"Matthew Peckett, the only son of Jenny
and Trevor Peckett, was a fit, healthy 6'4"
young man with everything to live for. He
and his girlfriend Beky Forester had moved
into a new house in Barkisland and looked
forward to their future together. In 1996,
aged 26, Matthew collapsed at work and was
later diagnosed with epilepsy. Sadly, two
years later in July 1998 Matthew died from
Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy.
The Peckett and Forester families became
great friends and supporters of the Fund
for Epilepsy and Beky was a hard-working
employee and supporter of the Fund offices
in Barkisland, as were the rest of her family.
Fundraising efforts for the Matthew Peckett
Memorial Fund had been tireless, including
5- and 10-mile sponsored walks, bring-and-buy
sales, coffee mornings, fashion shows, parties,
and many other events.
Matthew was employed by the National Grid
as an overhead power line engineer. He loved
and lived for his work. Colleagues at the
National Grid held a sponsored abseil down
a 170ft office building in Manchester, and
a Dress Down Day at work, resulting in a
substantial amount being raised for the
Fund.
As a tribute to their colleague, the National
Grid named a new type of conductor after
him: the Matthew, an innovative aluminium-zirconium
alloy gap-type conductor. (It is normal
practice to name conductors for ease of
reference. Standard alloy conductors, for
example, are named after trees.) The first
Matthew conductor was installed in 2000
on a section of the Drax-Thorpe Marsh circuit
(Yorkshire).
In 2008 the total raised by the Matthew
Peckett Memorial Fund reached £20,000
and was committed to supporting the research
of Dr. Steven Kemp of St. James's University
Hospital, Leeds. On the 10th anniversary
of Matthew's death it is good to know the
monies raised in his memory, are being put
to good use."
Epilepsy Research UK would like to thank
the Peckett, Forester and Jones families
for their long-standing involvement with
the Fund for Epilepsy, now Epilepsy Research
UK. Our Memorial Funds play an essential
part in funding our research.
