THE family and friends of one of the four victims of the Derry Hill crash has launched a fund raising page for a memorial and to raise money for the school where he "was extremely happy and made many close friends."

Matthew Parke's funeral is this Thursday (24), and will again see the town come out to mourn as it has twice already this week. The funerals of Ryan Nelson and Corey Owen have already taken place. The fourth, of Jordan Rawlings is expected next week.

The cortege leaves the family home at around 11.50am, travelling along the bypass and down Oxford Road and through Calne town centre.

Afterwards, the funeral flowers will be taken to Calne pop-up park and placed there.

The family thanked the community of Calne, family and friends for all the support and love they have received during this very difficult time, and are raising funds to support Kingsbury Green Academy, formerly known as John Bentley, where he went to school.

His family said he was extremely happy there and made many very close friends.

"He achieved excellent results in his GCSEs and A-levels thanks to the support, encouragement and motivation he received from his tutors and his head teacher Mr Tudor," they said in a statement.

Kingsbury Green Academy principal Jason Tudor said:
“We are deeply saddened that we can’t represent the school at Matthew’s funeral because of Covid restrictions, but we always want to cherish the fantastic contribution that he made to our school. We have been in contact with Matthew’s family and already have some ideas for a lasting legacy that Matthew would be proud of, which we will be discussing with them. We will never forget the positive impact that all these young men had on our school and our wider community.”

On the funding page, Matthews mother is quoted, saying:

“Mattie was a very happy boy - he woke up every day with a smile on his face. He was never sad.

"He was enthusiastic about everything in life, full of energy, confident and outgoing.

"He always had somewhere to go, somewhere to be, someone to see. He also had a wicked sense of humour.

"He was extremely sociable and loved going out with his very wide circle of friends - they meant so much to him and he loved them as if they were his family.

"He played hard and worked hard. We were so proud of the fact that he really focussed on his studies and always did his very best. He achieved 10 GCSEs and 3 'A' Levels.

"After completing his 'A' Levels last summer, he went to Swansea University to start his degree in Business Management. He had a ball and made even more good friends.

"He was excited that he was due to be returning to Swansea at the beginning of September and had already got a house lined up that he was going to be sharing with seven of his University friends. His life may have been short - he was just 19 years old - but he packed so much into those years he really did.”

"Mattie whilst you will always be missed, you will be with us in our memories and close to our hearts so sleep peacefully lovely boy."

Donations can be made to Odette Funeral Director or to Matt's Go Fund Me page with is titled 'Matthew Parke's Memorial Fundraiser'.