A FAMILY braved jumping out of a plane from 14,000ft on Saturday in memory of ‘loving and caring’ son, brother and friend Harry Horton-Walsh who died aged just 19.
Harry took his own life in August 2019 just weeks after returning from a family holiday in Croatia.
His mum Sarah, who works at Coventry University, was among 21 family and friends to brave the tandem skydive, which has raised over £4,500.
Cash raised from the skydive will go to PAPYRUS, a charity working to prevent suicide among young people.
Sarah was working in clearing at Coventry University when she got the devastating phone call from her husband Graham.
“It was completely out of the blue – we were devastated. There are some things that you can’t explain.
“But the ripple is massive and we kept in touch with his friends, those from school, and they kept in touch with us.
“I think we were a comfort for them and them for us.”
Sarah hopes her skydive will help others to have difficult conversations that could one day save their life.
Harry’s loved ones hold events in his honour every year around his birthday in August, including a charity football match, a black-tie event, a picnic in the park and a huge party for his 21st.
Sarah described Harry as an engineering apprentice with a bright future and a loving brother to his younger sister Emily and two half-siblings.
“Harry has always been very caring and he died we had so many people tell us how much he helped them.
“One lad told us that Harry took him to the gym regularly and that helped him and an elderly chap across the road said how Harry would stop and chat with him while out walking the dog for 30 minutes.
“People who are suffering in silence are often very helpful to others as they recognise the signs.
“Sometimes we try to broach the subject of suicide and people feel quite anxious around it – they don’t want to hurt you and hurt your feelings.
“This is about using Harry’s story to talk about other people’s stories so that they don’t feel fear about having those conversations.”
Visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/sarahh-w2 to donate to the skydive.
