- Author, Maria Cassidy
- Role, BBC News
Paula Beer was just 17 when she became pregnant.
Afraid to tell her parents, she hid her pregnancy and left her hometown of Bridgend to move to Essex with her aunt.
At seven months pregnant, she decides to give her baby up for adoption.
After giving birth in February 1967, Paula spent only three days with her baby boy before he was taken from her.
Paula was working in a grocery store when she found out she was pregnant.
She said: “I was very young at the time and I was afraid to tell my parents.
“It was a different time and the shame was terrible. I didn’t tell anyone, I kept it a secret for as long as I could.”
Paula decided to visit her Aunt Ethel and told her the news about a month after arriving, meaning she was eight months pregnant before she saw a doctor.
“It took me a month to tell her, but she was very supportive,” she told BBC News.
After giving birth, Paula named her baby boy Paul.
“I talked to him every day. I thought if I kept talking to you, telling him ‘I loved him’ every day, he would remember my voice,” she said.
“The doctors and the adoption agency handled the situation very well. I wanted my baby to be placed with a wealthy and professional family so that he could enjoy all the benefits of life.
“I wanted the family to be religious and for there to be other adopted children who would find a family.”
Paula’s baby stayed in foster care for a few weeks before being taken to her adoptive family.
“I went to the house and a lovely lady with a kind face opened the door and invited me in.
“She showed me her room and told me I could spend as much time there as I wanted to say goodbye. She said when I left I should slam the door so she would know I was gone and she would go see him.
“I hugged him and kissed him, over and over again. I couldn’t leave him. It felt like I was there all day.”
“So I pulled away from him and as I was leaving I slammed the door as hard as I could because I didn’t want him to be left alone,” she recalls.
Two years later, Paula married and had a daughter. She had a successful career as a professional home economist.
But she still thought about her little boy, where he was and whether she would ever meet him. So she decided to contact the ITV programme, Long Lost Family.
The team spent a week at her home in Bridgend following her life as she told her story.
“One day we were filming, Davina [McCall] I was sitting on my couch and she said, “Paula, we found your son.”
“I couldn’t believe it. I cried so much they had to stop filming,” she said.
Paul’s name had been changed to Jim Tiltman and he was living in Somerset. Jim learned about the search after receiving a letter.
“The letter said that a lady called Paula had lost contact with a long-lost relative. I was surprised because I knew my name was Paul before I was adopted.
“I thought it might be a sister, but I was shocked when I found out my mother was trying to contact me,” he said.
A few days later, Paula saw her baby for the first time in 50 years.
“I was so excited. When I walked into the room, he came up to me and gave me a hug,” she said.
“He then called me mom. I couldn’t believe it, he called me mom. He held my hand the whole time of that meeting.”
Jim’s adoptive family had passed away and he says he never thought he would meet his birth mother.
“I can’t explain the connection I had with her when we held hands. I can’t believe it. I have a mother,” he said.
Paula, now 75, and Jim, 57, now speak every day and have enjoyed getting to know each other.
“He had a wonderful life and they [Jim’s adoptive family] “They did their best. He’s everything I wanted in a son,” Paula said.
“After losing my adoptive family and now having my mother back, I can’t believe it. I’m really looking forward to spending time together and watching our relationship grow,” Jim said.