Henry van Straubenzee was killed in a car crash as a passenger on the 14th December 2002, aged 18. Having just completed his A Levels at Harrow School and with a place at Newcastle University to read Business Management, Henry was taking a Gap Year to earn some money and travel around East Africa. He was just finishing his job, working as a junior master at his prep school, Ludgrove, when this tragic accident happened.

Everyone would agree that Henry lived for life - always the first to see light in every moment. He was kind, thoughtful and extremely funny, as well as being diligent and devoted to everything he put his mind to. He was adored by his parents, Alexander and Claire, and by his two brothers, Thomas and Charlie. His friends looked on him incredibly fondly and revelled in his infectious and mischievous humour.

Henry won an Army scholarship, like his father, to The Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst, where he was due to go after university. It is difficult to say what he would have done with his life after serving in the Army, but one thing for sure is that he would have carried on making people laugh.

After his untimely death, Henry’s family set up The Henry van Straubenzee Memorial Fund to try and keep his memory alive.

Henry never made it to East Africa on his year out, but the school, Bupadhengo in Uganda, where he was to have taught, was calling out for help. The Memorial Fund has since helped this school and its children to prosper.

The HvSMF has now completed over 1,800 separate projects in East Uganda since 2003 and we have invested approximately £3.5 million thanks to the generosity of many grant making organisations, friends and family, in memory of Henry. As a result, we hope to have changed the lives of hundreds of thousands of Ugandan children, who have now had a good education and the opportunity of a better life.