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HRH The Duke of Cambridge has been Royal Patron of Child Bereavement UK since 2009. Read more
Julia Samuel is a psychotherapist specialising in grief, who has spent the last twenty-nine years working with bereaved families. She has worked both in private practice and in the NHS at St Mary’s Hospital Paddington where she pioneered the role of maternity and paediatric psychotherapist. In 1994 she helped launch and establish the charity, and, as Founder Patron, continues to play an active role. Julia was awarded an MBE in the 2015 New Year’s Honours list for services to bereaved children. Read more
Emily is a Civil Servant. She was supported by Child Bereavement UK after her second daughter, Abbie, was stillborn in September 2013. Emily has spoken on various occasions, including: on BBC R4 Woman’s Hour; at a City Law Firm’s fundraising panel, gaining their support for Child Bereavement UK; and at an event at 10 Downing St. Read more
Gary Barlow Very sadly, Gary and his wife Dawn’s baby daughter, Poppy, was stillborn on 4th August 2012. Gary and Dawn therefore wanted to support Child Bereavement UK; in October 2015, Gary performed at Banqueting House in London for the charity’s 21st birthday celebration. Read more
Mary has supported many Child Bereavement UK fundraising events over the years and raised money for the charity on BBC2’s Celebrity Cash in the Attic, taking part in BGC’s trading floor fundraiser, as well as reading at our Carol Concerts , hosting afternoon teas and book signings, and featuring in our One More Minute film campaign. Mary has a personal affinity with the charity – her son William died in 1989 at the age of 19. Read more
Daniel became a patron of Child Bereavement UK after seeing how much help, support and comfort they gave his dear friends Eleanor and Jamie Wroath, and their son Samuel, following the tragic death of their precious daughter Miranda in 2008. He saw first-hand what an incredibly important support network Child Bereavement UK provides to people during the most traumatic and devastating events in their lives. Read more
Mike founded and is now non-exec President of the national bed superstore Dreams. Mike is no stranger to bereavement: his father died when Mike was 12, which had a great impact on his young life. In 1999 his elder (and only) brother died. The impact of seeing his nephew and niece grieving and coming to terms with their loss at a very similar age to when Mike and his brother lost their father, brought home many memories and deep emotions. Read more
Lady Dashwood is involved with various local charities and became interested in Child Bereavement UK when she met the founder Jenni Thomas in the early 1990’s, who she thought was inspiring. She has hosted the family day at West Wycombe Park annually at which snowdrops have been planted by families supported by Child Bereavement UK. Lady Dashwood said: "I think Child Bereavement UK is a great charity which deserves our continuing support." Read more
Alexander has been a supporter of Child Bereavement UK since the death of his elder son, George, in April 2000. Since raising the finance in 2001 for the charity to establish a bereavement support post in his native North East of England, Alexander has worked on a number of other projects to raise funds for Child Bereavement UK. Alexander is a solicitor and became a Patron in 2006. Read more
Jon and Simon proudly took over the role of Patrons from their father Barry Albin-Dyer OBE, following his death in 2015. Barry was a staunch supporter of Child Bereavement UK and the company is proud to have Child Bereavement UK as one of its charities. It regularly supports the charity through Albin’s legendary annual Christmas Memorial Service. Read more
Joey Essex starred in TOWIE and has appeared on I'm A Celebrity. His mum died when he was 10 years old. Joey said: It was really hard when my mum died, so I’m very happy to help Child Bereavement UK, so they can support other kids, and parents like my Dad, who are going through what we went through. "It’s a huge honour for me to be able to help raise awareness of Child Bereavement UK and the great work it does. Read more
Sarah Farquhar became involved with Child Bereavement UK after her friend's son was seriously injured in a boating accident, in which his father and sister were tragically killed. Sarah - who has a background in marketing, events and fundraising – was part of a small team that helped to organise the Milligan Bike Ride from Cornwall to London in 2014, raising £500,000 for RNLI and Child Bereavement UK. She has chaired two Opera Holland Park committees in 2016 and 2018. Read more
Marina and Ben live with their two children, Ludo and Iona and dog Storm in West London. After their son Willem was stillborn in 2014, Marina and Ben have talked openly about loss, grief and how to talk to a young family about bereavement. Read more
Camilla has been a supporter of Child Bereavement UK for many years, passionately believing in the accessibility of high quality child bereavement support and training. Following a career in city insurance broker Willis, she was made a trustee of Child Bereavement UK, becoming a Patron at the end of her trustee term in 2018. She understands the need for supportive care following the death of her beloved son Edward at eight years old. She lives in London with her husband Robin Read more
Will became a patron of Child Bereavement UK following the death of his son Freddie. Will said: Being in the winning World Cup team has given me a higher public profile. It is a privilege to be a patron, and it would be a great waste not to do more to speak up for others. It also gives Freddie’s short life more positive meaning. Read more
Deborah has been involved with Child Bereavement UK since its inception in 1994 and has been a patron since 2009. She has been a tireless supporter of the charity working on committees for events and conferences and has been actively involved in all our London Carol Concerts and other major fundraisers over the years. Deborah is also a trained volunteer on our Newham Family Group Programme which provides bereavement support in a group setting for primary aged children and their families. Read more
Sahar Hashemi started her career as a solicitor and went on to build Coffee Republic, the coffee bar chain, and later Skinny Candy, the guilt-free confectionery brand. She has written a bestselling book on entrepreneurship called Anyone Can Do It. Sahar experienced first hand the enormous benefit of bereavement counselling after the death of her beloved mother in 2008, and it was her counsellor who introduced her to the much-needed work of Child Bereavement UK. Read more
Patricia Hodge is an actress whose career spans over forty years of continual involvement in all aspects of the media. She has been nominated for six major awards and holds an Olivier Award 2000 and the Voice of the Year at the Spoken Words Awards 2003. She has honorary doctorates (D.Litt) from Lincoln, Leicester and Brunel Universities, and was made an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours 2017. Read more
Flappy has been a great friend to Child Bereavement UK over the years and has played a pivotal role in many fundraising events including The Private House Polo Challenge and The Mitsubishi Badminton Horse Trials. She has headed up the Christmas Carol Concerts at Holy Trinity, Brompton, and a dinner in 2010 at Windsor Castle attended by Prince William. Flappy’s book A Heartbeat Away is an anthology of writings on the themes of Grief, Bereavement and Loss, and Hope, Humour and Love. Read more
Gina Levett lost her 10-year-old sister, Dee Dee, when she was aged 11. She was deeply affected by her death and therefore has felt an overwhelming desire to help Child Bereavement UK, to support families in bereavement. Gina now works very closely with the charity, volunteering in the Children and Young People’s groups and fundraising. Read more
Operatic Soprano Natasha Marsh is a highly regarded classical recording artist and performer. Her debut album Amour topped the classical album charts in 2007 and was nominated for the Best Album in the Classical BRIT Awards 2008. She has recently performed in Vienna with a series of Opera Classic concerts. Read more
Victoria Milligan’s life was turned upside down in 2013 by a tragic speedboat accident in Cornwall. Her husband, Nic,k and their 8-year-old daughter, Emily, were killed, Victoria had to have her leg amputated below the knee, and the couple’s other children – Amber, then 12, Olivia, 10, and Kit, 4 – were injured. Read more
Sir Michael became a Patron of Child Bereavement UK in 2009. Notably he was the creator and host of Child Bereavement UK’s ‘Ashes Golf Challenge’. This amazing golf tournament featured opposing Ashes cricket captains Ricky Ponting and Andrew Strauss, along with many of their cricketing teammates, battling it out for golfing supremacy. It attracted major media interest and raised over £75,000 for Child Bereavement UK. Read more
Jill first discovered Child Bereavement UK in 1995 when she read an article in a newspaper. As a bereaved mum herself, she was interested in what the charity was doing. Jill had four children but sadly Ellen, one of twins, died at three weeks old as the result of cot death. Jill says: I feel so honoured to be a Patron and will continue to do as much as we can as a family to carry on supporting this wonderful charity and the work they do. Read more
Mark Seldon is a Chartered Accountant with long experience within both the profession and commerce and industry. Since 1991 he has provided independent financial management support to small and medium sized businesses in a variety of different fields, including the charitable sector, the travel industry and both retail and manufacturing sectors. Read more
Matt and Emma Smith were supported by Child Bereavement UK following the death of their 9½ week old daughter, Nyah, in 2012 and subsequent miscarriage of their second daughter, Skye, in 2013. Matt runs the annual Let’s Rock Festivals held in locations across the country, of which Child Bereavement UK is a beneficiary. Emma featured in Child Bereavement UK's One More Minute film campaign to raise awareness of issues facing bereaved parents. Read more
Sylvia saw the positive effect bereavement counselling had on them so, when she was invited to represent the charity, she jumped at the chance. She has also met many people who have benefited from Child Bereavement UK's support through tough times. Sylvia constantly encourages new supporters and recommends the charity to bereaved families, whether they be a parent who has lost a child or the surviving parent of bereaved children. Read more
Alan Titchmarsh, known to millions as a gardener, writer and broadcaster, has supported Child Bereavement UK in a variety of ways over several years and formally announced his Patronage of the charity in 2011. He represented the charity at a dinner at Windsor Castle hosted by HRH Prince William and gave a reading at the Christmas Celebration Concert at Holy Trinity Brompton. He also interviewed fellow Patron, Mary Berry, for a feature in The Telegraph. Read more
Carolyn and Paul were supported by Child Bereavement UK following the tragic death of their 21-month-old daughter Jessica in 2008. Since then, they have become staunch supporters of the charity and have raised thousands of pounds through their fundraising endeavours, including organising charity balls, and completing a variety of challenges, including running the London Marathon, cycling from London to Amsterdam, dog sledding. Read more
In 2011, Jason and his wife Clara’s two-and-a half-year-old daughter Maude died of sepsis. He dedicated his 2015 BAFTA award to her and Jason has actively campaigned to raise awareness of sepsis and its symptoms. Jason featured in Child Bereavement UK's One More Minute awareness campaign and has done a number of media interviews on behalf of the charity. Read more
Ray was invited to become a Patron of Child Bereavement UK in 2009. He and his young family received support from the charity following the sudden death of his wife Tina in 2006. Ray has spent his career in banking and is the Chief Executive of Mitsubishi UFJ Trust International in London. The care and practical tools that Child Bereavement UK provided to him and his family were invaluable. Read more
Louise and Paul became involved with Child Bereavement UK following the death of their beloved two-year-old twins Betsy and William in 2004. They became patrons in 2006 and have continuously supported the charity through a number of fundraising events including organising St George’s Day Clay Pigeon Shoots and Memorial Planting Days for families, and a London-Paris bike ride. They also commissioned ‘Precious Love Rose’ for the charity in memory of their twins. Read more
Katherine found Child Bereavement UK when looking to support her two young children after her husband’s suicide. When the police had left my home, I Googled ‘How do you tell a child their Dad has killed himself?’ I didn’t know where to turn, and Child Bereavement UK was top of the search rankings. Their care and expertise guided me into one of the most difficult conversations I’ve ever had, and they have been there ever since, by my side supporting me, supporting my children. Read more
Antony Worrall Thompson Patrons Child Bereavement UK Read more