Tooting father hopes to find long-lost son he hasn’t seen in 14 years

BY SAM WALKER
toby@slpmedia.co.uk

A father is looking to get back in touch with his son, who he has not seen for 14 years.

Martin Wagner, a probation officer of Price Close, Tooting is looking for his estranged son, George, who was last known to be living in Brixton.

For a brief time, Martin’s limited contact with his son was through a ‘contact centre’, where social workers were present.

It was a tough time for Martin and his ex-wife, who said that the visits were making their son ill – this led to Martin’s contact with his son breaking down.

He was near bankruptcy after going through the family court and divorce court, and was told to stop seeing his son in the hope that he would get in touch when he turned 16.

For a while Martin wrote letters to George, but he never actually sent them.

He said: “This was more therapy for me than anything else.

“I thought I would save them and give them to him one day, but the habit petered out.

“I’ve kept a pair of his old shoes and a couple of his toys as mementos.”

Despite not being able to stay in touch with his son, Martin still financially supported him.

When his son would have been 19, Martin was contacted by the child support agency stating that they would no longer be accepting payments from him.

Martin said: “I would like to have a relationship with my son but I accept that might not be what he wants. I know I was quite headstrong and did not get on with my father when I was 19.

“I am very fortunate to have met someone else, but there is still of course an empty part of me wondering what became of that wonderful boy I knew who is now a man.”

The complications with his home-life led to Martin having a breakdown and walking out of a successful job in film and television.

He said that due to working long hours, he was neglecting his marriage.

Martin’s ex-wife was training to be a nurse at St George’s in Tooting in 2005.