Supporting Dev's wife Ellie and daughter Marley

Hi, my name is Tom Crawford and I am fundraising for a very close friend.

Unfortunately, on Saturday 15th April 2023, a dear friend and fellow ex Royal Navy Mine Clearance Diver, Devon Murray passed away in a motorcycle accident in South Africa. He sadly leaves behind his wife and 1-year-old daughter.

“Dev” was born in South Africa but moved to the UK in 2012 to begin his application for the Royal Navy. He joined the service in 2014. Dev was in the Royal Navy for 8 years, which included deployments on Op Kipion and then the Bomb Disposal Team at Northern Diving Group, before leaving last year in November 2022. I’m sure if you speak to anyone, you will find out that Dev was very highly thought of within the diving branch which makes this all the more devastating.

Dev got married to Ellie in 2021, they then had their amazing daughter Marley in 2022. It’s heart-breaking that he has had to leave them both behind at such a young age and didn’t get to spend more time with his little girl enjoying being a new dad.

Upon leaving the military in 2022, Dev & Ellie sold everything they had in the UK and moved to South Africa to follow their dream. Now this devastating situation has left Ellie & her young daughter Marley alone in South Africa. Her intentions are to return to the UK, where it will be much safer, and she will have a better support system for raising her daughter alone now that her father has unfortunately passed away.

Losing a loved one is hard enough when it happens in your own country with a support system around you, it is much harder in a foreign country like South Africa.

Dev’s absence is deeply felt for all those who were lucky enough to be part of his life.

He will be sadly missed. Dev was a true hero who was loved by many.

Please share this fundraiser with any people or groups you think may be able to help us raise some money for his wife and child. It won’t change the pain of his loss, but it might help make the transition back to the UK and starting to rebuild their lives that bit easier.