Late Richard Taylor
Activist Father of Damilola Taylor, the 10- year- old boy who was killed 24 years ago, Mr. Richard Taylor has died of prostate cancer.
In 2000, his son was stabbed in the leg and left to die in a south London stairwell. Damilola was left bleeding to death in a stairwell in Peckham, south-east London, after he was attacked and slashed with a broken bottle on his way home from a library.
The boy’s death shocked the nation and became one of London’s most high-profile killings.
Subsequently, Richard Taylor and his late wife Gloria set up the Damilola Taylor Trust, a charity to campaign against knife crime in their son’s memory. Mrs Taylor died in 2008 after suffering a heart attack and Mr Taylor continued their work in the following years.
A statement issued on behalf of his family said: “It is with a heavy heart that the family announce the death of our beloved father, grandfather and uncle, Mr Richard Adeyemi Taylor OBE, who sadly passed away in the early hours of Saturday March 23 at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Woolwich, after a prolonged battle with prostate cancer.”
Late Damilola Taylor
Mr Taylor said he wanted his son to be remembered as a boy of hope and for his legacy to be a better life and opportunities for underprivileged young people. He campaigned about the effects of knife crime and spoke at schools about the devastation, loss, and pain he and his family had endured.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer was among those paying tribute, saying in a post on X: “Richard championed breaking down barriers to opportunity through the Damilola Taylor Trust, in honour of his son’s memory.
“He will be remembered for his courage, determination and message of hope. My condolences to Richard’s family and friends.”