Wayne Smith: Buckie man finds family with DNA after 80 years

A Buckie man, who was told his parents died in a car crash, has found his family after a 70-year search.

Wayne Jason Smith was always told his mother abandoned him as a baby.

In his childhood spent in Buckie, he was brought up by various strict foster families where he faced physical and mental abuse.

Wayne also worked in a number of careers including farm work, scaffolding, steel construction and military service.

Years later, when he was applying for his disability blue badge at the age of 78, Wayne was shown false medical records that said his parents died in a car crash.

Disbelieving this and desperate for answers, and with the help of his ex-sister-in-law Kathryn Pearson, he took a DNA test.

Wayne said the results were “incredible.”

Wayne Jason Smith has finally found his family.

Sibling surprise for Wayne after DNA bombshell

One morning, in early 2024, Kathryn woke Wayne up and said: “I’ve got a big surprise.

“Did you know you’re a big brother and you’ve got four sisters?”

Wayne Jason Smith was born on May 17, 1944 in Seafield Hospital.

The Buckie-born man, unbeknownst to him, was taken away from his mother by the Welfare Office due to the stigma of being unmarried.

However, he was told a different story and was always told that his mother gave him up.

He then grew up in foster care and lived with several families throughout his childhood.

Here, Wayne says he would face verbal and physical abuse – even being starved and having to fend for himself in the wild by guddling salmon.

Despite efforts to find his mother when he was younger, like going to the Welfare Office at age 13 and asking about her, he was slapped in the face by a worker.

Wayne with his wife at the time Karen, as well as her sister Kathryn.

He attended Rothiemay Primary, and later Buckie High School but would leave at the age of 14 due to bullying and a lack of support.

He went on to do farm work – though, would then become a sergeant in the military.

“In their eyes I was the perfect soldier,” Wayne said.

“I had no one to go home to.”

Wayne then worked in scaffolding and steel construction, where he would eventually move to Norwich.

There, he met his ex-wife Karen and the pair welcomed their son Mark into the family.

Buckie file reveals Wayne Smith’s mother tried to get in touch

In the late 90s, on a trip to Buckie with Karen and her sister Kathryn, they went to the Welfare Office in Buckie and asked about his mother.

They found a file in the cupboard which revealed his mother, who was called Jane Smith, had been trying to get a hold of him for years.

It also revealed she was a skivvy who had lived in Banff for all her life, and his dad who was called Richard Lines was a Canadian officer who passed away in the Second World War.

Wayne also discovered he served in the same regiment as his father.

However, they also discovered that his mother only passed away years prior to them discovering the information.

Jane Smith sadly passed away in 1991 from cancer at the age of 81.

Although Wayne and Karen later went their separate ways, the pair and sister-in-law Kathryn remain close.

DNA test changed Wayne’s life

In late 2023, Wayne was trying to apply for his disability blue badge but needed a form of identification.

He received a medical report from his doctor which contained information that his parents died in a road traffic accident.

In disbelief, and aided by Kathryn, he did a DNA test.

When he received the results, he found out that he had a niece called Louisa who took the test a year prior.

He found out from her that he had four younger half-sisters and that his mother never voluntarily gave him up.

Wayne said: “It was a blooming shock.

“It took me a while to get over it – it’s incredible.

“It’s changed my life.”

Buckie man’s family ‘always knew and searched’ for him

Through this, he discovered that Louisa knew his mother Jane Smith very well as she raised Louisa.

Speaking to the Press and Journal, Louisa, who now lives in Birmingham but grew up in Banff, said: “We always knew about him.

“My grandma would always talk about him – especially at Christmas and birthdays. She’d talk about how he looked as a baby. And she’d get upset and cry for him.

“We always knew he was a part of our family.

“She was never told where he was or if he was even alive.

“She really did try to see if she could find him but she never ever got to.”

Wayne Smith looked like ‘his mother’s double’

When Louisa first received a message from Kathryn, she was hesitant to respond as she didn’t know anyone called Wayne.

“But then I asked her to send a picture of him.

“He was my grandma’s double. He looked identical to my grandma.”

“She would always tell me that she had a son, and she lived on a farm and he was taken away from her,” she added.

“It’s really nice to know that we’ve got Wayne back.

“He was always a part of my childhood because my nan would constantly talk about him.”

Wayne’s name was originally William John on his birth certificate, instead of Wayne Jason, which they think could’ve been why his mother couldn’t find him.