Young siblings remembered at Stafford house fire memorial service
Family and friends of four young children who died in a house fire in Stafford gathered to pay their respects at an emotional memorial service.
Hundreds of mourners from the Highfields community and beyond attended the poignant service at St Mary’s Collegiate Church on Thursday, all wearing brightly coloured clothes and holding a cuddly toy as requested by the family.
WATCH: Young siblings remembered in emotional service
There were tears, but also plenty of smiles, as the hour-long service featured tributes to the children – Riley, Keegan, Tilly and Olly – from their teachers as well as singing and prayers by pupils at their schools, Marshlands Primary and Castlechurch Primary.
Members of the police and ambulance service attended as did the mayor and mayoress of Stafford.
The Rev Philip Sowerbutts opened the service.
He said: “The last few weeks have been difficult for all of us as we’ve had to come to terms with this tragedy; the children’s family, their teachers, their friends and classmates, the close-knit community of Highfields, the whole town of Stafford, the emergency services and so many more to numerous to mention. So we felt it right to gather together as a town.”
Mr Sowerbutts conducted the funeral of the children earlier this month. He added: “Having done the funeral it was one of the hardest I’ve ever done in my life. It was a heart-breaking service.
“You see this kind of tragedy on the news and you think how awful, but you never expect it to actually happen in your own community.
“I spoke to the family earlier today and I told them when funny things are said about the children you need to be able to smile, to laugh.”
Riley Holt, aged eight, Tilly Rose Unitt, four, and three-year-old Olly Unitt all attended Castlechurch Primary and nursery.
Headteacher Nicola Glover said: “Olly was a quiet boy who was always happy to come to nursery.
"You knew if he was enjoying an activity as Olly would poke his little tongue out in deep concentration.
“Tilly loved to dress up and was always drawn to the sparkly princess dresses – this was obviously an ambition, as when the children arrived Mum would be pushing the pushchair and Tilly would sit on the hood waving at everyone – just like the Queen.
“Riley was a happy boy who loved school and was enthusiastic about every aspect of school life – whether this was singing, dancing or playing with his friends.”
Headteacher of Marshlands Primary, Kim Ellis, paid a special tribute to six-year-old pupil Keegan Unitt.
She said: “Although Keegan had only been with us for a short period of time he touched the hearts of everyone who came into contact with his endearing smile. He was polite – always saying please and thank you.”
Stafford resident Stephen Glover gave a message of thanks to the community on behalf of the family at the service.
Before it took place, he said: “Today is a celebration of their lives, the family wanted to give something back to the community as the funeral was only for close family and friends. The family has good days and very bad days, it’s up and down all the time.
“Everyone was so busy organising the funeral after it happened, now things are slowing down it’s getting harder for them.
“The idea of this event is to start the healing process for the community.
“I started the fundraising page online. A lot of the physical donations that were given have been and are being used at the moment.
“It got to the point we had to ask people to stop donating items and take stock.”
Mr Glover also gave a statement on behalf of the family which said: “This has been an extremely difficult period of time and will be for months and years to come. Their sad loss is something we will never get over and all four children will be incredibly missed by our family.”
The four siblings died in the fire at their home in Highfields on February 5.
