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Poignant musical tribute to Justin

14.07.11

A POIGNANT concert was held to celebrate the life of Whiteparish man Justin Olden - a well known opera singer who lost his battle to meningitis aged 38.

Big names in the opera world performed to more than 150 friends and loved ones while raising money for Meningitis UK - with a special performance by Justin's 12-year-old daughter Polly.

Justin died on June 6, 2010. He was admitted to hospital after becoming ill and was diagnosed with Meningitis C and septicaemia and died just 24 hours later.

Valerie Olden, Justin's mum, organised the event on the family-owned Broxmore Farm on Saturday (July 9) where her son grew up. A stage was built by a picturesque lake on their land for the event called Just-Fest.

She said: "Losing Justin has left a huge black hole in our lives – it is at times like this that we can see a little light around the edges.

"The evening was beautiful and we were blessed with the weather. I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has contributed in any way.

"Justin's premature death was avoidable. Justin should have been vaccinated against Meningitis C either before or within a few days of starting his PGCE course at university. This is the main reason I want to raise awareness of the vaccinations available and the signs and symptoms of meningitis and septicaemia which can affect anyone."

Justin, who had retrained as a teacher two years before he died, was known in the opera world for his rich tenor voice. His loved of singing grew from when he was a chorister at Whiteparish Church.

Guests including Opera North and teaching colleagues, helped to raise £1,400 for Meningitis UK which aims to raise £7million to fund vital research into developing a vaccine against all forms of the deadly disease.

Justin's ex-partner, Camilla Chandler said: "It was good to see our daughter Polly perform. She started with a backing track but carried on by herself and she really went for it once she was on stage. We thought it was going to be very sad, but it was actually a really positive evening and celebration of Justin's life."

Justin's uncle, Tony Lamming is taking part in a 50k Ultra Marathon near Salisbury on August 14 in memory of his nephew. To donate go to www.justgiving.com/tony-lamming

For further details on Meningitis UK, please call 0117 373 73 73 or visit www.meningitisuk.org