| Location | Flintshire |
| Age | 2 years |
| Cause of Death | Drowning |
| Date of Birth | 15/02/2002 |
| Date of Death | 21/08/2004 |
| Visitors | 1,777 since 21/09/2009 |
| Creator | |
| Helpers |
~* A HUGE THANK YOU TO EVERYONE THAT ADDS MATTHEW TO THEIR GARDEN, LIGHTS CANDLES & LEAVE TRIBUTES,
IT'S MUCH APPRECIATED XX .. *~
** I am not sure if i have the correct DOB for Matthew, If I find out it is wrong i will correct it
**
Matthew Marsden drowned in 18 inches of water after he and his 14-month-old brother, Alex, wandered
away from the family's touring caravan at the 125-acre Greenacres Holiday Park in August, 2004.
His parents, Phillip and Tracey Marsden, began a frantic search after discovering the boys were
missing.
Mr Marsden who discovered Matthew "floating face down" in Monarch Way Pond, 60 metres from the
family caravan.
An inquest later recorded a verdict of accidental death.
Mr Marsden sued the park's owners, Bourne Leisure Ltd - trading as British Holidays - which runs
Greenacres.
The IT manager, who suffered nervous shock and psychological trauma after discovering his son's
body, was awarded £25,000 damages by a judge at Wrexham County Court last year after he found the
company liable under the Occupiers Liability Act.
Although Bourne Leisure had done enough to fence off the pond, and the judge rejected claims that
the pond was "a trap for the unwary", he said the company should have specifically warned
holidaymakers of the potential hazard posed.
Bourne Leisure has now challenged the judge's ruling at the Civil Appeal Court in London. If that is
successful, Mr Marsden could lose his damages payout.
Phillip and Tracey Marsden
The Marsdens searched frantically for their missing son
Christopher Alldis QC, for the company, argued that there was "no sufficient basis" for the judge's
conclusion that further information about the three ponds on the site "would have prevented the
lapse of attention that enabled the children's escape".
A "welcome pack" distributed to visitors identified the presence and location of the ponds, he said,
while Bourne Leisure was entitled to expect "close parental supervision of children as young as
two-and-a-half".
However, Simon Earlham, for Mr Marsden, described the Wrexham judge's ruling as "unchallengeable".
Mr and Mrs Marsden, he said, had been found to be "responsible, attentive and caring parents" as
well as "transparently honest" witnesses.
Due to "almost incessant rain" during the first three days of the holiday, the boys had been with
their parents all the time.
However, on the fourth day, the youngsters disappeared as Mrs Marsden turned her back for a moment
to talk to another camper.
Mr Earlham said there had been "a near-drowning incident" involving another young boy in the same
pond the previous year, and Mr and Mrs Marsden had been "completely oblivious" to a path leading to
the pond, which did not appear on the site map.
One of the judges hearing the appeal, Lord Justice Stanley Burnton, observed during the case: "A
toddler can disappear in a fleeting moment.
"I don't think there can be any parent who has not been in that situation. It is impossible to live
in a riskless society".
After a day-long hearing, the appeal judges reserved their judgment on the case until an unspecified
later date.
☆·.¸¸.·* ·.¸¸.·☆·.¸¸.·* ·.¸¸.·☆·.¸¸.·* ·.¸¸.·☆·.¸¸.·*
·.¸¸.·☆·.¸¸.·* ·.¸¸.·☆·.¸¸.·* ·.¸¸.·☆
Recent news :
The pond in which Little Matthew lost his life has since been filled n out of respect for the
family.
A poem I found on the internet from your Mummy, Matthew:
We will miss you Matty Moo
We will miss you’re smiles and your cries
We will miss those bright blue eyes
The way you sang and danced around
Your little voice, the sweet sound.
We will miss the way you played with Alex
The fights you had over the toys
The screams and shouts and all the noise
We will miss having you both on our knee
And playing this little piggy cries wee wee wee
We will miss the way you kept us up most of the night
We just wish you were still hear so we could hold you tight
We’re sorry we shouted and sent you back to bed
We thought it was for your own good but it upset you instead
Mum will miss the way she asked you
‘How much do you love mummy’
And you’d hold your arms up and she’d tickle your tummy
Dad will miss playing with both his boys
Xbox, pony rides and with all the toys.
We will miss seeing you running around the garden
Playing football and driving your little red car
We will miss hearing you say ‘Dad and Mum’
We are going to miss so much fun
We are going to miss you forever there will always be a huge gap
That’s because you were our lovely little handsome chap
So sleep tight little darling boy and patiently wait
We will all be reunited, that is our fate
Good night, sleep tight; don’t let the bed bugs bite.
Love Dad, Mum and Alex
XXXXXXXXXXXX
☆·.¸¸.·* ·.¸¸.·☆·.¸¸.·* ·.¸¸.·☆·.¸¸.·* ·.¸¸.·☆·.¸¸.·*
·.¸¸.·☆·.¸¸.·* ·.¸¸.·☆·.¸¸.·* ·.¸¸.·☆
Rest in peace little man ~ Your story has touched the heart of the nation and you will never be
forgotten
(¯`v´¯)
`•.¸.•´
¸.•´¸.•´¨) ¸.•*¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•´ .•´ ¸¸.•¨¯`♥
What kind of place would heaven be with all its streets of gold, if all the souls, that dwell up there like yours and mine, were old? How strange would heaven’s music sound when harps begin to ring, if children were not gathered ‘round to help the angels sing. The children that God sends to us are only just a loan, He knows we need their sunshine to make the house a home. We need the inspiration of a baby’s blessed smile. He doesn’t say they’ve come to stay, just lends them for a while. Sometimes it takes them years to do the work for which they come. Sometimes in just a month or two our Father calls them home. I like to think some souls up there bear not one sinful scar. I love to think of heaven as a place where children are.
xxx
Morning Matthew.
I'm so sorry that I've not been visiting you regularly but I think of you all the time.
I hope you had a wonderful Halloween/bonfire night in heaven and that you played nice with Chloe.
You'll never be forgotten darling. Your story has touched my heart and the deepest parts of my soul.
With love always baby boy xxxx
Lay down my child
Close your eyes one more time
Let the night take you softly into sleep
Sure as the moon shining on your sweet face
Be rest assured you will be safe
In this place
The sweetest gift
God has given me
Graced with the tiniest beauty
These eyes have seen
Soft as the song of a winter wind
Sheltered by love
A love that will never end
Life so often a mystery
And each of us seeking a clue
To an answer I never thought I’d find
When I lost you
But in your time with me
Somehow you taught me to see
Just as in life
Even in death
You always will be here with me
So lay down my child
Close your eyes one more time
Let the night take you softly into sleep
And on to your maker you will fly
Low as the angels sing you a lullaby
For Every Bright Star
For every bright star
In the heavens above
There’s an angel looking down on us
And sending us there love
When you look up to the skies
Someone is looking down
Wanting you to know
That they are still around
Although you cannot see them
They are standing by your side
Knowing all the pain you feel
And the tears you’ve cried
So when you look up to the sky
Up to the heavens above
Remember there watching over you
And thinking of you with love.
author unknown
~ Nothing Hurts Like Goodbye – Gabrielle ~
*♥* *♥* *♥* *♥* *♥* *♥* *♥* *♥* *♥* *♥*
Have you ever been hurt so bad
That you thought that you would die
Have your had to hold back tears
When you just wanted to cry
Have you ever had to hear the truth
And try to keep a smile
Have you ever had so much to say
That you just ran out of time
*♥*
Nothing hurts more than when you’re saying goodbye
You’re left feeling lonely with pain you feel inside
The heart keeps aching and you feel a little fragile
Cause nothing hurts, nothing hurts, like goodbye
*♥*
Ever wish you can turn back time
And live your life again
Have you ever wanted one more chance
To right all your regrets
Wish the rain could wash away tears
And wash away the hurt
Cause pushing thoughts to the back of your head
It doesn’t seem to work
*♥*
Nothing hurts more than when you’re saying goodbye
You’re left feeling lonely with pain you feel inside
Your heart keeps breaking and you feel a little fragile
Cause nothing hurts, no nothing hurts, like goodbye
*♥*
Like goodbye
*♥* *♥* *♥* *♥* *♥* *♥* *♥* *♥* *♥* *♥*
angels called your name so gently,
That only you could hear.
No one heard the footsteps,
Of angels drawing near.
Softly from the shadows
There came a gentle call,
You closed your eyes and went to sleep,
And quietly left us all.
oooO
(....).... Oooo....
...(.....(.....)...
.._)..... )../....
.......... (_/
oooO
(....).... Oooo....
...(.....(.....)...
.._)..... )../....
.......... (_/
oooO
(....).... Oooo....
...(.....(.....)...
.._)..... )../....
.......... (_/
oooO
(....).... Oooo....
...(.....(.....)...
.._)..... )../....
.......... (_/
God's Lent Child
I’ll lend you for a little while, a child of mine, God said
For you to love the while he lives and mourn for when he’s dead.
It may be six or seven years, or forty-two or three
But will you, till I call him back, take care of him for me?
He’ll bring his charms to gladden you and should his stay be brief
You’ll always have his memories as a solace in your grief.
I cannot promise he will stay, since all from earth return,
But there are lessons taught below I want this child to learn.
I’ve looked this whole world over in my search for teachers true
And from the folk that crowd Life’s lane I have chosen you.
Now will you give him all your love and not think the labour vain,
Nor hate me when I come to take this lent child back again?
I fancy that I heard them say “Dear God, thy will be done.
For all the joys this child will bring the risk of grief we’ll run.
We will shelter him with tenderness, we’ll love him while we may
And for all the happiness we’ve ever known, we’ll ever grateful stay.
But should the angels call him much sooner than we’d planned
We will brave the bitter grief that comes and try to understand."
~ Author Unknown
♥ ☆ ♥ ☆ HEAVEN ♥ ☆ ♥ ☆
♥ ☆ ♥ ☆
Heaven would not be Heaven
Without the children there,
Playing hide and seek in pearly mists
Free from every pain and care.
Heaven would not be Heaven
Without their carefree rapture,
Scrambling through the fluffy clouds
Each happy moment to capture
♥ ☆ ♥ ☆
Heaven would not be Heaven
Without their shouts and laughter
Echoing across Elysian fields
As starbursts they chase after
Heaven would not be Heaven
Without their joyful choir
Ringing through celestial realms
Sweet voices rising ever higher
♥ ☆ ♥ ☆
Heaven would not be Heaven
Without their radiant light,
Undimmed by earths murky shades
Their robes shining bright.
Heaven would not be Heaven
Without their smiles of pleasure,
Bearing sheaves of rainbow flowers
The children are Heaven's treasure.
♥ ☆ ♥ ☆
God Bless you beautifull little boy, you are playing with all the other little children up in heaven. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Create an ever lasting memorial for your loved ones.
Start here »
Using the options below you can add this memorial to your personal garden.
| I am Matthew's ... | |
| Add to Garden: | |
| Notifications: | Text Message |
There have been 190 candles lit for Matthew.
