“NOBODY should have to bury their own child. But we hope this will go some way at least to keeping their memories,” said Helen Steward.

Helen and Sam Goodchild, who both lost their young daughters to cancer, are also committee members for the Children’s Cancer and Leukaemia Movement (CALM) and are putting together a book of remembrance to honour the children of families supported by the charity who also lost their lives to the disease.

“As the years go on, people see you getting on with your own life and you realise that other people are getting on with their lives too,” said Helen, 46, of Pinehurst.

“You never ever forget your children.

“The memory of them is always with you and this is just a way to make that memory tangible, and share them with the world.

“Abby is still a big part of my life, of all our lives. Even though they never knew her my other two daughters still think of her as their older sister.

“She was three-and-a-quarter when she was diagnosed with a brain tumour back in December 2001. And she had a very aggressive form of the disease.

“I wasn’t a maternal person before Abby came along. But when she did, she just changed my life. For the short amount of time she was with us she changed my life forever, and being a mum to Abby was the best thing that ever happened to me.”

The book itself was donated by the Rotary Club some years ago, with the intention that after the names of the children have been collected it will be returned to Lydiard Park and be put on public display, for all the visitors to read.

But despite keeping records of the families who have sought support from the local charity, which is run entirely by parents of children with cancer, many have moved on and are now unreachable.

Helen said: “We’ve started writing to families to see whether they’d like their children to be included in the book, but as you can imagine some of those families have moved house.

“We want to track down as many of the families as possible, so that they can decide whether they’d like their child included in the book.”

Helen hopes that for many families like hers, remembering their children in a dedicated book will help to honour their memories.

“When you join CALM, you care a lot – not just about your own children and what happens to them, but also about the other children. And that’s why I joined the committee and why I wanted to be involved with this project.

“It’s not about me, or about the families or even the parents – it’s just about the children, and wanting to cherish their memories and to remember them and what they gave to us.”

For more information about the book, or to get in touch, call CALM on 01793 813025 or visit www.calmcharity.org.