Brain Tumour Research supporter Paul Turton has been honoured with the esteemed British Citizen Award, in recognition of his outstanding endeavours in the community.
Paul and his family have supported Brain Tumour Research for more than a decade, raising more than £22,000 to help find a cure for brain tumours in memory of Paul’s brother, Simon (pictured top left).
The youngest of three brothers, Simon was a fit and healthy man who enjoyed football, rugby, music and motorcycling. But in 2009, he suffered a seizure while at a wedding, which led to the discovery of a low-grade anaplastic astrocytoma. Simon was told the tumour was inoperable due to its location in his brain and he would have regular scans.
Seventeen months later, a delayed MRI scan revealed the tumour had grown significantly and a biopsy confirmed it was now grade 3. Just a few weeks later, Simon, who had been due to start radiotherapy treatment, fell ill at a friend’s barbecue.
Simon passed away on 26th April 2011, aged 36, leaving his fiancée Sarah and three-year-old daughter Livy.
Since losing Simon, his family has raised thousands in his memory to help find a cure for this devastating disease. In 2015, Paul and brother Dave ran the London Marathon (pictured top right), and other activities have included music festivals and fundraising pamper evenings. Last April, Simon’s loved ones visited our Centre of Excellence at the University of Plymouth, where they placed eight tiles on the Wall of Hope in recognition of their fantastic fundraising.
Paul, Dave and Livy at the Wall of Hope
Earlier this year, Paul took on the iconic London Marathon for a second time, running to mark the year he turned 60 and 15 years to the day that Simon passed away.
Paul said: “Fifteen years sounds like a long time, but it’s not when you’ve lost somebody. Simon would’ve been very proud of me taking on the marathon for a second time and I know he was there looking down and pushing me on.
“Fundraising for Brain Tumour Research is a way of keeping Simon’s memory alive and we do as much as we can because hope really does lie in research to find new treatments for people like Simon in the future.”
As well as his fantastic support of Brain Tumour Research, Paul is the founder of Helstonbury Music Festival, a yearly event that sees local musicians and singers come together to entertain crowds and raise money for local causes and people in the community.
His charitable endeavours have now seen him receive a British Citizen Award. He was presented with his special medal of honour at the House of Lords on Thursday 23rd July, by TV presenter Matt Allwright (pictured top centre with Paul and Steve Gayter, Novus Property Solutions).
Paul added: “When I received the email about the recognition it was a pleasant surprise. It was a lovely day and a proud moment.”
Our congratulations to Paul for his well-deserved British Citizen Award, and thank you to all Simon’s loved ones for their dedicated support in helping us get closer to a cure for brain tumours.
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