Liam Taylor legacy sees grandmother raise more than £33,000 for bleed-kits
Posted July 11th 2023
A grieving grandmother has raised more than £33,000 as she devotes her life to preventing other families suffering the same tragic loss as hers.
Nineteen-year-old Liam Taylor was stabbed multiple times outside a pub in Writtle in January 2020 and died instantly.
His grandmother, Julie, set up the Liam Taylor Legacy crowdfunding page and set about providing lifesaving catastrophic bleed kits to as many venues in Essex as possible.
The public-access specialist first aid kits – carried by the Army and air ambulance crews – include items which could save a life, including large “plasters” to seal the most severe stab wounds until help arrives.
She spoke at the Essex PFCC Partnership conference, at Colchester Jobserve Community Stadium on Friday 23rd June, to raise further awareness of the kits – which cost just £102 to supply.
The conference, hosted by the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex, saw lived experiences – including Julie’s – shared with agencies from across the county who have the shared goal of making Essex a safer place for all.
The anti-knife crime campaigner said: “You can bleed to death in three minutes, so action needs to be taken fast. I want to see these kits absolutely everywhere. We need them everywhere.”
Julie recalled how she was just going to bed when she received a hysterical phone call from her daughter, screaming: “He has been stabbed. He’s dead. He’s been murdered.”
She said: “I am still in shock today and he has been gone for three and a half years.
“I watched his murder on CCTV in court. Liam was outside the pub in the smoking area with his best friend when the car pulled in. It took 39 seconds for them to drive in. The attack lasted for 13 seconds. Liam was stabbed six times, twice through the heart, twice through the lower back, damaging his lung and liver. On top of that, he had 28 separate injuries.
“All I could think was how terrified he was.
“The perpetrators may be in prison, but we as a family are serving a life sentence. It has broken our family. I am nearly 60 and have lived three of his lives. I am never going to see him get married, he will never give me great-grandchildren.”
Julie, who now helps to train family liaison officers as a result of her experience, said: “Me being here is keeping Liam’s memory alive.”
PFCC Roger Hirst said: “Because of the tireless campaigning and awareness raising by Julie, lives will be saved in Essex. They have already been saved with the swift use of these kits in our communities.
“Tragically, it is too late to save her family from the unrelenting grief they are suffering, but Liam’s legacy will make an immeasurable difference to others.
“This investment in crime prevention is admirable and we are so very grateful to Julie for her commitment for the people of Essex.”
After a seven-week trial, three men were sentence to life in prison for the killing.
Find out how you can support Liam’s legacy Facebook
