Dad sings in memory of son he lost 43 years ago

A dad who lost his two-year-old son to cancer 43 years ago is on a mission to sing at every Morrisons store in the UK in his memory. And so far he’s raised an astounding £40,000.

Geoff Davis, 70, from Falmouth in Cornwall is on a tour of remembrance in aid of CLIC Sargent – a charity that supported him following his son Mikey’s death in 1975.

He said: “It was many, many years ago that we lost our son Mikey. We were a young Cornish couple in our 20s. My wife noticed something wasn’t right with Mikey and he was eventually sent to Great Ormond Street. There they discovered that Mikey had disseminated neuroblastoma – the same cancer as Bradley Lowery.

“We came home a broken couple. I was in sales and when this happened – I was a car salesman doing very well. Suddenly all of that means nothing when your child is dying of cancer. One day we came back from hospital and my cards were pushed through the door. I was sacked. We were pretty desperate, but Sargent Cancer Care, as it was at the time, was there to help us. They gave us financial help and support and understanding and we have never forgotten it. We have never and never will forget that kindness.

“Three months later we lost our son. He was 2 years and 11 months. They were desperate times.”

Now retired, Geoff wanted to use his free time to do something for the charity that helped him all those years ago. After calling CLIC Sargent, he met Fundraising Engagement Managers Liz Blunt and Jordan Anderton, who talked to him about Morrisons’ partnership with CLIC Sargent until 2020.

He started with a performance at Morrisons in Redruth on September 29, 2017 where he raised £414. A performance at the Penzance store and reappearance at Redruth followed. Then in January 2018, he decided to tour all six Cornish stores in the run up to World Cancer Day on 4 February 2018.

He said: “I was hooked. It seemed to be working, I was making around £500 per store. So I just went for it. I am of the belief that if you are going to do something you should just go for it, so that’s what I did.”

Geoff has now visited more than 40 Morrisons stores and has raised more than £40,000 for young lives against cancer.

Jordan Anderton, Fundraising Engagement Manager at CLIC Sargent for Cornwall and Devon, said: “Geoff is a real inspiration. When the Beast from the East threatened his plans, he carried on and found a way to get to his next stop.

“We can’t thank Geoff enough for all he has done so far and we look forward to seeing where his adventures will take him next.”

CLIC Sargent is the UK’s leading charity supporting children and young people with cancer. In 2017, Morrisons staff voted for CLIC Sargent to be the supermarket’s charity partner until 2020, in a partnership aiming to raise £8m. CLIC Sargent was formed in 2005 after a merger between Cancer and Leukaemia in Childhood (CLIC) and Sargent Cancer Care for Children.

He added: “I say thank God for Morrisons and for what they are doing. I am just going to carry on and do as many stores as I can in the time I am able to. I find myself having the most wonderful conversations with customers in the stores. One granddad was telling me how his son has moved to Canada and he has lost his wife and grandson to cancer. I have empathy, a hug and a few tears. I have conversations like that where you see little snatches of other people’s experience. I know exactly the feeling. It may be 43 years ago, but you never forget it. You are with it every day.

“It’s about doing the little things in life. That little thing for me was 43 years ago when CLIC Sargent gave us that support. It fills me up just thinking of it and you never forget it.”

Help us take the cost of cancer away from families this Christmas by donating to CLIC Sargent today.