Memorial for uncle who died in Arena attack
THE nephew of a man who was killed in the Manchester Arena bombing will hold a special memorial in his memory on the five-year anniversary of his death.
Philip Tron had driven his mum, his partner and her two daughters to Manchester so that the youngest of the girls could attend the ill-fated Ariana Grande concert. The 32-year-old waited until the event was due to finish before going with the girl’s older sister Courtney Boyle, 19, to collect her.
The pair both died during the terror attack on May 22, 2017. A public inquiry heard last year how Philip was standing four metres from bomber Salman Abedi when he detonated his device in the City Room foyer at 10.31pm.
Philip’s nephew, Luke David Martin, was 15 years old at the time of the attack and had to sit his GCSE exams after finding out that Philip had lost his life.
The 20-year-old, from central Gateshead, said: “I got woken up at half four in the morning by my mam saying ‘Before you go on your phone, you’re going to see a lot of things online and don’t panic.’ She said: ‘There has been a bomb at Manchester Arena and Philip and Courtney are missing.’ It was like something had dropped inside of me.
“We started getting his photo across the internet and I had to spend the whole of the next day just waiting and waiting. We had hope at the beginning and we started to lose it. We found identification to prove Philip had died and then I had to do a GCSE the next day. It was horrific. I had it in my head that he would want me to get through it.”
Luke, who performs as a drag queen in Newcastle, described how Philip had quite a young personality.
He said: “He was a fun, family-orientated person. He always wanted to have a laugh. He had a very positive attitude to life. We say that since he’s gone it’s
like a light’s been switched off.”
He plans to remember him on Sunday with a public memorial. He has organised for a service to be held at the memorial bench on Durham Road in Low Fell, opposite the Gateshead Arms where Philip used to work.
Luke said: “On the 22nd May a lot of family go down to Manchester but I wanted to have something in Gateshead because that’s where he was from. A lot of people may not be able to afford to travel to Manchester.
“It’s going to be like a little church service but outside. We’re going to have a few stories about his life and we’re going to have a singer who’s going to do a few songs.
“It’s going to be a sad day but also a good day for everyone to come together and be united and stand in solidarity. Each year the solidarity gets stronger and stronger.”
Luke said the gathering will take place at 10am and everyone is welcome to attend. He has urged those who wish to attend the service to wear blue for Philip. There will also be speeches and one minute of silence held in his memory.