A MOTHER supported by her husband has raised £6,500 this year in memory of her son Milan Alden, who sadly passed away in September of last year, at the age of 23, after a short, but brave and courageous fight against cancer.

Born and bred in Stroud, Milan attended Woodchester Primary School from 2001 to 2007, and Archway School from 2007 to 2014.

Milan had a very happy childhood and he adored his pet dog George and pet cat Leafy.

From a young age Milan had a keen sense of adventure and spirit for the outdoors and he enjoyed surfing, skiing, and playing football at his primary school.

Milan was half French and loved his summer holidays spent in Brittany with his Grandma Coco, his brother Charlie and his French cousins.

In his teenage years, Milan developed a passion for building computers, a skill that would lead to a post university role at a niche software company in Bristol.

Milan’s strong work ethic was obvious from an early age, and he worked part-time at Bateman’s Sports on Kendrick Street and at the Whitminster Inn whilst continuing with his studies.

Milan graduated from Bristol UWE in 2018 with a first class honours degree in computer science. He loved university life and his time in Bristol very much and made many new friends, who were a massive support to Milan, his wife Ying, and his family throughout his illness.

Milan and Ying were married just two months before Milan passed away.

“It was a lovely moment during a difficult time,” said Milan’s mum Florence.

“Ying made Milan so happy, he always lit up when he saw her.”

In memory of Milan, and the amazing support he was given by the Teenage Cancer Trust charity in particular, Florence and Chris have raised this sum of money through the kindness and generosity of their friends and family and the warmth and affection shown to Milan.

Most of the money was raised in anticipation of Florence’s and Chris’s plan to walk over 1,000 miles on the Pilgrims Way, from Le Puy-en-Velay in central France, to Santiago de Compostella in northern Spain this summer.

Due to the Covid 19 virus, the plan is now to undertake this walk in 2021.

A further £1,000 was raised by Chris running a total of 100 miles in August as part of a national campaign to raise awareness of the great work performed by the Teenage Cancer Trust, in supporting young adults and teenagers diagnosed with cancer, and to raise funding at this difficult time.

Although the current fundraising campaigns have finished, Florence intends to set up a trust fund in memory of Milan and organise various events.