Victims of Manchester bombing: parents, children, couple, friends
LONDON — The bombing at a Manchester concert on Monday night claimed the lives of 22 people, many of them teenagers and their parents. They include a teenage couple who died together and two mothers picking up their daughters. All left behind many fond memories for their friends and family.
Lisa Lees was picking up her daughter at the Manchester Arena when the explosion happened.
Her brother, Lee Hunter, confirmed on Facebook that the 47-year-old from Oldham had died.
Lees was killed alongside friend Alison Howe, 45, who also was picking up her daughter at the end of the concert.
Howe’s stepson, Jordan Howe, described her as “a caring, beautiful mum and stepmother.”
Sheffield resident Kelly Brewster, 32, was attending the concert with her sister and niece, who were reportedly injured in the blast.
Brewster’s partner, Ian Winslow, wrote on Facebook that he had been overwhelmed by the messages of condolence and support he’s received over the past days.
“Kelly really was the happiest she has ever been, and we had so many things planned together,” Winslow said. “My daughter Phoebe will be absolutely devastated, like we all are.”
Scottish schoolgirl Eilidh MacLeod loved music, from listening to Ariana Grande to playing the bagpipes with her band.
Her family said the 14-year-old, from the Scottish island of Barra, was “vivacious and full of fun.”
Eilidh had attended the concert with her friend Laura MacIntyre, 15, who was seriously injured and remains in the hospital.
Their head teacher at Castlebay Community School said the attack had left the island community feeling numb from shock.
Courtney Boyle and her stepfather, Philip Tron, attended the concert together and both lost their lives.
Tron’s family described him as a man with an infectious laugh.
In a statement, the girl’s boyfriend called her his soulmate, “an adventurer, a precious and joyous soul.”
Her father said: “I am going to miss my baby girl Courtney Boyle for the rest of my life.”
Chloe Rutherford, 17, and her boyfriend Liam Curry, 19, were described as a perfect couple who “wanted to be together forever” — and now they are, their families said.
The families said Chloe, who described herself as ditzy, was adored by Liam, who was a keen cricket player and was studying sport and exercise science at Northumbria University.
In a statement, the relatives said “On the night our daughter Chloe died and our son Liam died, their wings were ready but our hearts were not.”
Elaine McIver, a police officer, always urged those she knew not to be cowed by fear tactics.
McIver, who served with Cheshire Police, was at the concert with her partner, Paul, who was wounded in the deadly explosion. British media reported that her two children were also there and were also hurt.
In a statement Thursday, her family said she was “the best we could ever have wished for,” adding: “Despite what has happened to her, she would want us all to carry on regardless and not be frightened by fear tactics, instead she regularly urged us all to rise up against it.”
Jane Tweddle, a school receptionist, had reportedly gone to Manchester with a friend to pick up the friend’s daughter, who was attending the Ariana Grande concert.
The South Shore Academy in the northern English seaside town of Blackpool, where she worked, said tributes had poured in from parents, students and colleagues describing Tweddle as “bubbly, kind, welcoming, funny, generous.”
She said the mother of three daughters was “irreplaceable, much loved and will never be forgotten.”
Teenager Nell Jones, who went to a school in the village of Holmes Chapel, south of Manchester, was described by a teacher as “a very popular girl, always smiling, always positive.”
Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School and Sixth Form College said police had confirmed Nell died at the scene of the bombing.
Head teacher Denis Oliver said in a statement Wednesday that the school community was devastated by the news, and her schoolmates felt like “they have lost a sister not a classmate.”
Oliver also confirmed that another Year 9 student, Freya Lewis, was badly injured in the attack and needed 10 ½ hours of surgery.
Freya’s father, Nick Lewis, said: “Freya has been sewn, bolted, drilled and bandaged back together. It is going to be a long climb but we are on the first step.”
Martyn Heat, reported to be 29, was a PR manager who “loved life and celebrated it every day,” his employer said.
Heat had appeared on the reality TV shows “Tattoo Fixers” and “Come Dine With Me.” His employer, Rumpus, said on its website that Heat had packed life “to the brim with his passions.”
The company says “he was taken from this world too soon, by forces we will never truly understand.” Teenager Olivia Campbell, who went to a school near Manchester, was at the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester with a friend who has since undergone surgery to treat injuries sustained in the explosion.
Her mother, Charlotte Campbell, who had been appealing desperately for news of Olivia online, wrote in a Facebook post early Wednesday: “RIP my darling precious gorgeous girl Olivia Campbell taken far, far too soon, go sing with the angels and keep smiling mummy loves you so much.”
In a vigil Wednesday, she tearfully asked those attending not to let the atrocity “beat any of us.”
Saffie Roussos, 8, is the youngest victim identified so far.
The schoolgirl had been at the concert with her mother, Lisa Roussos, and sister, Ashlee Bromwich, in her 20s, from Leyland, Lancashire. They are both now in separate hospitals being treated for injuries, friends said.
In a statement, the head teacher of the Tarleton Community Primary School that she attended in the village of Tarleton, Lancashire, described her as “simply a beautiful little girl in every aspect of the word. She was loved by everyone and her warmth and kindness will be remembered fondly. Saffie was quiet and unassuming with a creative flair.”
The head teacher, Chris Upton, said her death was “a tremendous shock to all of us.” “The thought that anyone could go out to a concert and not come home is heartbreaking,” he said.
Students and teachers held a moment’s silence and sang “Don’t Stop Believin’” to honour her Wednesday.
A Polish couple who had come to collect their daughters from the concert in Manchester are among the dead, Poland’s foreign minister said Wednesday.
Witold Waszczykowski said the daughters — one a minor, one adult — were unharmed. He did not give the couple’s names but the daughter of Marcin and Angelika Klis searched publicly for her parents after the explosion.
A Facebook page “Remembering Marcin Klis” says he lived in the northern English city of York and worked for a taxi service.