Olly's Talking Turtles in memory of Olly Beswetherick

Raising Money for Mental Health in Memory of Olly Beswetherick - A Beloved Son, Brother and Friend

24th May 1996 - 4th September 2020 

In loving memory of Olly, who touched the hearts of more people than we could ever have imagined. For those who didn't know him, Olly was a kind and loving person who had the innate ability to bring a smile to those around him. Olly was an incredibly talented pianist and lover of music; in particular Kyle Landry, Hans Zimmer, The Piano Guys, Sleeping At Last and many a film and Disney soundtrack! He had an extraordinary flare for science, enabling him to graduate from the University of Birmingham with a 1st Class Honours degree in Human Biology and a Masters, with Distinction, in Molecular Biotechnology. He went on to gain his dream job as a trainee Patent Attorney at GJE, in London. As a gay man, Olly regularly used his passion and articulation to support the LGBTQ+ community and to spread awareness of Pride, diversity and equality. He was dedicated to his physical fitness, often found in the gym or creating delicious healthy recipes for his family and friends to try! Olly also had a zest for travel, languages and culture.

Despite his warm smile, sense of humour, vibrant achievements and passion to help and inspire others, Olly faced an ongoing battle with his own mental health and tragically lost his life to suicide, aged just 24. 

In light of Olly's death, we are determined to spread positivity and awareness about the importance of talking openly about mental health without stigma, for ALL people of ALL ages. The 'Olly's Talking Turtles' campaign aims to do just this, using bracelets (symbolising Olly's love of turtles and tortoises as well as his support for Pride). We hope they get people talking about mental health and suicide prevention in an effort to broaden awareness and widen support. If you would like a bracelet, please message through 'Olly's Talking Turtles' on facebook or instagram. 

Many people have approached us to offer donations towards a memorial/charity for Olly. As a family we would love Olly’s name to live on and for him to leave a living and lasting legacy to help and inspire others. With this in mind, all your donations have been given to mental health charities and causes. If Olly's legacy can help to prevent even one suicide and the resulting heartbreak for one family, we would be so thankful. To date, over £11,400 has been raised and donated through this fundraiser/personal donations and more through direct donations.

We wanted to spread some happiness and mental wellbeing through music and have, therefore, provided a piano for Birmingham University Wellbeing Centre, enabling students throughout the university to play (regardless of whether they study music or not), and we have had some incredibly positive feedback in this regard. To fill the atmosphere with music was incredibly important to Olly and playing the piano brought him so much joy. We have uploaded some recordings of Olly's piano playing onto Youtube; if you would like to listen to them, please search 'Olly Beswetherick's Piano Music -Olly's Talking Turtles' on Youtube. We hope his music brings you as much happiness at it will forever bring to us. 

Meanwhile, reach out to people, talk, hug your loved ones tight, tell them they are loved and if you can donate, however small or big, we would be incredibly grateful. We don’t always know the depth of the battles people are facing, so be kind and let’s take the stigma away from openly discussing mental health and suicide. 

If you are struggling yourself, or you know someone who might be, please, please talk, reach out and listen to each other. Something as small as checking in with a text, a call, sharing some music, or giving a hug can make the biggest difference. It may not feel like it, but there is SO much support out there once we all start talking. Every single person brings a little bit of light to this world, so let's work together to make sure everybody knows their worth. 

Samaritans UK Tel 116 123.

'How rare and beautiful it is, to even exist' - A lyric from one of Olly's favourite songs 'Saturn' by Sleeping At Last. 

For each and every one of you that brought Olly a smile or a laugh at any point over his life, thank you.

Thank you so much for your donations.

With love, Steve, Jane, Amy and Hannah Beswetherick x 

P.S For those who have not yet seen, there is a page on Facebook to share your memories or photos of special moments with Olly. It is called Olly Beswetherick Collection Of Memories