Keeping alive the memory of Tunisia resort attack victims
Charles Patrick Evans, 78; Adrian Evans, 49; and Joel Richards, 19, were among 38 people killed by a gunman at a beach resort. The trio were on holiday to celebrate the end of Owen Richards' GCSE exams.An inquest heard Owen had tried to shield his grandfather from the attack, with a coroner praising his bravery.Ms Richards, from Walsall, was at work when it happened. "I received a phone call from Owen and that's the first I heard about it," she said."That phone call was, you know... I couldn't comprehend what Owen was saying to me. It was such a shock, it was disbelief."Then I started getting text messages off family and friends asking me what hotel the boys were at and that's when it started to sink in that something had happened."Then I had a Sky News bulletin on my phone and I recognised the hotel."
Mr Richards, now 26, told the BBC that one of the things he recalled of the events 10 years ago was that "nobody really" was looking after him before being reunited with his mother."I ended up in a hospital during the night," he said, "and it was a very chaotic, crazy night, with doctors bringing TV camera crews, trying to bring them into the hospital."Ms Richards remembered similar in the UK, saying: "The whole situation was a shock. We just didn't know how to manage it, how to manage the newspapers knocking on our door."She is now supporting those similarly bereaved, helping them to handle the ordeal.Ms Richards is an MBE, recognised for her services to people bereaved by homicide, including terrorism. The support comes from the Smile for Joel charity, named in memory of her son who was a physical education and sports coaching science student at the University of Worcester.Walsall FC has announced the cause will be the club's official charity partner for the 2025/26 season."We used to say that Walsall matches were like little Jolly Boys' Outings," Owen Richards said, explaining how the late Saddlers fans enjoyed the sitcom Only Fools and Horses which featured an episode of the same name.
"It's such a horrible and traumatic event which happened," Mr Richards said. "But [with the charity] we wanted to do something positive, because we know Joel, we know Ade, we know my grandad."They were such amazing people that we don't want their story to be something that's just a horrible tragedy."He said he was "very lucky" to have the three as his role models, and that they had "made me who I am today and mum as well".
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