"Moving" candle display to remember islanders lost to suicide

Wednesday 28 August 2019

146 candles will burn in the Royal Square next month to honour every member of Jersey's community lost to suicide, as part of a display organised by a bereaved husband who wants to get more islanders talking about the difficult topic.

The memorial to those who have taken their lives in Jersey over the past 12 years is being staged by local support group Thrive - founded by Andy Le Seelleur MBE - as part of World Suicide Prevention Day.

146 candles – one to remember each of those who’ve died – will be lit at 20:00 on Monday 9 September and will burn throughout the night and the following day. Alongside each candle there’ll also be a red rose.

A service of remembrance will be conducted by the Reverend Martyn Shea at 08:00 the following morning to symbolise hope after darkness and timed so that States Members will be able to attend before that morning’s scheduled sitting.

Pictured: The commemorative event will take place in the Royal Square.

Organisers say anyone who has been bereaved by suicide is welcome to join the service and to place a photograph or other keepsake of their friend or family member alongside a candle. 

Thrive Co-Founder Andy Le Seelleur, who lost his wife to suicide in September 2016, says the exhibit will be impactful and hugely emotional but was intended to drive home the message that Jersey is not immune to this global tragedy.

Mr Le Seelleur says he recognises that the occasion will be "extremely emotional" and potentially "upsetting to some", but says that organisers have thought "very carefully about the content of the display."

"...[We] took advice from all of the leading UK suicide charities, all of whom were supportive – many similar displays are created across the UK and we need to be doing nothing less about suicide than other countries. Our aim is to see less and less candles in future years. Suicide prevention is everyone’s responsibility, from our barbers, barmen and cabbies right through to families and the professional services.”

Pictured: Mr Seelleur, one of the co-founders of Thrive, hopes the memorial and service will highlight the issue of suicide in the island.

Mr Le Seelleur continued: “Every sudden death leaves a devastating trail amongst family, friends and colleagues and the fact that Jersey has lost 146 people to suicide in just over a decade is a heart-breaking fact – that’s the equivalent of a full Gatwick flight crashing with no survivors every ten years."

As well as remembering departed loved ones, he said that the other main aim of the event is to nurture island dialogue about suicide - the biggest cause of death amongst middle-aged men, according to national statistics.

"Thankfully, Jersey is starting to become more suicide-aware, and we hope that this display will get many people talking about the issue," Mr Le Seelleur noted.

Thrive’s memorial, which is being sponsored by RBC Wealth Management, is one of a number of related events being planned by a new team of mental health organisations, including Jersey Recovery College, Mind Jersey, Samaritans and the government's Mental Health Service, which will run during September and October.

The initiative comes ahead of Thrive ’19, an event uniting experts from government, the third and corporate sectors and inspiring individuals to discuss the development of strategies for suicide awareness and prevention and other societal issues. It will take place on 25 October.