'Gary Gatwick'
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| Photo Steve Hydes |
Back in 1986, at just ten days old, a baby boy, was found by a sales assistant on a shelf, under a sink in a toilet at London Gatwick Airport. Without a name, the baby was nicknamed 'Gary Gatwick' after the airport's teddy bear mascot at the time.
It was a story that touched the nation at the time, the baby was fostered and then adopted which is when he was given the name Steve Hydes. He then grew up with three sisters and enjoyed a wonderful childhood. However, there was always something missing from his life, which was the knowledge of what happened to him in his first 10 days of life. Of why and how he came to be left in that toilet at the UK's second busiest international airport.
For 15 years Steve, now a father of two himself, searched for his birth parents, taking part in television programmes and being interviewed for various newspapers and magazines over the years. He set up a facebook page to help in that search, not only for his birth parents but also for all the answers he naturally had. It was a search that was perhaps made much more difficult due to the location where he was found, an international airport, meant that his biological parents could have come from almost anywhere.
He kept everything that he was found with, including the babygrow he was wearing at the time and the teddy bear given to him by airport staff. Along with a scrapbook of newspaper cuttings from the time he was found, plus dozens of photos.
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| Photo Steve Hydes |
Steve harboured no ill feelings for those that left him in the toilet, saying "It’s the not knowing. Why it happened and things like that I really want to know. - To me it’s just a blank space that everyone else seems to have." he said in an interview with the Sun newspaper.
Steve has carried on the search, on April 9th, he posted on facebook, "Tomorrow marks 33 years since I was left at Gatwick airport. It would be great to find out what day I was born and what happened in them first 10 days."
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| Photo Steve Hydes |
"After 15 years of searching I am happy to confirm that with the very hard work of Genetic Genealogists, CeCe Moore and Helen Riding we have been able to trace and confirm my birth family.
Unfortunately, my birth mum has passed away so I am unable to find out exactly what happened and why.
However I have found my birth father and siblings on both sides, who were all unaware of my existence.
As you can imagine this is quite a sensitive issue to all involved and very new to us all, but I wanted to take this time to thank everyone for their continued support over the years.
The work the Genealogists do is incredible and for years they have worked so hard and it is thanks to them they are solving cases like mine. More people are having their DNA tested every day and I hope this and my story can help raise awareness and prevent other babies from being abandoned.
Thank you to all those who have been involved and have helped with my search. Steve."
Whilst he may not have all the answers, indeed some things may never be known, at least now Steve can shed some light on to his history and biological heritage. We wish his well as he finds out more about his newly found family.
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| Photo Steve Hydes |
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