‘SUPPORT AND LOVE FOR TOM HELPING US GET THROUGH TRAGEDY’
OUTPOURING OF SUPPORT FROM OFFICERS, HIS FRIENDS AND TEACHERS HELPS TEEN’S FAMILY
THE mother of a promising RAF recruit killed in a car crash says the outpouring of support from friends, the RAF and his school is helping the family through the tragedy, writes Ciaran Fagan.
Tom Gamble was a passenger in a car that crashed into a ditch in Willoughby Waterleys on December 20. He died the following day.
The former pupil of Thomas Estley Community College, in his home village of Broughton Astley, had recently joined the RAF. Mum Rebecca said: “The messages people have posted are helping me through this – have definitely shown me the number of people who loved him.”
Senior Aircraftman Tom was described by his commanding officer as showing “great promise – and it is tragic that he never got the chance to reach his full potential”.
A MUM whose son was killed in a car crash days before Christmas has thanked the community, his former school and the RAF “family” for the love and support they have shown since the tragedy.
Rebecca Gamble’s 18-year-old son, Tom, died in hospital hours after he had suffered devastating injuries when the car in which he was a passenger left the road and crashed into a ditch.
Police are investigating the cause of the accident.
A few months earlier, Tom, a former pupil at Thomas Estley Community College, in his home village of Broughton Astley, had embarked on his dream of a career with the RAF.
Rebecca said the family had been overwhelmed by messages of support from his commanding officers and colleagues as well as his friends and former teachers.
Many well-wishers left their memories of Tom on a fund-raising page for the air ambulance service – including the team which tended to the critically injured teenager at the scene and went with him to hospital in Coventry.
The family’s appeal raised more than £8,000.
“We did a Just Giving page and the money people have donated is amazing, but also the messages that people have posted are helping me through this,” Rebecca, 47, said.
“Nothing will ever bring him back, but those messages have definitely shown me the number of people who loved him.”
Tom, who held the rank of Senior Aircraftman, was stationed at RAF Benson, in Oxfordshire, in September and had quickly qualified as a military driver.
Rebecca said: “His dad is an ex-Royal marine, so Tom was always going into the forces.
“He’d found his niche in life and had so much to look forward to.
“He’d only been at RAF Benson for a few months, but the friendships he’d made were just so real and so
close. “It’s not just a saying, they really are a family. The RAF have been so supportive, they are absolutely amazing. “He’d finished his training and was applying for his first overseas posting, which would have been the Falklands. His dream was to also go to Cyprus.”
She recalled the moment police officers arrived at her home on Sunday, December 20, while she and her partner were watching the Spurs vs Leicester City match on television.
She said: “At first I thought maybe Tom was in some kind of trouble, although that didn’t seem likely at all. “He was supposed to be coming home on the Friday, but we were having to isolate, so I’d said to him ‘How about you don’t come home for a few days?.’
“He said he’d stay at the base on the Friday and then go to stay with his girlfriend on the Saturday.
The messages that people have posted are helping me through this
Rebecca, Tom’s mum
“The officers said he’d been in a crash and had life-threatening injuries.”
Rebecca went to the University Hospital of Coventry and Warwickshire, at Walsgrave, to be by his side.
She said: “He never woke up and I was with him when he passed away at 1am on Monday, December 21.
“We did a balloon release at Thomas Estley on Tom’s birthday, January 10. We did it at the time he was born, 2.45pm. It was a way of letting him go.
“The college did a lovely memorial book for him and they are going to plant a tree.”
The college released a tribute to Tom, saying: “We remember Tom as full of life, full of laughter, full of energy, full of brightness, full of loyalty and full of fun.
“He had achieved his dream of joining the Royal Air Force, whose motto is Per Ardua Ad Astra – Through adversity to the stars.
“Tom shone as brightly as a star himself and we will always remember him. Our prayers and thoughts are with his family and friends today.
His commanding officers at RAF Benson also spoke highly of the young prospect, describing him as a “highly competent driver” of a range of vehicles and “a popular young man with a bright future ahead of him” who would be “greatly missed by all who knew him”.
Group Captain Nick Paton, the RAF Benson Station Commander, said: “He showed great promise and it is tragic that he never got the chance to reach his full potential.
“Our thoughts are with Tom’s family, friends and colleagues as this incredibly difficult time.”
Warrant Officer Paul Royer, the Military Transport Officer at the base, said: “Tom was at the start of his career and was always keen to learn, both about the vehicle fleet and the Royal Air Force.
“He was quiet, thoughtful and popular with the team, always bringing a smile to everyone.
“I will miss our chats about growing up in Leicestershire and I know the team will miss him greatly.”
Tom was a front-seat passenger in a Ford Fiesta being driven along Willoughby Road, just outside Willoughby Waterleys.
The car left the road and came to rest in a ditch, trapping all four occupants.
Emergency services, including the air ambulance, were called to the scene, close to the junction with Cosby Lane, shortly after 3.15pm.
Three of the casualties were taken to Leicester Royal Infirmary, where they were treated for “minor injuries”.
Tom was taken by road to the major trauma unit at the University Hospital of Coventry and Warwickshire, at Walsgrave, Coventry, where he died.