Delyth Raffell from Blyth tragically lost her teenage daughter, Ellen, aged just 16, to anaphylaxis in 2019. She and her family, set up a charity in her memory, ‘Ellen’s Gift of Hope’, to support children in their region of Northumberland who face challenges in life due to health issues, special needs and disabilities. Recently, singer-songwriter Thea Gilmore met Delyth to hear about her extraordinary daughter and the pain and purpose that inspires the charity. She wrote a song about Ellen, called ‘She Speaks In Colours’.

On 9th Jan 23, The One Show on BBC One featured Delyth on the programme, showing the moment Thea performed her song to her for the very first time.

Thea Gilmore said, “It was such an honour to be a part of the 21st Century Folk project. I don’t think I have ever felt such a responsibility as a songwriter to capture a person and a mood as I did with this song. It has been a privilege to listen to Delyth and her family remember Ellen. It has been a privilege to try to do justice to Ellen’s life in song. They’ll all be with me forever.”

Delyth's Story

Hello, my name is Delyth and I’m mum to twins Ellen & Abbey…you may have caught us on The One Show or heard us on BBC Radio, as we featured as part of their 21st Century Folk project. The aim was to create a time-capsule of life in the North East, through song. Five singers were brought together with five inspirational people to write a unique song about their lives.

It all started back in March 2022, when purely by chance, I heard about the ‘folk’ project on Radio 2. They were looking for inspirational people and I could think of no-one better than my daughter Ellen, who sadly died in October 2019, from anaphylaxis to flavoured crisps we bought from an Asian supermarket. Ellen had just turned 16 when she was so tragically taken from us, anaphylaxis came on fast, she died within an hour of eating the crisps.

Ellen was the kindest and most compassionate girl you could meet, a real ‘people-person’ - she was drawn to them and they to her. She loved life, despite all the difficulties she had from being born prematurely, from multiple operations as a baby through to the hospitalisations for pneumonia and asthma attacks every 3 months for 5 years. Ellen was a fighter and a determined child with a zest for life and learning and she always wanted to help people less fortunate than herself. She studied hard at school and her dream was to be a space scientist and work for NASA. She was on the brink of starting this adventure, due to attend Space Academy at Loughborough College the following year.

Ellen was also a musician and played both acoustic and electric guitars. She would practice for hours on end. Music was always something she loved, whether she was playing guitar in school concerts or singing in the choir or going to pop concerts. Music filled her with joy, it made her laugh and dance….it made her happy.

Like all of our children, the world would be a better place with her in it, but sadly this was not to be. Whilst Ellen was in the hospital (waiting for the organ donation team), we decided to create a charity called Ellen’s Gift of Hope (www.ellensgiftofhope.org) which would help disabled children in the North East. We thought this would be our way of honouring our daughter in a way that she would have wanted. Her sister Abbey’s middle name is Hope and we wanted to keep a special bond between them. This is Ellen’s legacy, it is her helping hand to those in need. She is our inspiration.

So, when I heard about the 21st Century Folk project looking for inspirational people, I immediately thought of Ellen. I really didn’t think they would accept an entry from someone who wasn’t alive, but I wrote in any way, on her behalf. As they say in the North East “ Shy bairns get nowt!” I literally hit the send button with about 2 minutes before the deadline! A couple of months later, I received a phone call to say that Ellen was one of the 5 people chosen! I was ecstatic that Ellen would have a song written for her and I know she would have been over the moon!

A few months later, the One Show film crew and Radio 2 visited my home and I met Thea Gilmore, the singer/songwriter. She was the perfect choice for Ellen’s song; she is an amazing songwriter with a beautiful voice. We were in tears listening to her songs, they really resonated with me and my husband, Graham. Thea was going on tour and performing in Newcastle the following month, so we went along and I cried again!

The day of the filming went on for a long time. It was such fun having everyone in my home but also a little daunting as no one prepares you for all the questions. Thea put me at ease and is such a lovely woman, I felt like I’d known her for years. I told her all about Ellen, and we laughed and cried together. I told her about how Ellen loved rainbows, everything had to be ordered ‘rainbowbetically’ from clothes to revision notes. I told her how the stars meant so much to us as well and how Ellen had met Chris Hadfield the astronaut, and of her dreams to become a NASA Space Scientist - “Not an astronaut as that would take me too far from home.” she had said. There is a huge star on the stairs where Ellen died in Graham’s arms, her last words were, “Daddy, don’t let me die”. I was sent to get a defibrillator but she was gone when I got back. I wish I had been there with her. I never got to say goodbye.

I told Thea about her love of music, how she’d danced in her baby stroller when a car drove by, blasting out songs on the radio. I told her of Ellen’s love of the actor Tom Hanks and how I’d written to him about her and how he’d written back! I tried to tell her everything about Ellen but how can you put 16 years into just one day?

We finally heard the song and arranged to hear Thea’s live performance on Dec 8th 2022 at Woodhorn Museum, a few miles from where we live. It was a great choice of venue as we used to take the girls there a lot when they were younger. It was a bit of a drizzly day but everyone made us feel so welcome and we got warmed up with hot chocolate. We had a few of our family and friends attending and there was a build-up to the actual performance with more filming and questions. Eventually, we all trooped into the room and settled in our seats awaiting Thea.

She came in looking every inch the rock star and gave a simply wonderful performance of her special song ‘She Speaks In Colours.’ We were all in floods of tears after the first few lyrics and I went into pieces at the last ‘star’ verse. It is simply THE most amazing tribute to Ellen.

When you lose a child, people often send you cards that say “There are no words.” Well, Thea found the words, and each one was carefully chosen and full of thought and meaning. It’s a powerful and poignant song, it’s sorrow & joy wrapped up together. It’s the soundtrack to our grief and the hope at the end of the rainbow.

We have met fabulous people who honoured Ellen in the best possible way. When we appeared on Jeremy Vine’s radio show (10th Jan), I got a little starstruck and met Dermot O’Leary and Tony Blackburn too. I had a lovely interview with Anna Foster from BBC Radio Newcastle (11th Jan), it felt like talking to my best friend. And, of course, Mark Radcliffe’s Radio 2 Folk Show where it all started has featured Thea Gilmore and all the other artists and inspirational folk who’ve had songs written for them (15th Jan). I hope you will listen to the shows which are all available on BBC Sounds.

Please support Thea by streaming or buying ’She Speaks In Colours’. Musicians have had a particularly tough time during Covid with no live performances and I recently found out that the artist only receives 0.3 of a penny per stream (that’s only £3 for 1,000). I would also encourage you to listen to her vast array of songs and follow her for news and future tour dates.

If you’d like to support Ellen's Gift of Hope with a donation or find out more about our charity, please visit www.ellensgiftofhope.org and follow us on Facebook for the latest news & events @ellensgiftofhope. We know Ellen would be humbled by all the attention, I can hear her now strumming along with Thea on her favourite blue guitar.

How lucky are we to have such a talented musician & beautiful soul come into our lives…..heaven sent, by Ellen.