Thoroughly decent. A gentle soul. A model of humanity and public spirit. Tributes continue to pour in for James Brokenshire MP after his death a week ago.
James passed away on Thursday 7th October from lung cancer. Following his death, his family set up a Lasting Tribute page, asking those who knew James to share memories, post photos and make a donation to support the work Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation, a charity who worked very closely with James following his diagnosis.
Within 24 hours and transcending political boundaries, the page had raised close to £10,000. It now stands at over £45,000, making it one of highest ever donations received by the charity. James’s wife, Cathy, is immensely proud of the impact James continues to have:
“We are overwhelmed with the kind words and beautiful memories and generous donations people have made in memory of James, particularly from people who had never even met James but recognised what kind of man he was and what he tried to achieve throughout his life. Whilst it is still so raw at the moment, I know in time this is something we will be able to cherish.
We are so appreciative of the support Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation has given to both James during his diagnosis and to us after his death in setting up James’s tribute page so to be able to raise such an incredible amount to help the charity continue its excellent work provides a great deal of comfort and pride.
Cathy Brokenshire
Nearly 700 individual donations have now been made to the page, including many from people within his constituency of Old Bexley and Sidcup. W. Uden & Sons Family Funeral Directors was one of those paying tribute:
“We are donating the entire funeral fee to this wonderful cause in memory of an exceptional man. James has been an utter credit to his profession and has served our local community like no other.
“As a local family business, we have massively appreciated all that he has done to help. We had the privilege of getting to know James from arranging funerals for members of his family and were truly grateful to him for all the incredible help he gave us during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in which, even though he was already struggling with his health, he still found time to help us in those unprecedented times.”
Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation is the only UK charity solely dedicated to supporting everyone affected by lung cancer. Like James, it has been a staunch campaigner for lung cancer screening. Paula Chadwick is the charity’s chief executive:
“Early detection still remains a real issue for lung cancer. Currently, two thirds of people with lung cancer are diagnosed at late stage. As a result, lung cancer is responsible for over a fifth of all cancer deaths in the UK, with one person dying of the disease every 15 minutes.
Yet despite this, we still do not have a national lung cancer screening programme.
We were immensely proud when James held the first ever debate on lung cancer screening and we remain as dedicated as ever to see this finally come to fruition. We will continue to campaign for a national screening programme in memory of James and the 35,000 others who lose their life to lung cancer every year.”
You can share your memories of James as well as make a donation to Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation by visiting https://jamesbrokenshire.muchloved.com/