The Marchioness disaster happened on the River Thames in the early hours of 20th August 1989.
The Marchioness was a pleasure boat that was hosting the 26th birthday party for Antonio Vasconcellos and over 120 of his friends.
The Marchioness sank after it was run down by the dredger Bowbelle. Out of all the 131 people on board the Marchioness 51 people drowned including Antonio.
Philip Robinson was on board that night and was one of the survivors.
Before that night my life had been very fortunate and privileged. At the time I was a Portfolio Manager at Barings, whilst my dear friend Antonio was a successful
Fund Manager and entrepreneur. It was Antonio's 26th birthday that night and his life and so many others were tragically cut short.
My world was turned upside down by the tragedy and this most intrusive of events meant that I had to question many things in my life, not least my City career.
From my earliest childhood in East Africa I had always enjoyed singing. This love of singing had evolved to the extent that I was
awarded a choral scholarship to Oxford and commenced professional training in the 1980's. After the Marchioness disaster I became
more of a risk taker and I embarked on a career as a professional tenor. Fortunately I was able to secure a scholarship at the
Royal Academy of Music to train in opera and oratorio. I have little doubt that without the events of that night in August 1989
I would not have been brave enough to follow my heart rather than my head.
The Royal Academy of Music is an enlightened institution and engages several in-house counsellors for student use.
This is mainly because the music profession is a particularly challenging and unstable one! Although I thought that a few counselling sessions would suffice
I was quickly informed that more fundamental help was required. I was suffering from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and needed help.
I was fortunate enough to receive extensive rehabilitation treatment and trauma therapy.
This helped to an unprecedented degree and allowed me to balance my love of singing with a re-entry into the investment industry.
I am one of the lucky ones in that I have been able to come to terms with the effects of post traumatic stress disorder. Someone else
who was able to do this is Alex Fontaine who also wanted to "put something back" into the community in recognition of the care and support
she had received. She achieved this by founding The Yellow Heart Trust to help others who have experienced trauma.
Since founding this charity in 2002 she has been able to help many individuals suffering from unresolved trauma by providing access to
compassionate and constructive support.
Alex's inspiration and friendship have been instrumental in my decision to establish the Antonio Vasconellos Fund.
I wanted to set up a fund in memory of this remarkable man. As so many of those who survived the sinking of the Marchioness benefited from post traumatic stress disorder
therapy the fund's aim will be to provide help for those coming to terms with unresolved issues resulting from trauma. I hope that this will provide
a fitting legacy for those both dead and alive, survivors and relatives of lost ones who were affected by this tragedy.
It is our goal to secure funding of £150,000 by spring 2011 for The Antonio Vasconcellos Fund.
Yes we have already undertaken some fundraising by organising serveral concerts in 2010. Additionally I decided to face
my fears and swim the Thames (a 13kms stretch on the upper Thames). Many friends thought I was "bonkers!" Still - It's all done now!
For 2011 we are organising 2 concerts. One is in Brighton as part of the Brighton Fringe Festival on Friday 27th May at 7.30pm at
St Michael and All Angels Church in Brighton. That one will be featuring songs from the shows. Then in September we hope to host another
concert as part of the Hurst Festival in Sussex.
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