Chris had been diagnosed with terminal cancer and given just 18 months to live – a time that following a further examination was later reduced to 10 weeks. Chris passed away just two short weeks later surrounded by his family. Just before his death, Chris and wife Gill had prepared their two daughters, Louise (5) and Amy (6) for that time by buying the right to name a star in the sky after their dad. The couple then told the children that they would always be able to speak to that star and that Chris would hear them and always look after them
   DaC driver Dave Burland (H01) had originally approached Call Sign and asked if we could mention the tragedy of Chris Cecil and we agreed, but we could never have expected the response that we got. The sum raised is probably the largest collection ever made in the trade to help the family of a driver who has died.
   The final total was just under £8000. This was swollen by the London Taxidrivers Fund for Underprivileged Children, who through their Chairman and DaCBoard member Mike Son, presented a further £1000 making the total presented to Gill and her children, almost £9000 – an incredible amount.
   Dave Burland told Call Sign: "Gill is in shock. She never expected anything like this and in all honesty, I never expected to raise more than a few hundred pounds! £9000 is just unbelievable and will help them so much as they haven’t really had any money coming in this year."
   Gill Cecil told Call Sign to pass on this message to everyone at DaC and at the LTFUC:
   "Thank you all so very much for your kind thoughts and help towards myself and family. I cannot really put into words how I feel, but I’ll try. Chris was a kind and gentle

Chris Cecil Fund:
DaC Drivers and
Staff Raise £8000...!

man whose whole life revolved around his girls and I. We were what he lived for. He was so kind and loving, nothing was too much bother. So as you can imagine, the loss was terribly hard on all of us, but Chris being Chris prepared the girls and I for the inevitable and he did it well. The children will remember their Daddy through a star in the sky and they can talk to that star without feeling any pain knowing that he is watching over them.
   This is a very sad time for me, but the sadness has been lessened by the knowledge that
   Taxi drivers - both friends and total strangers - found it in their hearts to donate jobs and contributions for us. I just cannot express the relief of knowing that there are some really wonderful and amazing people out there who would do all this for a family they do not even know.
   I will always have a place in my heart for a very extraordinary friend, Dave Burland without whose amazing help to organise the fundraising for us, we just could not have coped. A big thank you to him and also to everyone who has had a kind thought for Chris's family.