Bereavement charity founder to be guest speaker at Shrewsbury seminar

A mother who founded a bereavement charity following the death of her son and husband within days of each other has been invited as a guest speaker at an event in Shrewsbury this September.

Rhian Mannings had just returned to work as a PE teacher in February 2012 after the birth of her youngest son George when tragedy struck.

George died suddenly with no sign of illness and then just days later, traumatised by the loss, Rhian’s husband Paul took his own life.

Those events, the lack of facilities to privately grieve for their son at the hospital and no support being available for the family after their deaths, motivated Rhian to launch her charity 2wish.

Now she will be telling her story and that of 2wish at a free-to-attend seminar being hosted by law firm Lanyon Bowdler.

Let’s Talk About Death will take place at Shrewsbury Town Football Club on September 30 and people are invited to book their place now.

Associate lawyer at Lanyon Bowdler, Alicia Johns, wanted to bring resources together to try and lift the taboo around death, due to experiences of dealing with the same in her clinical negligence practice.

Alicia said: “Navigating bereavement is possibly the most difficult thing we have to do during our lifetime, and we do this through our own personal experiences and professionally through advising our clients.

“We are delighted that Rhian has agreed to be the main speaker at our event, sharing her insights, challenges, experiences and, of course, the work of her brilliant charity.

“It is impossible to imagine the tragedy of the sudden death of your child but that was compounded by the situation Rhian and her husband found themselves in at the hospital, having nowhere to privately grieve and say goodbye to their son, and being offered no follow up support. Sadly this is something experienced by a lot of our clients.

“Driven by the desire to ensure others would not have the same devastating experience after losing a child suddenly in hospital, Rhian set up her child bereavement charity 2wish.

“It’s an amazing charity with a mission to ensure all those affected by the sudden and unexpected death of a child or young adult receive the bereavement support they need and deserve.”

The charity provides immediate and ongoing support, such as memory boxes, bereavement rooms within hospitals, counselling, play therapy and complementary therapy.

Rhian has been recognised for her hard work on a number of occasions including receiving an MBE in the Queens New Year Honours List in 2019 and a Pride of Britain Award October 2020.

The event will also feature an opportunity for networking and to hear from a second speaker, Sophie Burgoyne, who is an associate solicitor with Lanyon Bowdler and is experienced in handling wills, probate and administration of estate matters.

Sophie will cover the practical and legal steps to take when faced with a bereavement – in particular, she will cover the process of dealing with someone’s affairs when there is and isn’t a will.

Sophie said: “We all find it difficult to talk about death but there are some things that need to be put in place to prevent even more stress and worry after the death of a loved one – making it essential to have those tough conversations while you are still able.

“Our free seminar will be an ideal opportunity to hear about some of the things that must be done following a death and there will also be a chance for our attendees to raise any questions they would like answering.”

To register a free place at the event, email info@lblaw.co.uk or visit

https://bit.ly/LBLetsTalkAboutDeath