It’s hard to know where to begin, where to start to talk about our beautiful son who was just starting out on his life. Perhaps the end is the best place, because university is where Felix was beginning to find his feet. After a false start with a Law degree he decided to do something he was actually enthusiastic about, a degree in Film and History of Art. This was the right choice, and the Vice Chancellor of Leicester, Professor Paul Boyle, has told us how he was a popular and energetic member of his department, and was a “passionate and driven young man who threw himself into university life.”
But it was in the theatre that Felix was really discovering his passion. This started last year when he became part of the Young Company of Med Theatre on Dartmoor. This is a community theatre organisation with an amazing track record of original and accomplished productions. They welcomed and nurtured Felix, for which we will be eternally grateful. While he was part of the company, Felix helped research and write a radio play called Wolf Whispers and is credited with writing several scenes. As an example of his snappy dialogue he wrote this line for a vicar’s sermon in the play, which seems appropriate to repeat:
“Hold on to your hats, because God is delivering you to the beginning of your journey…”
The work with Med gave Felix the confidence to put himself forward for auditions when he started at Leicester last autumn. He got parts in two shows: Shakespeare’s Anthony and Cleopatra and, by total contrast, the musical, The Producers by Mel Brooks. Anthony and Cleopatra was, by all accounts, an interesting production, set in a gay nightclub with Cleopatra played by a drag queen. Felix was in the chorus of the Producers but tragically died before the first night . The Director of the Producers, Izzy Woolrych, says of him:
“Felix was an extremely talented person who brought so much energy and enthusiasm to our cast. He was also writing a play that he hoped to propose, and contributing to writing sketches. He was ambitious, dedicated, hard-working and will be missed by everyone who knew him in the society.”
The company decided to dedicate the last night of the show to Felix: Izzy says:
“The show was absolutely incredible last night. We found a quiet moment beforehand to tell the cast that we were dedicating it to him and there were some tears and a huge amount of determination to celebrate him through something he loved. As for our collection, we managed to raise £303.33 for Epilepsy Action. The last conversation Felix had with me was telling me how excited he was for the show and how much it was coming together and watching everyone else tonight, I couldn't have been more proud at how hard they worked to do something so meaningful in memory of him.”
Felix was born in the Rosie Maternity Hospital in Cambridge, in February 1997, and grew into a toddler with thick golden hair which inevitably fell into a pudding basin style. Certain memories from his early childhood leap out: him playing in a large cardboard box in the garden; looking longingly and repeatedly through a cookery book of different decorated birthday cakes; and many happy times spent bodyboarding with his cousins on beaches in Cornwall. We also remember hours watching the Teletubbies on the TV. Another favourite, as recalled by his Aunt Louisa, was Bob the Builder – she remembers dancing with him to the CD….and says “If I ever hear that song (not too often thankfully) it reminds me of him. “ His Uncle James remembers parties and family gatherings in Cambridge, with Felix, as he recalls “being the life and soul of the party even aged 2 or 3”.
When Felix was still quite small we moved to Devon. He attended Blackpool Primary School where he was the first and only boy to play netball for the school. This illustrates how he was never bothered by what people thought. He just got on quietly and did it. We have lots of precious memories of his time at primary school: a wonderfully characterful painting of two penguins, numerous mother’s day and Christmas cards, and a very moving poem about a soldier in the trenches in the Great War. He also attended a local amateur swimming club for lessons where he won a cup. He then went onto Torquay Boys’ Grammar School where he took GCSEs and the International Baccalaureate. His tutor in the sixth form, wrote: “Felix has faced some particular difficulties…despite this he continues to impress me with his quiet demeanour and dependability, and the apparent ease with which he wholeheartedly participates in everything he does, yet without making himself conspicuous.”
As an older child and then teenager Felix started to develop as a person, and mature into the lovely young adult he became. He developed a great passion for reading. Our overwhelming memory is of him with his head stuck in a book. When dragged out on walks he would always carry a book, and during stops, however short, would sit down and read. He loved Tolkien and read the Hobbit and ALL of the Lord of the Rings – something not many of us can say we have done.. He was also a big fan of Anthony Horowitz and had recently become an avid reader of manga and graphic novels. He was a Harry Potter fan, in Gryffindor house naturally, and played Quidditch at University. He had also started to develop an interest in film, which of course he then ended up studying at Leicester .
When he was 13 he developed epilepsy, which he never once complained about. We never heard him say “why me?” It proved troublesome for him for the rest of his life, but the way he dealt with it was dignified and brave, and it never stopped him doing anything. His doctor wrote: “ Felix has dealt with all his problems with a mature approach in what have been trying and testing times for him. He strikes me as sensible, stoical and bright lad.”
While he was a teenager Felix embarked on several projects outside school. When he was 16 he trained as a lifeguard, and then that summer he took part in National Citizens’ Service, a young people’s volunteering programme. For several summers he volunteered in the café at Ashburton Swimming Pool. Rebecca, who organises the volunteers has told us: “He was a true gentleman and ever so kind.” When he was 18 he demonstrated a great deal of personal courage in going to South Africa to work with school children, which he was understatedly proud of. When I met him off the plane at Heathrow I remember him saying, “now I feel like a man”.
Our wider family have always been very present in Felix’s life, with lots of gatherings and wonderful holidays, for example trips with Paul and Lesley to Turkey, France and Cornwall, and the Pierce annual family gathering in Cornwall which this year will be our twentieth on the trot. We have all benefitted from great love and support. We have many happy memories of being together, and the precious times with both family and friends who loved Felix like their own.
Felix will always be loved, and never forgotten.
We will end with some of his own words, from a poem called River Life he wrote while at primary school.
Tumbling from the mountains,
Through the rumbling rapids,
Down the foaming waterfall,
Between the towering gorges…
To see the beautiful heron.
…beautiful birds
Like kingfishers and swans..
Look out for otters.
See children on the yellow sand.
And meet the deep blue ocean.
