Home Podcasts The Cruelty

The Cruelty

BBC Radio Scotland 19 Episodes Sep 28, 2022

In 2021, Davie Donaldson investigated the mystery of the Unknown Bairn, a young boy found dead on a Scottish beach. After speaking with Scottish Travellers about children forcibly removed from their families, he delves into whether these actions were sanctioned by church and state. The investigation leads him back to the original mystery, uncovering a long-hidden truth.

Episodes

1. The Memorial Sep 28, 2022 1079 Davie Donaldson begins his investigation into the case of the Unknown Bairn. At the memorial service he hears about a lead which has never been followed up.Presenter: Davie Donaldson Producer: Kate Bissell, BBC Scotland Productions. Researchers: Rachael Fulton and Catrina RoseAdditional reporting: Cameron Mackay Story consultants: Jack Kibble White and Kirsty Williams Sound Designer: Julian Co

2. The Couple on the Bus Sep 28, 2022 1383 Davie meets a former detective who worked on the case, but has since made claims in the press about the identity of the Unknown Bairn.Presenter: Davie Donaldson Producer: Kate Bissell, BBC Scotland Productions. Researchers: Rachael Fulton and Catrina RoseAdditional reporting: Cameron Mackay Story consultants: Jack Kibble White and Kirsty Williams Sound Designer: Julian Corrie Music : Julian Cor

3. Lucky Scalp Sep 28, 2022 1538 No one knew where The Unknown Bairn washed in from. Did he come from out of the sea, perhaps as far afield as the Netherlands or did he enter the water upstream in the River Tay.Presenter: Davie Donaldson Producer: Kate Bissell, BBC Scotland Productions. Researchers: Rachael Fulton and Catrina RoseAdditional reporting: Cameron Mackay Story consultants: Jack Kibble White and Kirsty Williams Soun

4. The Cruelty Sep 28, 2022 2115 In trying to work out how a child could remain unclaimed, Davie is forced to consider his father’s childhood and how it could be connected to the case.Presenter: Davie Donaldson Producer: Kate Bissell, BBC Scotland Productions. Researchers: Rachael Fulton and Catrina RoseAdditional reporting: Cameron Mackay Story consultants: Jack Kibble White and Kirsty Williams Sound Designer: Julian Corrie M

5. The Experiments Sep 28, 2022 2745 Davie discovers the story of a little girl, possibly murdered in care, and is forced to question whether the Unknown Bairn could have met a similar fate.Presenter: Davie Donaldson Producer: Kate Bissell, BBC Scotland Productions. Researchers: Rachael Fulton and Catrina RoseAdditional reporting: Cameron Mackay Story consultants: Jack Kibble White and Kirsty Williams Sound Designer: Julian Corrie

6. The Boy on the Bike Sep 28, 2022 1555 The case suddenly starts to speed up, as new information is forthcoming. However, these breakthroughs lead Davie to look again at information already received.Presenter: Davie Donaldson Producer: Kate Bissell, BBC Scotland Productions. Researchers: Rachael Fulton and Catrina RoseAdditional reporting: Cameron Mackay Story consultants: Jack Kibble White and Kirsty Williams Sound Designer: Julian

7. The Camp Sep 28, 2022 1526 Tracking down the camp where the Unknown Bairn may have lived brings Davie even closer to the story and offers up a potential new lead.Presenter: Davie Donaldson Producer: Kate Bissell, BBC Scotland Productions. Researchers: Rachael Fulton and Catrina RoseAdditional reporting: Cameron Mackay Story consultants: Jack Kibble White and Kirsty Williams Sound Designer: Julian Corrie Music : Julian Co

8. The Mother Sep 28, 2022 1141 After receiving a flurry of messages, Davie arrive at the doorstep of someone who might just hold the key to the whole investigation.Presenter: Davie Donaldson Producer: Kate Bissell, BBC Scotland Productions. Researchers: Rachael Fulton and Catrina RoseAdditional reporting: Cameron Mackay Story consultants: Jack Kibble White and Kirsty Williams Sound Designer: Julian Corrie Music : Julian Corr

9. The Wee Boy Sep 28, 2022 1851 In Tayport Cemetery on the 51st anniversary of the discovery of the Unknown Bairn, Davie meets again with the Robertson family.Presenter: Davie Donaldson Producer: Kate Bissell, BBC Scotland Productions. Researchers: Rachael Fulton and Catrina RoseAdditional reporting: Cameron Mackay Story consultants: Jack Kibble White and Kirsty Williams Sound Designer: Julian Corrie Music : Julian Corrie wit

1. Truth and Half Truths May 30, 2025 2221 The Unknown Bairn’s siblings tell Davie frightening stories that motivate him to look into the disappearance - and forced removal - of Traveller children. And as yet more Travellers come forward, Davie starts to question the scale of the state’s historic intervention into the lives of Traveller families in Scotland.

2. Fear and Sacrifice Jun 6, 2025 2211 Suspicion falls on William Webb, a Chaplain from The Church of Scotland. His “Cruelty Van” would arrive at Scottish Traveller camps and take children from their families. Then, Davie’s trip to Leeds turns up clear evidence of the actors involved in the forced removal of Scottish Travellers.

3. Finland Jun 13, 2025 1824 In Helsinki, Davie meets former members of a Roma children’s home once visited by William Webb. He discovers the forced assimilation of Roma and Travellers in Finland mirrors much of what happened to Scottish Travellers. Then, in the course of his investigation, Davie uncovers a frightening secret, buried in Scotland’s past.

4. Paper Children Jun 20, 2025 1517 Rosanne McPhee’s dad joked about volunteering to be measured by a Nazi racial scientist because he knew each time his head was measured he would receive a shilling. Davie discovers this was just a part of a wider Nazi Eugenic Policy, which lead to the murder of millions of Roma in the Nazi death and concentration camps.

5. Cutting the Roots Jun 27, 2025 1747 Bella is a young Scottish Traveller. Through the generations, her family has been broken apart by social services. She explains to Davie how she’s fought to keep her daughter from being taken into care and, in the process, been forced to cut herself off from her Traveller culture.

6. Alexander and Sandy Jul 4, 2025 2549 Davie receives a text message that changes so much of what he thought he knew about the Unknown Bairn and the boy he believed him to be. As a new investigation gets underway, a different story emerges.

7. Strathmartine Jul 11, 2025 2112 Davie visits Strathmartine Hospital, a now derelict facility, where removed Traveller and non -Traveller children were sent and often never left. Davie needs to find out: what went on behind those walls?

8. Truth in the Shadows Jul 18, 2025 1956 Davie returns to the Unknown Bairn’s grave to address unfinished business with the family who found the boy’s body. And does a leaked report commissioned by the Scottish Government, offer hope of some form of restitution for the failures of church and state?Presenter: Davie Donaldson Producer: Kate Bissell Research: Kate Bissell and Emily Essen Story Consultants: Jack Kibble White and Kirsty W

Introducing The Cruelty – A Child Unclaimed Sep 21, 2022 254 There’ve been many theories, but the case remains unsolved. Davie explores a controversial 20th-century social experiment and confronts a shocking reality that hits close to home.

Introducing - The Cruelty - Stolen Generations May 23, 2025 193 In 2021, Davie Donaldson sought to solve the long-standing mystery of the Unknown Bairn, a young boy whose body washed up on a Scottish beach and was never claimed. Since that time, a number of Scottish Travellers have contacted him with stories of children being forcibly removed from their families. This becomes the catalyst for Davie’s investigation into why this happened and whether it was sanc

The Cruelty

Episodes

Recommended