A fundraising total exceeding £17,000 has been accumulated following the passing of a 19-year-old Oxford University undergraduate who died after being found on railway tracks.
An official investigation concluded that Barnaby Wills, a philosophy, politics and economics student at St Hilda’s College, intentionally ended his own life during April.
He was discovered seriously injured on railway lines close to his residence in Shepherdswell, Kent on April 27.
Despite paramedics’ attempts to save him, he was pronounced deceased at the scene that morning.
Proceedings took place this month in Maidstone, where it emerged that Wills had encountered mental health difficulties in the period preceding his death.
These difficulties had prompted him to temporarily pause his university education for one year.
The coroner determined that he had deliberately fallen from a bridge, arriving at a conclusion of suicide.
Multiple collection efforts have since been established in his memory, generating substantial sums for charitable organisations.
A campaign hosted on the Much Loved platform has received contributions totalling £17,254.62.
Funds have been directed towards the Air Ambulance Charity and the Campaign Against Living Miserably, an organisation providing assistance to individuals experiencing mental health struggles or crisis situations.
Prior to attending Oxford, Wills had been a pupil at Langton Boys’ School in Canterbury, where he achieved top grades enabling his progression to the prestigious university.
Senior tutor Dr Sarah Norman from St Hilda’s College expressed that the loss had been felt profoundly throughout the institution, extending heartfelt condolences to the student’s family and close companions.
She noted that Wills had distinguished himself through his compassion towards fellow students, intellectual engagement across his academic pursuits, and involvement in numerous college and university activities.
A separate fundraising initiative has been arranged to benefit Legend on the Bench, a charitable body working to prevent suicide by installing information benches containing crisis support details in green spaces throughout the country.
The campaign was established by the student’s aunt, Louise Wilde, and has accumulated £2,252 to date.