The family of a little girl who bravely fought, but lost her battle against a rare cancer, now have a fitting memorial dedicated to her memory.
Sadie Rose Clifford, who was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma in 2010, captured the hearts of thousands with her fight. Despite kind hearted members of the public raising more than £400,000 for treatment in America, Sadie sadly passed away in June 2012 aged just two years old.
To celebrate Sadie’s life, a specially designed memorial bench has been placed in Bebra Gardens in Knaresborough.
Harrogate Borough Council were approached by Sadie’s parents, Katie and Darren Clifford, in the summer of 2013 with the proposal of creating the lasting memorial for their daughter. Since then, Katie and Darren have worked tirelessly to raise the funds for the bench, while Harrogate Borough Council, together with the Friends of Bebra Gardens, have been preparing a suitable location and making sure everything goes to plan. Local contractors Mulbrand Ltd kindly volunteered their services and installed the natural stone flags where the bench is positioned and helped with the difficult job of installing the bench itself.
The hand-carved redwood bench which features a butterfly and hearts motif, overlooks the children’s paddling pool, and was created by renowned tree sculpture Tommy Craggs. The design took over a week to complete. The area surrounding the bench will now be landscaped with a scheme designed by Harrogate Borough Council and the Friends of Bebra Gardens to include flowering plants in Sadie’s favourite colours.
Patrick Kilburn, Harrogate Borough Council’s Head of Parks & Environmental Services said: Sadie’s struggle really touched the people of Harrogate and Knaresborough and we are pleased to be able to help create a fitting memorial for her in Bebra Gardens – a location frequented by many young families.
Katie and Darren Clifford said: We would just like to thank everyone who has helped and supported us over these past four years. On June 25th it will mark two years since our little girl left us. However being down at Bebra Gardens and sitting on her bench makes it feel as though she is there too. Thank you to everyone who made this happen. We hope to make many happy memories there with Sadie’s little brother, Oscar.
We visited Knaresborough yesterday and were taken by this beautifully made bench in Bebra Gardens. Now we are a bit more aware of what it stands for, and truly is a very fitting tribute to a brave little girl.