A new podcast series from BBC Scotland will attempt to uncover the truth about the case of “The Unknown Bairn”.
It tells of a young boy whose body washed ashore on Tayport beach in 1971. There was an extensive police investigation with leads from across the UK and the Netherlands, but the body wasn’t identified, and his family were never found.
Presenter and campaigner, Davie Donaldson tries to unravel this 50-year-old mystery in a nine-part series, The Cruelty – A Child Unclaimed.
There have been many theories on how the young boy may have met his fate and who he belonged to, but the case remains unsolved.
During the course of Davie’s investigation, he explores a controversial 20th-century social experiment and has to confront a shocking reality that hits close to home.
Davie says: “Making this podcast has been intense and really challenging. It’s fair to say I came into it with some assumptions, but the investigation I have been on has taken me to places I didn’t expect to go. This is a story with some really incredible twists and heart-stopping moments.”
The series includes contributions from those involved at the time including the family of Ian Robertson, the local postman who found the body and looked after his grave until he died in 2007.
The Cruelty – A Child Unclaimed will be available on BBC Sounds from 28 September.
