Special feeling to be invited to Coronation party says Northern Ireland man who set up support service for road victim’s families

Chris Sherrard from Londonderry set up Life After following his father’s death in a road traffic accident in 2016 when he found there was little to no support for families coping with a sudden death on the roads.

Of the invite to the King’s Garden Party on Tuesday he said: “It’s something I never imagined we would get invited to. I know of only three people in the county who got invites to the garden party so we must be doing something right.

"It’s just myself and my wife going over to London, but there are so many volunteers at Life After who are equally deserving. The work that our trauma counsellor Debbie Mullan is tremendous and worthy of a mention."

He added: “All of our volunteers have lost someone on the roads, so they know they’re speaking with someone who has been through this experience. It’s the ice breaker. Everything is based on a lived experience.

“We’re part of a club, it’s a unique club, nobody wants to be part of it but we’ve got no choice.”

Chris, who works at Altnagelvin Hospital, said that Life After had written to Buckingham Palace shortly after forming in 2016 to ask if Harry or William would become patrons of the charity given that they too had experienced the trauma of losing a loved one in a road accident.

Chris said: “The palace acknowledged the letter, recognised the work we were doing, but unfortunately they had a full schedule of engagements.

“I’m hoping that I’ll get to meet one of the royals at the garden party, maybe someone will introduce us because they are aware of what we do and the fact Diana did pass away in an RTC which has affected the family.

"All that stuff with Harry, I get it, a lot of it has to do with losing your mum at a young age, it follows you through life.”