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Poignant evening planned in memory of Chris

29.09.11

THE death of 18-year-old meningitis victim Chris Pegler last year shook the community of Wotton-Under-Edge and shattered the lives of his family and friends.

Now to mark the one-year anniversary of her beloved son's death, Karen Pegler has organised an evening to remember him.

Chris died on November 18, 2010, aged 18. He was a former pupil at Katherine Lady Berkeley's School.

The anniversary disco will take place at Synwell Social Club on Saturday November 19, at 7.30pm.

Karen said: "It's such an important night for us to get together and remember Chris. The day after he died, his friends went driving around on their mopeds reviving their engines in tribute to him.

"Now a year has passed and we wanted to do something special to celebrate his life.

"We are holding a disco and putting on some food and we have 100 Chinese lanterns to sell to people to raise money for Meningitis UK which we are all going to release while we think about Chris.

"We want as many people who knew Chris to come along as possible and support this night which will help to raise money for vaccine research to protect future generations.

"We want to help stop what happened to Chris devastating other families."

In January around 100 of Chris' friends and family members took part in an 11-mile memorial walk in his memory which his younger sister Bex helped to organise.

Along with lots of support from friends, Chris' family has also taken part in the Meningitis UK Summer Stroll, sponsored skydives and numerous other events, bringing the amount raised in Chris' memory to more than £20,000.

Meningitis UK chief executive, Steve Dayman, from Alveston, who lost his son Spencer to meningitis, said: "Everyone's efforts in memory of Chris are really remarkable. I'm sure the anniversary night will be a really special evening and I hope the locals in Wotton will lend their support.

"What happened to Chris sadly illustrates the speed at which meningitis can strike, with very few symptoms to distinguish the disease from more common illnesses.

"The devastation experienced by his family reinforces the importance of finding a vaccine sooner rather than later.

"Every penny they raise at the disco will go towards this single focus and our ultimate goal to spare people the heartache of losing a loved one to meningitis."

To make a donation to the Forever Fund set up in Chris' memory, visit www.meningitisuk.tributefunds.com and search for Christopher John Pegler.

To find out more about Meningitis UK's ground-breaking vaccine research or to donate to the charity call 0117 947 63 20 or visit: www.meningitisuk.org