Dilly’s Den: Supporting a Hospital Garden Makeover for Children

Creating a Safe Haven for Children in Memory of Dilly

At the beginning of December, 16 volunteers from Axis’ FRA team took on a project to enrich the lives of poorly children at the Royal London Hospital.

Samantha Paynter, Contract Manager was introduced to a local family who tragically lost their son, Dilly. Prior to passing, Dilly had been receiving care at the Royal London Hospital since 2020. Whilst in hospital, the family realised that there was no safe, outdoor space for children and families to use.

In honour of his memory, the family decided to create a wonderful tribute to their child and create something special for other families spending so much time at the hospital. With no hospital funding available, the family set up a funding pledge to the local community asking for support.

In collaboration with our supplier, City Plumbing, we were able to purchase and install the perimeter fencing for the project. This ensured that the area was safe and secure for the children and was a key part of the project progressing.

Sam commented, ‘It was brilliant! The whole three days went great across the project and the hospital and Dilly’s family couldn’t have been more grateful to Axis for helping them. As you know, some of the children have not been able to go outside for fresh air for a very long time, if ever in their lives, so will be life changing and so magical for them to experience. Who knew putting a fence up could have such a massive effect!’

Dilly’s mum, Amy, said ‘Watching the fence go up today was an emotional and powerful moment – its one step closer to creating a space filled with love, joy, and the magic of childhood, just as Dilly would have wanted. I want to say the biggest thank you to Axis Europe for making this possible. Their team braved the pouring rain all day, volunteering their time, energy, and kindness to help bring this vision to life. Your dedication and generosity means more than words can express, and I know Dilly is smiling down on us today. Thank you for standing with us, in every sense of the word, and for helping keep Dilly’s light shining bright.’

Thank you to Edie Rawlinson, Andy Shail, Liz Ogunsanya, Rikki Doherty, Wayne Marshall, Mae Khan, Kian Robinson, & Andy Thornhill, for using their volunteering days to prepare the fence panels.

A further thank you to Billy Reed, Lukas Pottas, Hassan Durmush, Richard Paynter, Dan Wrigglesworth, Paul Gordon, Charlie Street, & Sam Paynter for using their volunteering days implementing the fencing at the Royal London Hospital.

Dilly’s family envisioned a safe, outdoor haven where children could take a break from treatments and simply be kids. Our support has helped contribute to this; you should all be proud of what you have achieved in Dilly’s memory. You can find the photos from the day here and the video here.