The Guardian Politics2 Jul 2026
Britain's apology for the scandal of forced adoption can never heal the pain for people like me | David Batty
An estimated 185,000 babies were taken from unmarried mothers in England and Wales between 1949 and 1976. I was one of them After my adoptive father died in November last year, my adoptive siblings found a short story by Enid Blyton among his possessions. The Child Who Was Chosen was read to us as children to explain the circumstances of my adoption. It follows a nice middle-class couple whose domestic bliss is marred by childlessness, prompting them to go to a “very kind lady” who helps them to
