Dad asked for one thing after son takes own life

Taylor Cole was a “fit, smart and funny young lad, who had so many aspirations.” Sadly the 20-year-old took his own life in January last year after struggling with his mental health.

His twin sister, Tia Cole, 21, says her life will “never be the same” after he died. In a tribute she wrote for a fundraiser in his memory, she said: “I miss you so much. Life will never be the same without your laugh. We’re twins, we’re meant to be in this world together, we’re meant to be the same age. But now I’m 21 and you’re still 20, I feel like I'm leaving you behind.

“Some people find their soulmate in a relationship, some people find their soulmate in a friendship or pet, but you were literally half of me and it feels like that half has been stolen from me.

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“I didn’t get a note, I didn’t get to say goodbye, I just have to live my life everyday knowing that you’re six feet below the ground, alone. I will love you forever and miss you every day.”

In memory of Taylor, who was a soldier, his friends and family took part in a 41-mile ultra marathon from Manchester to Liverpool. They have raised over £30,000 for suicide prevention charity, Papyrus.

The event was organised by Gavin Topley, from St Helens, who in lockdown had become friends with Taylor, originally from Dorset, through men’s mental health group, Lads Advice, that he co-founded. Gavin, known as Gav, told the ECHO how Taylor had joined Lads Advice and the pair had become friends.

He said: “I knew he had stuff going on and we had made arrangements to meet up. When I found out that Taylor had died I checked through our messages thinking I had arranged to meet him and then the blur of life got in the way, but we hadn’t.”

Members from the group and Taylor's family and friends, including his dad, took part in the fundraiser. Gav said: “Taylor’s dad Steve ran with us, he ran the first half of the marathon with us. He is 68 and had a heart operation within one week of Taylor dying. He ran the great north run with me a week earlier and when he got to the end he asked for another medal to bring back for his son, who had always wanted to run a race."

Gav added: “We had lads from the group who are going through their own battles taking part in the fundraiser. Some of them cried at the end and said it was the biggest achievement of their lives. One of the runners, a lad from Netherton, is also running the Las Vegas Marathon on October 6 in aid of the group fundraiser. Then two of our members are climbing Mount Kenya and then Kilimanjaro for the group fundraiser in December.”

Taylor’s mum, Tracey, has shared her thanks to all the people who took part in fundraising. She said: “I don't have the words to thank all the boys who have raised £30,000 in memory of Taylor.” Gav added: “By leaving us Taylor has brought people together to raise awareness for others.”

Lads Advice was co-founded by Gavin during lockdown when he found himself, alongside his friends, struggling with mental health. He said: “We recognised that other people might also be struggling. We know young men struggle to talk about what is going on so we decided to set up a group called Lads Advice where people can come for advice and to talk online.”

The group has 6,500 members and many members have served or are serving in the military, says Gav. He added: “We had people wanting support and basic advice from debt to young men who were wanting to take their own lives and we had to intervene to support them.” You can donate to the fundraiser page here.