Two communities in mourning as Wales sends ‘love and strength’ to families of four boys killed in crash
Vigils have been held in Wales and England after the tragic loss of four teenage friends in a crash. The bodies of Jevon Hirst, Harvey Owen, Wilf Fitchett and Hugo Morris were recovered from a silver Ford Fiesta in Gwynedd[1] on Tuesday. They had set out on a camping trip but will never make it home[2].
On Wednesday morning, a small but poignant service of remembrance involving around 50 people was held in the village of Garreg for the four students. People also gathered around 70 miles away in Shrewsbury, the area the boys were from. In Garreg, Rev Roland Barnes, vicar of Penrhyndeudraeth, held the service and said it may be fitting for a memorial to be erected in their memory in the future.
He told North Wales Live[3]: “It’s a feeling of shock and sadness in the community. You don’t expect anything like this to happen. About 50 residents were at the service.”
Floral tributes have been left in Garreg along with a small photo remembering the teenagers. One anonymous message says: “With deepest sympathy. I did not know you but I will never forget you.
God Bless.” Another reads: “May God keep you in his care. Sending love and strength to all family and friends.
Our thoughts are with you xxxx From the Fletcher family.” A third person wrote: “We pray for the four fine, young boys so tragically killed here in beautiful Wales. May their spirits soar joyfully in the winds of freedom, floating amongst Moelwyns and Cnicht.
Peace eternal. Amen. Condolences to the families from members of Holy Trinity Church, Penrhyndeudraeth and the surrounding areas.
God Bless.”
The community of Garreg come together to hold a vigil in memory of the four teenagers (Image: Rowan Griffiths / Daily Mirror)
In Shrewsbury, the stage had been set for the town’s Christmas[6] lights switch-on, an event that draws thousands of people. Instead, crowds of grieving students gathered to pay tribute to their friends, with the switch-on cancelled and the start of what was to be late-night shopping delayed for a week. Students also laid flowers at their Shrewsbury College campus, with messages of “love you” and “rest in peace” written on stone stairs.
At Shrewsbury Abbey, dozens of students have lit candles in the church. Steve Swindon, church administrator, told the BBC[7] he watched as nine boys stood in silence at the altar after laying flowers, saying: “What they are experiencing is hard to contemplate. It doesn’t matter if you have a faith, it is about humanity.”
Rev Roland Barnes, the Vicar of Penrhyndeudraeth pictured in red coat, brought the community of Garreg together to hold a vigil in memory of the four teenagers (Image: Rowan Griffiths / Daily Mirror)
Jevon Hirst, Harvey Owen, Wilf Fitchett and Hugo Morris died when their car left the road while they were on a camping trip in Wales
The deaths of the four boys comes just weeks after two other college students died, the BBC reports.
Alfie McCormick, 18, took his own life in October and Ben Worrall, 17, was killed in a road accident two days later. A search was launched after the four boys failed to return home from an overnight camping trip to Eryri. North Wales Police[8] said the bodies were found inside their overturned car which left the A4085 at Garreg, near Tremadog, and was partially submerged in water. Crystal Owen, Harvey Owen’s mother, said that “nothing will make this nightmare go away[9]“.
She took to Facebook[10] on Wednesday morning and posted: “I feel like I’m in a nightmare I wish I could wake up from but I’m not. I just wanted to say I do appreciate people’s kindness but no amount of messages is going to help me overcome this. Nothing will make this nightmare go away.”
Maddi Corfield, the girlfriend of Wilf Henderson, said in a tribute online: “I’m going to miss you forever. The sweetest and most loving boy I’ve ever known. I hope you know how much I love you, gorgeous.
Thank you for all the time you’ve spent with me… thank you for loving me endlessly. “I promise I’ll do the same for you, my sweet, sweet angel. I can’t imagine my world without you.
I’m missing you so much already, but I am going to enjoy life the way you would’ve wanted, the way that you made me feel.”
References
- ^ Gwynedd (www.walesonline.co.uk)
- ^ but will never make it home (www.walesonline.co.uk)
- ^ told North Wales Live (www.dailypost.co.uk)
- ^ ‘Feelings of guilt’ we didn’t see Snowdonia crash car of tragic teenagers (www.walesonline.co.uk)
- ^ Amazon issues urgent ‘do not click’ warning to all users (www.walesonline.co.uk)
- ^ Christmas (www.walesonline.co.uk)
- ^ BBC (www.walesonline.co.uk)
- ^ North Wales Police (www.dailypost.co.uk)
- ^ nothing will make this nightmare go away (www.walesonline.co.uk)
- ^ Facebook (www.walesonline.co.uk)