“It’s very humbling to me that he’s remembered”
School staff, friends and family gather at Windmill Hill City Farm as a bench has been unveiled in memory of Darrian Williams(Image: PAUL GILLIS / Reach Plc)
Family and friends of murdered Bristol teenager Darrian Williams have gathered to unveil a new memorial dedicated to him, as the second anniversary of his death approaches.
Staff at Darrian’s school organised for a memorial to the 16-year-old to be placed on a bench at Windmill Hill City Farm in Bedminster, just around the corner from the LPW Assisted Learning Provision school Darrian was attending when he was killed.
Staff and Darrian’s family and friends came together in a poignant gathering on Thursday afternoon (February 12) which saw laughter and tears as they remembered the cheeky teen who aspired to be a lawyer, but who was stabbed to death in St Jude’s on Valentine’s Day 2024.
The memorial was organised by two teachers at the school – Esther and Shaq. Esther read a poem she’d written about the grief the staff at the school experienced.
The gathering took place in between rain showers, and Esther Robinson joked: “Let’s just try to picture it in the summer when there’s a wildflower meadow here and it will hopefully have children playing around it.
“It’s a space to think and be peaceful and have a nice time in the sun. It’s meant a lot to the school to be able to do something,” she added.
Darrian’s sister Shanine Wright thanked the school for the touching gesture, and said just being around the staff brought her closer to her little brother.
(Image: PA Media)
“It’s very humbling to me that he’s remembered, not just by family and friends and the ones that immediately, but by those that loved and cared for him also,” Shanine said.
“We did as a family, but they did as a school and they miss Darrian just as much as us.
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“Darrian really, really left a mark on our hearts. We all have different ways of showing grief and I guess as teachers they have to just get on and keep going for the rest of the children.
“So it’s nice that they get to have this moment to remember Darrian and honour him, and it’s nice just to be around them. I feel like a little bit of him is with them still, so that’s really nice,” she added.
Darrian Williams’ sister Shanine Wright sits on a memorial bench for him at Windmill Hill City Farm in Bedminster(Image: PAUL GILLIS / Reach Plc)
The ALP school unveiled a new recording studio and music facility on this day, February 12, a year ago, called DW Studio. Shanine told the school: “It means more than words can say. When schools and communities choose remembrance, compassion, and love, it truly matters. Thank you for not forgetting my brother.”
Darrian’s family and friends are gathering to light candles at a special little service at Bristol Cathedral on Friday, February 13, and on Saturday, the anniversary of his death, they have taken on the challenge of climbing the highest point in southern Britain – Pen-y-Fan in Wales.
It will mean leaving Bristol at 6am and it’s something none of them have done before.
“It’s just to challenge ourselves,” said Shanine. “People have said ‘why are you doing it? Why are you not fundraising?’ and I wanted it to just be a moment when we really push ourselves in memory of Darrian.
A plaque on a bench at Windmill Hill City Farm in memory of Darrian Williams(Image: PAUL GILLIS / Reach Plc)
“There’s going to be many tears, laughter and cries, but also it’s making a special memory as well for the family in memory of him. You just never know what to do. We only planned this last month, because how do you mark such a date?
“It’s Valentine’s Day, it’s a day for love when people are together with their partners or their children, and I just thought it’s a way that we can all be together and grieve together and get away from the city life for just a minute and have some peace and quiet and support each other and encourage each other,” she added.