'Silent' dad determined to honour son's memory

A dad who wanted to honour his son's memory has spent three days in silence to raise money for a charity in his name.

Kev Pitcher from East Runton, Norfolk, dressed as a fairy and visited shops and restaurants in Sheringham, accompanied by a friend, collecting donations while he maintained his silent vow.

He raised £4,464 for Benny's Battalion, a charity named after his son, who was diagnosed with an incurable brain tumour and died at the age of six in July 2020.

Part of the Norfolk Community Foundation, Benny's Battalion has raised more than £45,000 so far, with money going to groups supporting terminally ill children and their families.

"In Benny's last days, we promised him that we would help others in the future. A promise is a promise," said Kev.

"So, Benny's Battalion was born, in his memory, as a legacy to continue the generosity and kindness he had, to give back to those who helped us, in order to help others in need."

Benny developed a tumour known as Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG), which presents in the brain stem, and can affect children aged five to 10 years.

According to Brain Tumour Research, DIPG accounts for 10-20% of all brain tumours in young children, with the survival rate for this type of tumour described as poor.

DIPG symptoms vary and include eye and face palsy or dropping, loss of control of body movements, not being able to speak clearly or easily, increased pressure around the brain, known as hydrocephalus, headaches and decreased strength.

The Pitcher family were on holiday in Skegness when they noticed Benny's face had dropped on one side after he got down from a ride.

A walk-in centre advised them to go to hospital where a brain scan revealed a large mass on Benny's brain.

He was transferred the next day to Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge where he underwent chemotherapy treatment, but Kev was advised his son was going to die.

"So he went from being a healthy little five-year-old boy, from running around playing with his trains and just being Benny.

"Basically, they gave us nine months. He fought for 15.

"I know a lot of strong people out there, but I've never seen strength like what Benny had to go through."

Kev, who has three other children, said it was important for him and his wife Jules to set up Benny's Battalion to create "something positive" from their son's death and support other parents and children in similar positions.

He said the charity had also helped him deal with his own grief.

"I mean, I suffer depression, I hold my hands up to that, but I deal with it by waking up and appreciating what I've got left in my life," said Kev.

Some of the cash raised by the charity - about £15,000 - has gone to EACH children's hospice in Framingham Earl, near Norwich, which means a "massive thing to my family", he said.

"Without them [the nurses], it would have been a different story for Benny because of his brain tumour growing inside his brain, all the pressure inside there.

"People absolutely loved that boy and they remember him, it feels like yesterday, but people loved him.

"Benny, he was only six when he passed and what he's achieved after passing, his name and his legacy.

"He's remembered."

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