Yellow Hearts To Remember
1544. David Gompertz
David Gompertz, aged 84, from Birmingham, created the ‘Yellow Hearts To Remember’ campaign after the death of his wife Sheila from Coronavirus in April this year.
David wanted to encourage other families who have lost a loved one during the pandemic to display a yellow heart in their window and share their own stories of grief. With the support of his family, who set up a Facebook group promoting the campaign and to build a community for bereaved people, the Yellow Hearts symbol has spread nationwide and has been adopted for National Grief Awareness Week, the nationwide campaign encouraging people to share their stories of grief and raising awareness of the support available for bereavement, which finishes today. The campaign has also formed partnerships with Cruse Bereavement Care, the Good Grief Trust (founded by fellow Point of Light Linda Magistris), and St Paul’s Cathedral, who are developing a Remember Me physical memorial.
In a personal letter to David, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said:
“Thank you for inspiring so many people to share their stories of grief through ‘Yellow Hearts To Remember’.
“I was deeply moved to hear the story of how you placed a yellow heart in your window to remember your wife Sheila who so sadly lost her life to Coronavirus. Your campaign has now captured the hearts of people across the country and shown that while we cannot all meet in person together, we can still spread kindness and share in remembering those we have lost.”
David said:
“I feel that this award is acknowledgement of the contributions of all of the members of the ‘Yellow Hearts to Remember’ community, who have supported and stood in unity with those who have lost loved ones due to Covid-19.
“The Yellow Hearts to Remember social media campaign wouldn’t have taken off without the input of my granddaughters and Eloise. I thank all those who have taken my idea and made it work.
“I’d like to dedicate this award to my wife Sheila and all those lost too soon due to Covid-19.”
Pictured: above – David with his wife Sheila; below – images of the Yellow Heart displayed in windows during lockdown, and a memorial light projection of Yellow Hearts on Colchester Castle
