James was a student of mine, and an absolutely delightful boy who had to endure a huge amount in his short life. On October 24th 2011, he died as a result of the brain tumour that he had battled over several years. He was 12 years old.

 

James loved his family, his chocolate labradors, all vehicles (he was a remarkable driver, Top Gear obsessive and proud owner of a Kubota), DT and Lego. He had a superb, dry sense of humour, a keen intelligence and he played the violin beautifully. He was also never far from a nice mug of tea.

 

When he was 7, James was diagnosed with a medulloblastoma, a form of brain tumour that though rare, is the commonest form of childhood cancer. Despite being in such great need of help himself, he was also determined to help other children experiencing the same condition and its gruelling treatment - this Trust therefore aims not just to remember James, but to enact his own sense of charity. James helped out at University College Hospital by volunteering to work on a booklet to explain to other children how to deal with radiotherapy and the first objective of the Trust will be to fund clinical research and patient support projects that are closely connected to James and his treatment.

In the United States, the masks that children have to wear when undergoing radiotherapy are made into Superheros to try to bring some fun to a time- intensive and difficult treatment. The Trust would like to fund the masks at UCH for children undergoing radiotherapy there and the initial donations will be targeted at providing that opportunity to children as soon as possible.

 

My achievement is tiny but the cause is a great one, so I am hoping that many of you will be able to give a small amount.