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In Memoriam: William Gradwell-Smith

The University is deeply saddened by the news of the death of Billy (William) Gradwell-Smith on Friday 30 December. Billy was a first year undergraduate Philosophy and Literature student resident at Westwood. There will be further detail on funeral arrangements once this is available from the family. His family have made the following statement.

Billy became seriously ill at home on the morning of Thursday 29 December and was airlifted to Harefield hospital where he was put on life support. A CT scan confirmed this was the result of an aneurism and a massive bleed to his brain. He was not able to recover and lost his battle for life at approximately 13:00 on Friday 30 December. We have been assured he did not suffer following the bleed.

Billy’s final wish was to donate for transplant, this was achieved and it is hoped that this will give others hope in 2017.

It is evident that he made many new friends in his short time at Warwick and we thank you all for this. He was in great spirits over Christmas and was looking forward to continuing with his University life.

Trevor, Jane and Hannah Gradwell-Smith

If you knew Billy and are affected by this news, there is a range of University support available to you. The Wellbeing Support Services website gives more details about support available, or you can contact the team on 024 765 75570, internal extension 75570, or by visiting their offices on the ground floor of University House.