 in Other
New dangerous dogs laws do not go far enough, say MPs
Tougher laws to tackle the threat of dangerous dogs and irresponsible owners do not go far enough, MPs have said....
News In Other Categories
-
Hi-de-Hi! actor Paul Shane dies
Paul Shane, the actor famous for starring in the 1980s BBC sitcom Hi-de-Hi!, has died, his agent has confirmed.... -
Invasive ladybirds wage 'biological war' on natives
German researchers have discovered the biological keys to the success of an invasive species, wreaking havoc across Europe and the US... -
Brentford fans in play-off final 'cash scam'
A number of Brentford fans say they have had money fraudulently withdrawn from their bank accounts after buying tickets for the upcoming pla... -
Social workers' fears over care system changes
Social workers warn changes being brought in to speed up adoption and the family courts might be bad for the welfare of some children.... -
Disability benefit assessments 'unfair', says ex-worker
A doctor who worked for the private company which assesses people for disability benefits says its methods are "unfair".... -
Hi-de-Hi! actor Paul Shane dies
Paul Shane, the actor famous for starring in the 1980s BBC sitcom Hi-de-Hi!, has died, his agent has confirmed....



