David Paul Staff
5^th December 1977, David Paul Staff entered this world and made our lives truly happy and at that time the happiest day of our lives. As years passed, everyone who came into contact with him grew to like him, he hadn’t a malicious, vindictive bone in his body.  He was a really lovely person to be with who everyone took to.  He traversed all age groups and as he grew older he developed a sense of humour and what a sense of humour, weird but wonderful, witty and funny.

In August 1994, David went on a school trip which visited Italy, Tunisia, Egypt and lastly Israel. They visited the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem where pilgrims from all around the world put notes, prayers and so on into the cracks of the wall - an ancient tradition that has spanned centuries.  more

Andrew Mark Croxson
Andrew Mark was my first born, a perfect baby in every way. He grew up into a fine young man, a great son, and a wonderful brother to Stephen and Timothy. He loved and enjoyed life to the fullest.

Andrew grew fast and was tall for his age. He experienced a couple of fainting attacks as a teenager. Doctors did not seem to be worried and said this was part of growing up.  He had experienced an unexplained faint only the week before he died and had attended the hospital.

After finishing school Andrew travelled the world for a year, visiting many countries and staying with friends and church leaders. New Zealand was his favourite place, and he spent many months there.  more

James Ross Markham
James seemed to be a fit and health young man. He lived at home, was a music student, and was twenty one years of age when in November 2001 he suddenly dropped dead outside the house. What made his death so baffling was that earlier that year on a family holiday to the Lake District he had seemed so well.  One morning he had cycled around Grizdale Woods on a mountain bike, and in the same afternoon rowed the length of Grasmere Lake.

On the day of his death things had started normally.  He had been to college, had dinner, and in the evening was at home working on his computer.  He had a car that was due to be serviced, and the garage we used was about 400 yards from the house.  He had arranged to drop the car off that evening, and post the keys through the letterbox. He set off at about 11 pm, and shouted out that he would be back in about 15 minutes.  more

Adam Payne
If you are reading this story of our experiences, following the death of our son, then you will fall into one of 3 categories. The first and most important group are those directly affected by such events. The fact that you are reading this if you have recently lost someone is a positive sign as you have begun the process of looking for an answer to this terrible loss.

The second group will be those in the medical profession in whatever capacity that may be. The majority of you may never have come across such a condition as this, so please read on.
 
The third group is everybody else from whatever walk of life you come from. Even if you have wandered onto this site in error, then please stay and read the rest of this...  more

Joe Pearce Willis
Presented here is an edited version of a chapter I wrote for a book a couple of years ago and remembers Joe Pearce Willis, our son.

Edited extract from Fred Pearce’s book "Confessions of an Eco-Sinner" (Eden Project Books, 2008).

Our household survived without a mobile phone for a long time.  Even as a journalist, I have resisted.  The first arrived when our son Joe bought a bog-standard Nokia in 2003.  Always on the look-out for a bargain, he paid £10 at Carphone Warehouse in Clapham Junction.  It did the job. Or it did until – and there is no sensible way of writing this without sharing the family tragedy with you – until his death in 2005.  more

Lisa Shepherd
My name is Michael Shepherd and I’m 53 years old.  I live with my wife Janice, 51, and son Liam, 23, in Bolsover - a small town 6 miles from Chesterfield in Derbyshire.

All was well in our lives until the horror, which came on Friday 19^th May 2006.

Our daughter Lisa, 23, a staff nurse at Chesterfield Royal Hospital was due to take Liam to work as she was off work on holiday.  She was planning an early morning shopping trip to nearby Meadowhall shopping centre in Sheffield with her friend and fellow nurse Tanya, and as she was up early she told her mum to have a lie in and she would take Liam to work.  more

Kieran Formby
It’s now 8 months since, on the eventful evening of 13^th September 2008, we learnt our dearly beloved son Kieran had died and left us.

I am sure that we do not have to tell you how we feel, only that he along with his surviving sister Sinead, they were our very reason and purpose for living and were driving forces in our lives.

In writing this and recalling our circumstances regarding Kieran, we as parents - despite our agony and despair at losing Kieran - must not forget that he was 50% of our lives and that Sinead his sister is alive and with us and is going through her own agonies, concerns and struggles every day and continues to need our love and support.  more

When the phone rang, Beverley answered it and I immediately saw the colour drain from her face, she stared at me with her eyes welling up with tears, and unable to speak she handed me the phone. In the brief few seconds before taking the phone from her I racked my brains for something to prepare me for the bad news obviously coming, but no way in my wildest dreams would I ever have imagined how bad it was really going to be!  more

Claire Dee Shapland

From the day Claire was born there was no mistaking she was a little girl, her sparkling blue eyes and smile would bring warmth to everyone who met her, feminine to the ends of her eye lashes. As Claire grew up in to a young lady her personality was one of embracing the love of her family, considering others and enjoying life.

In February 2005, Claire and I went to see the film 'Ray Charles' as I have always enjoyed his music.  more

Tim’s sudden death occurred on Saturday 17^th May 2008.  He left home with Natalie at 9.45am to play in an end of season 6-a-side match and barbeque.  more

Chris Doyle

We were all shocked and had no warning at all of this, and to lose a 16 year old son was devastating to us all.  more

Thursday 19^th April 2007 will be a day that we as a family will remember forever. April  19^th  every year is special anyway as it is my wife’s birthday. Our daughter Sarah (age 20), who worked in a care home, was on late shift that day and as a result we had celebrated my wife’s birthday the evening before with a family favourite meal of fish and chips.

That day (the 18^th) Sarah had been to the zoo with some of the residents of the care home, and was full of stories about how much both she and the residents had enjoyed the day, and showed us lots of photographs she had taken of them all. My wife and I, Sarah and her elder brother Will (age 22), all round the table laughing and joking and talking about how everyone was getting on, just normal family stuff.  more

Anthony McCarroll

Anthony was born on the 16^th of August 1986, and died on the 20^th of September 2006.

As a boy, Anthony was always smiling and was very quiet. He did well at school, never got into any trouble, got on with his work and always did his homework on time. At home you very rarely saw Anthony because he was always in his bedroom either doing his homework or playing on his Playstation.

This was the case until he left school. His dad got him an Engineering apprenticeship when he left school, at Elmsteel where he was an Operations Manager. He settled in well at work and soon developed into an asset to the company.  more

Laura Hillier

Whenever I think back to Friday 20th June 2003 - which is still most days - I remember the clear blue sky and warm sunshine, and recall thinking "how could such a tragedy strike in a moment on such a lovely summer's day?"

Laura was 21 years and 6 months old.  The detail seems important.  She had just completed her second term of a BA course in Early Childhood Studies at University College Northampton (later to become the University of Northampton).  She loved young children, was a natural with them, and they in turn loved her.  Everybody loved Laura.  She was lively, witty, talkative and energetic, without any streak of malice or unkindness.  more

Jonathan Leigh

Jonathan was coming to the end of his first year as a trainee surveyor at the commercial property consultants King Sturge in Leeds, and without doubt had a bright future. He loved the job and the people with whom he worked. He was a talented sportsman but his main love was soccer.

As a schoolboy he was a member of the highly successful Wakefield Schools’ FA under 11 team in 1995/96, and continued to represent the District through to the final under 15 age group in 1999/2000.  He was a member of Rotherham United’s Academy side and was voted player of the season for his College 1^st XI and for the Castleford & District FA side in 2002.  He made his full debut for Pontefract Collieries 1^st XI in the Northern Counties East League in April 2002.  more

Aaron Lundy

On Saturday, September 18th 1999 my life changed forever.  I received a phone call to come immediately to Coleraine Hospital.  When I arrived I was met by the doctor who told me that my youngest son Aaron was dead. 

Aaron had left home for work at 5am.  He returned at 10am and then went to play a football match.  He never came home.

There are no words to describe the shock and sorrow this had on myself, my wife Ann and our family.  We were told the next day by a doctor that Aaron had a condition called Wolfe Parkinson White Syndrome and that he had been diagnosed when he was 16 years old by our doctor.  more