George was nominated for the award by someone who used to work at St George’s Hospital Charity and was put forward in recognition of his campaigning and fundraising efforts.

In October 2023, George’s seven-week-old son, Jimmy, very sadly died after having a cardiac arrest in a baby carrier. Paramedics managed to restart Jimmy’s heart after 50 minutes, but he was very badly brain damaged. Jimmy was in intensive care for a few days at St George’s Hospital, but the family were told there was nothing more that could be done for him and had to turn off his life support.

George wanted to set up a legacy for Jimmy and to raise awareness of the safe use of baby carriers, so he set up a charity called Jimmy’s Cuddle.

Since setting up Jimmy’s Cuddle, George has raised more than £34,000 for charities that have supported him and his family. As well as raising thousands of pounds for Momentum, George has also donated to St George’s Hospital Charity, The Lullaby Trust, and Kingston Hospital Charity.

From running a half marathon to organising a charity cricket match and tackling this year’s Thames Path Challenge, George has taken on countless challenges to achieve his incredible fundraising total.

As well as fundraising, George is part of an advisory group for baby carrier safety, chaired by The Lullaby Trust. The advisory group is made up of a panel of different experts and is funding research into safe use of baby carriers, led by Durham University. Talking about the group, George said: “We want to run a campaign focussing on how parents should use baby carriers, and further down the line we hope their will be more regulations on companies producing baby carriers.”

Talking about the support Momentum has given his family, George said: “After Jimmy’s death, Vanessa from their bereavement team, Echoes, came to talk to us about the different ways the charity could support us. I have been to a meet-up with other bereaved dads at a Tapas restaurant and have had a golf lesson with other supported families too. Talking to other bereaved dads has really helped me – we have a shared pain, grief and can advise each other on coping mechanisms. We have stayed in one of Momentum’s lodges which was just the break we needed – it was beautiful there and so peaceful, and our eldest son, Arthur, had the best time too.”

George is one of just 17 regional Fundraiser of the Year Pride of Britain winners and will attend next month’s awards ceremony, where he will discover if he has earned the coveted Daily Mirror national title. George said: “If I was to win the award, it would be Jimmy’s award to celebrate his life and to feel as though he’s had a life that was longer than just seven weeks.”

A huge congratulations to George on his regional Pride of Britain Award – it is thoroughly well-deserved! We can’t thank George enough for everything he is doing with both raising funds and awareness. Wishing him the best of luck for the ceremony taking place at Grosvenor House in October.

Find out more about our bereavement service, Echoes, here