About Luke
LUKE's story
Luke was our adored son, our only child. He was born on the 26th February 1991 and died tragically on 23rd August 2016 aged 25 years old.
Luke was an intelligent, articulate, funny, hardworking, honest and sensitive young man. He loved his family and his many friends and that love was reciprocated. But Luke suffered from mental health problems and despite the fact that he had a job, loving family and friends and what appeared on the outside to be a pretty normal life…
...he took his own life on 23rd August 2016.
his early
years
Luke’s life story isn’t unique; he was an only child but had a wide extended family.
From a very early age Luke loved to read, write and draw. He wanted to be a film director or an author, he had a poem published when he was 8 years old (IMPS), his favourite film was Mary Poppins, he loved going on holiday and his favourite pop group was the Spice Girls (in particular Baby Spice) !!!
As he got older Luke attended St Thomas More School, Gateshead and was a dedicated (apart from sports which he hated) student and achieved excellent academic results at school. He still loved to read and write, but his passion for films started to unfold and Luke started to write on line film critics.
He then went on to read English Literature at Newcastle University. His love for Newcastle stemmed from attending university there. He lived in Heaton and then Sandyford and as he got older his ambition was to buy a flat in Newcastle. He loved the bars and spent many nights at the Tyneside Cinema watching films.
At the time of his death Luke was working for Newcastle University.
his views, principles and passions
Luke held very strong views, principals and passions, both politically and morally. He strongly opposed tuition fees, Brexit and anyone who voiced homophobic views.
Luke had four passions in his life:
-
Luke was an avid reader and loved to collect books. His collection of books was eclectic ranging from classical writers such as E M Forster to more recent such as Bret Easton Ellis.
-
He also loved music and regularly attended concerts and music festivals, when he was younger with his dad and Grandma Winnie however, as he grew older with his friends. His favourite songs were played at this funeral including The Vaccines “All in White”.
-
He loved to watch films. Luke loved to go to the cinema; he collected DVDs and spent many weekends trying to persuade family and friends to watch his favourite films, which were often quite obscure. He often wrote on line critiques of films and regularly attended film festivals.
-
Finally, Luke loved to go on holiday. He was lucky enough to travel around the world and his favourite places included New York and Barcelona.
luke's
mental health
When Luke was 21 it was apparent that he was suffering from mental health problems.
Luke talked to us about his battle with ‘dark times’. Luke just wanted to get better but he waited months and months for support from the local NHS Trust. He was eventually assessed and offered support that both Luke and his GP felt was inadequate. Luke wrote a formal complaint letter and his GP appealed.
The inquest into Luke’s death was held on 17th May 2017and the Coroner’s report stated that Luke took his own life, but without intent. A cry for help that went fatally wrong.
We instructed a firm of solicitors to submit a civil negligence claim on our behalf in August 2017. The case has now been settled (out of court) and the Trust has admitted the that the care provided to Luke was substandard, he was not provided with the support to meet his needs. They also failed to listen to either Luke or his doctor.
Luke's message...
The reason why we have named the website lovelifeforluke.com is because Luke did love his life but he struggled with his dark times, he wanted to get better, wanted to move on and always try to focus on the future. We will never know why Luke took his own life.
Reading Luke’s story may upset you but raising awareness of mental health issues is so important and we want people to learn from what happened to Luke.
luke's legacy...
...organ donor
Luke felt very strongly that everyone should hold an ‘organ donor card’.
Luke successfully donated 3 of his organs when he died. We have now heard from 2 of the recipients.
-
One of his kidneys was successfully transplanted and a grandad has now been given a new lease of life to spend more time with his grandchildren; and
-
Luke’s heart was successfully transplanted, a 43 year old man is now on the way to leading a full and healthy life.
We are so proud of Luke.
Luke's Poem
IMPS
Under the toadstool,
In between petals,
Dancing on the brambles
And the nettles.
Down in the long grass,
Beside the brook,
There once was a girl,
Who now has been took.
In the rabbit’s hole,
Where to go deeper until
You’re very low
You might catch a glimpse,
Of a man no bigger than your toe.
Some of them are blue,
Some of them are green,
But everywhere,
IMPS are seen.
Luke Gaul, age 8
Up, Up and Away. Newcastle
Young Writers 2000
luke's top film directors
LUKE LOVED MOVIES,
THESE WERE SOME OF HIS FAVOURITE DIRECTORS
Walt Disney
Alfred Hitchcock
M Night Shyamalan
Stanley Kubrick
David Lynch
