March 23rd 2005

The day our music died. 

I only have a picture now,
A frozen piece of time,
To remind me of how it was,
When you were here, and mine.

I see your smiling eyes,
Each morning when I wake,
I talk to you, and place a kiss,
Upon your lovely face.

How much I miss you being here,
I really can not say,
The ache is deep inside my heart,
And never goes away.

I hear it mentioned often,
That time will heal the pain,
But if I'm being honest,
I hope it will remain.

I need to feel you constantly,
To get me through the day,
I loved you so very much,
Why did you go away?

The angels came and took you,
That really wasn't fair,
They took my one and only Son,
My future life. My heir.

If only they had asked me,
If I would take your place,
I would have done so willingly,
Leaving you this world to grace.

You should have had so many years,
To watch your life unfold,
And in the mist of this,
Watch me and your Mum grow old!

I hope your watching from above,
At the daily tasks I do,
And let there be no doubt at all,
I really do love you.

Our hearts will always be broken. Love you so much xxxx

Your Bench at Winchelsea x

"I loved the boy with the utmost love of which my soul is capable and he is taken from me - yet in the agony of my spirit in surrendering such a treasure, I feel a thousand times richer than if I had never possessed it." Wordsworth

Nick, our dearest darling only son, how we wish you were here. We know you are still playing sweet music in heaven 

Play it loud and proud son you will always be 'sweet child of mine'

Another turning point
A fork stuck in the road
Time grabs you by the wrist
Directs you where to go
So make the best of this test
And don’t ask why
It’s not a question
But a lesson learned in time
It’s something unpredictable
But in the end is right
I hope you had the time of your life

This website was lovingly created to celebrate the life of our beloved son & brother, Nick Butcher . He was born on June 16, 1983

and stopped playing suddenly on March 23, 2005 at the age of 21.  He went to sleep and we never had a chance to say goodbye and take care.

(It might be grainy but it's our last photo of Nick,  taken with his  webcam)

These wounds won't seem to heal,
This pain is just too real,
There's just too much that time cannot erase,
When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears,
When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears,
and I held your hand through all of these years,

We loved him then, we love him now and we will love him forever. We will talk about him with love in our voices that way he will never be forgotten.

Nick, we miss you more then ever but we will grow stronger with your help. We were blessed to have you with us for a total of
21 yrs, 8 months and 7 days

A bit about Nick

At eighteen months old Nick suffered an infection which left him with damaged lungs. He fought and fought as his prognosis was not good and came through. He was left with a  legacy which left him breathless and prone to infections. Although he had severe problems he played his illness down, people saw him and not his illness. He went through  school and was the cheeky monkey of the class, maybe thats where he got his lifelong love of monkeys.

Nick started secondary school but found it tough going ,so he transfered to a school which catered more for his needs. At the school Nick shone, not only as a pupil but as a caring human being. His abillity to accept disability within himself gave him the abillity to accept it in others. In Nicks formative years he developed a great love of all music and art, he appreciated composers from , Motzart to Metallica . Artists from Holbien to Hockney. he followed both pursuits with the same passion and zest with which he lived his life. Nick had a seriously wicked sense of humour who always brought a smile to anyone who was down. He loved his music and was forever playing a new riff or song he had learned. He treasured his collection of guitars and only at special times would he let his dad anywhere near "his babies". He took requests from his mum and played all her favourites, whenever she asked.

Nick also loved his computer. Being on the 'net 'was a major passion for him. Talking on the net to his 'make believe friends' as we called them. But after Nick had gone we powered up his pc to find out that the 'make believe' friends were grieving too. we had lost sight that behind every computer, sits a human being.

Nick had a large group of friends, he could walk into a room with twenty strangers and walk out with twenty friends. most of them had carried him, especially after a good night out at the pub. And one last time, so gently, at his funeral as pall bearers.

The void that Nick has left in our hearts will never be filled but we hope that at some point we can smile again. We were pleased and honoured to have had him in our lives. He was too special to stay long. God only loaned him to us, he was never ours to keep.


The Nick Butcher Legacy Trust  Raising Money musically

***Latest News***

In August 2009, two of Nicks Cousins decided to do a bike ride and raise money for charity in Nick's name. They called the trip 'Rock the Road' and cycled from Lands End to John O'Groats. The money they raised has been donated to Great Ormand Street Hospital, A local School for Children with physical disabilities and towards a bench located in Winchelsea...A place with so many memories for us all. We love them for it and are so proud of them. Rachel and Gareth James Bailey x

On Saturday 12th July, we held a 25th Birthday party in memory of our son Nick.

To lose a child is the worst thing for a parent, the second worse thing is to think they are forgotton........

We want to thank everybody who donated and attended, You all helped to remember and we all really rocked for Nick.

On the night we raised a total of £1,525

In addition to the £295 donated online gives us a grand total of £1,820

A cheque has been sent to Nordoff Robbins for this amount and they are replacing instruments in their London centre.

A memorial concert was held in aid of the
'Nick Butcher Legacy Trust' on August 26th 2006. It was a great success in total we raised

Over £3,000

THANK YOU ALL
The night was brilliant, the band was brilliant and the crowd were brilliant.
We all 'rocked' for Nick

We have sent Papworth Hospital Adolescent unit a cheque for £3,000 to spend on something Fun and Musical. The latest news is that they have purchased computer equipment and internet access.
Nick would definitely approve

Nick and his Games

This candle tribute was sent on Nicks 1st anniversary in 2006, by a gaming community he was part of. They have entered him into their 'Legend' section and every year on the 23rd March they give the most deserving member of their group the 'Nikonous' award which was set up in Nicks memory.
We thank them for remembering

 TG Nikonus Awards

Each year on the 23rd of March, The Gathering remembers one of it's members who left us all too soon. Nick Butcher AKA TG|Nikonus joined TG in 2004 and very quickly became one of TG's leading members, playing CSS for a time but mainly playing SWG and having a ball whilst doing so. Always making people laugh, always posting in the forums, Nick brought something a bit different to TG and we miss him for it.
Nick was the one person that if you felt down or depressed he would always be there to chear you up, he never had a bad word to say about anyone or anything and was always active in the forums posting something or other

Jackie,Gerry,katie and especially Nick thank you for visiting his site. Please let Nick know that he will not be forgotton by lighting a candle and writing any thoughts on the tribute page.
This site will be reviewed regulary so if you have any comments please feel free to contact us with your suggestions.