Simon Jeffery, abandoned as a baby outside the Railway Tavern in Greenhithe, serches for birth mother

Simon Jeffery was found on October 23 1963 in a wooden corned beef box outside the Railway Tavern, in Cobham Terrace - now a McDonalds restaurant.

The newborn still had his umbilical cord attached and was wrapped in a sheet.

Mr Jeffery, of St Georges Crescent, Gravesend, decided to search for his mother after being reunited for the first time in September with Alan and Peggy Jarvis who found him.

He said: "I had a really good childhood so I never really wanted to find my real parents.

"But now I want to know if I have brothers and sisters. I can't be the only one."

He added: "When I fill in insurance forms they ask if you have any history of heart disease but all I can put is 'unknown'.

"I just want to know who I am. If I don't do it now it will go to my grave."

The Jarvis' wanted to keep Simon but handed him over to police before he was taken to Gravesend Hospital, where he was nicknamed Oliver Twist.

Two days later he was fostered by Kathleen and Ernest Jeffery, who adopted him when he was four.

Mr Jeffery, who always knew he was adopted, found out he had been abandoned aged 11 after discovering newspaper clippings kept by Kathleen.

The father-of-three, said: "I thought 'oh please don't let that baby be me'.

"I didn't ask her about it because I didn't want to hurt her feelings."

"I can't remember my foster mum telling me.

"She must have told me but I didn't understand properly until seeing the clippings."

The lorry driver's birth mother was never found despite a TV appeal and newspaper coverage at the time.

He said: "I used to think 'why?' But as I got older I looked into the 60s and babies used to get sent to Australia. Single mothers weren't common. She probably did the best thing for me.

"I do wonder if she is out there thinking about me."

The pub was close to a shipping dock, which was used by a lot of Scandinavian boats at the time.

Mr Jeffery believes his mother was a local girl who may have met a Scandinavian man who then left the country.

He said: "I'm hoping this will jog someone's memory.

"I would love someone to come forward, it would be brilliant.

"I wouldn't be angry at all. She did the best thing for me. She had her reasons at the time.

"It would just put that missing link together."

Anyone with information about Mr Jeffery's birth parents can call the newsroom on 01689 885 734.

A small world

Mr Jeffery works for LV Transport, in Northfleet, which is the same haulage firm where Mr Jarvis worked for the majority of his career before moving to Suffolk.

Boss Len Fowsler asked Mr Jeffery about his upbringing before realising a retired driver was the person who found him.

He told Mr Jeffery that he still kept in touch with Mr Jarvis, who has Gravesend newspapers delivered to him monthly by the firm.

Mr Jeffery decided to take on the September delivery to surprise Mr and Mrs Jarvis.

He said: "It was quite an emotional thing. Alan said: ' I haven't seen you before'. I said: 'Are you sure, you saw me a long time ago'.

"I could have knocked him down with a feather."