IT WAS a family birthday party with a difference for Wellington Royal British Legion stalwart Madge Covey - for she hadn't seen her son for 60 years.

Madge, 88, last saw her son, Tony Jones, who was 71 on Thursday, in 1950 before putting him on a boat to Australia where she thought he could have a better life.

Then, after an extraordinary chain of events, they met for an emotional reunion after Tony, the retired boss of a concrete firm, now living on New Zealand, travelled half way round the world to see her.

Madge told the WWN: "He's lovely. We've been trying to piece together the last 60 years, and it will take some time."

See the full story in this week's WWN.