Nayland schoolgirl’s legacy will live on with choir concert in aid of Lizzie’s Fund charity

The memory of a Nayland schoolgirl, who lost her life to brain cancer, will drive a special charity concert this weekend, spearheaded by her former headteacher.

The London Welsh Male Voice Choir is taking to the stage at The Mercury Theatre in Colchester on Saturday, to raise money for Lizzie’s Fund.

The fund is named after Lizzie Bramall, of Bear Street, who died in November 2018 – just a week before her 10th birthday – after being diagnosed with diffuse midline glioma, a rare and inoperable brain tumour.

Having been diagnosed six months earlier, the nine-year-old wrote a letter to Peter Jones, her headteacher at Littlegarth School, asking if she could hold a bake sale during the annual Grandparents’ Day.

This paved the way for a series of fund-raising events over the final months of her life, which received more than £100,000 in donations for brain tumour research.

Following retirement from his headteacher role, Mr Jones joined the London Welsh Male Voice Choir in 2021, and organised its inaugural visit to Colchester, as an ideal chance to raise money in Lizzie’s memory.

“To combine bringing this special choir to Colchester for the first time with the opportunity to raise significant funds for Lizzie’s Fund is such an honour and a privilege,” he said.

“Having spent 40 years trying to convince those who will listen about the merits of Welsh singing, I know that the London Welsh Male Voice Choir will be given a warm welcome by the Colchester community.

“The charity concert will help spread the word about the need to fund brain tumour research.”

During the concert, a professionally-produced short film about Lizzie and the work she has inspired will be shown.

Since her death, her parents, Sally and Mark, have continued her legacy through Lizzie’s Fund, raising more than £600,000 to go directly to the Brain Tumour Charity.

Sally added: “We are so grateful to all those that have supported this project.

“This has given us a great opportunity to highlight the wonderful example set by Lizzie during the last few months of her young life.

“It also allows us to highlight the need for further funding, which is a cause that we will continue to fight for until a cure is found.”