Cheddington mum fronts Radio 4’s malaria campaign in memory of son Harry

Jo Yirrell is no doubt a familiar name in Leighton Buzzard, as the community showed their love and support when her eldest child, Harry, died following a trip to Ghana.

Ever since, the kind mum has been determined to see the disease eradicated, and will soon be fronting a Radio 4 charity appeal as a special ambassador for Malaria No More UK.

Jo, 57, who used to live with her family on Albany Road, said: “If malaria is eradicated within his brothers’ lifetimes, I could really build a much bigger monument to Harry. That’s my aim.

“People across the world have been dealing with malaria for years - lifetimes - generations. They have lost members of their family - not just one child, but children.

“We in England are struggling at the moment [with coronavirus], and know what it’s like to be frightened, to think: ‘how on Earth are they going to stop us from getting this?’ But if you give just £5, £2 - the price of a cup of coffee - that could go towards malaria nets or tests for people.”

Keen rugby player Harry had been working in a factory on Stanbridge Road when the opportunity came up to travel across Africa in a ‘big yellow bus’ for The Sabre Trust, delivering school supplies to communities.

During his travels he spent time as a teaching assistant near Cape Coast, Ghana, and gave his malaria tablets to the school children. Around one week after his return to England, Harry felt unwell and was taken to Stoke Mandeville, later being blue lighted to a specialist hospital in Oxford.

However, despite the dedicated care from its doctors and nurses, his parents received an urgent call with some bad news.

Jo said: “We went straight down to see him and were told that they didn’t think he would survive the night. I was telling him about every person I could think of, passing on their good wishes. Forty-five minutes later he died. I can’t fault the hospitals, but I can fault the misunderstanding about how serious malaria is.”

Jo remembers that when Harry first returned the family were at the dinner table when he mentioned that he hadn’t taken the tablets.

“Well that was bloody stupid of you,” his dad David had remarked, but the family had thought nothing more of it.

Jo said: “It’s hard because if he had kept the tablets he would have been alive, but by giving them away, that was Harry all over.”

Understanding the devastation that malaria can cause, Jo has worked tirelessly to raise awareness.

In 2009, she joined Malaria No More UK at its launch, meeting then prime minister Gordon Brown, while she has also been a source of inspiration for the Richard Curtis film, Mary and Martha - a tale of two mothers who lose their sons to malaria.

Determined Jo was even lucky enough to visit The White House for a meeting including Mr Curtis and two heads of departments from the Obama administration. She also travelled to Ghana in 2009 for a BBC documentary.

A Malaria No More UK spokeswoman said: “This World Malaria Day, we are highlighting the stark reality that every two minutes somewhere in the world, another child under five dies from malaria. As long as malaria exists, it threatens the poorest and most vulnerable – pregnant women and children in Africa are most at risk.”

The CEO of Malaria No More UK, James Whiting, said: “To ensure that no one is left behind in the fight against deadly pandemics, the UK must sustain its current level of investment in tackling malaria and invest in the front line of health services currently under unimaginable strain, which will not only protect and advance progress against existing diseases, but also help to ensure that the world is prepared to effectively address new pandemics like COVID-19 should they happen again.”

Jo hopes the Leighton-Linslade community can find it in their hearts to help the campaign, just as they showed support 15 years ago.

She remembered: “We were driving from Albany Road to All Saints but there was so much traffic. Richard Dillamore was driving the hearse. I asked Richard ‘Why is there so much traffic? And he just turned to me and said: ‘It’s all for Harry’.”

>World Malaria Day: April 25. Listen to Jo: Radio 4 - April 26, 7.54am and 9.25pm; April 30, 3.27pm.