Jack Williams always wanted to travel around the world, just like his favourite character Jack Sparrow.
But sadly, the 16-year-old never got the chance, so his mum Rachel and her friends are fulfilling his dream by scattering his ashes around the globe.
Rachel decided on the adventurous farewell to her son after a friend’s mum told her: “You love travelling. Why don’t you take Jack with you?”
And she is being helped in her mission by pals and family members, who are each taking a little pot of his ashes on far-flung trips.
They have so far gone as far afield as Machu Picchu in Peru, Krakow in Poland, Jamaica, and La Coruna in Spain.
Rachel, 51, from South Wales, says: “Jack loved Pirates of the Caribbean, he watched it again and again. All his friends knew him as Jack Sparrow. He used to say, ‘I’m going to get a boat and sail around the world, Mum’.”
But sadly, on September 26, 2011, Jack took his own life. His suicide came just weeks after his father Darren attempted to murder Rachel at her hair salon by shooting her in the chest. She survived because she brought her knees up to protect herself and her leg caught the bullet. He then killed himself in woods.
Rachel, who is also mum to Josh, 32, had just asked Darren for a divorce, after suffering 18 years of domestic abuse.
She says: “I arranged for Jack to be cremated and kept his ashes in a plastic jar under the stairs. They were there for 12 years gathering dust. I’d never known what to do with them until my friend Alex’s mum, Kath, made this brilliant suggestion. Jack loved going to Menorca with Josh and my parents, so it seemed just right.”
Rachel – who remarried in 2015 to new husband Mike Court, 54 – began Jack’s journey in February, scattering ashes around their old home in Brynglas, South Wales. She says: “Although it was the place where the abuse happened, it was also an area where Jack loved to play outside, to see his friends, to ride his bike, so it felt a good place to start.”
Next, Kath, 70, who came up with the idea, scattered some in a river in Krakow on holiday. Rachel says: “It was lovely knowing it was the start of Jack’s journey around the world.”
More and more friends and family then took little containers of Jack’s ashes, sending Rachel photos and videos of them being scattered – which she hopes one day to turn into a book.
On Mothering Sunday, pal Cathy scattered some on Machu Picchu. Rachel, now an anti-domestic violence campaigner, says: “Next was Belfast where I went to speak at a domestic abuse conference.
“Then Alex, my friend since we were 15, took him to Benalmadena in Spain, and to Jamaica, to the Dunn River.
“Another friend, Menna, took him to Barcelona and the Blue Lagoon in Gozo, on Malta. And this weekend he’s heading to Gibraltar – where I’m going for work – and to Prague with my friend Rose.
“He’s been scattered in 18 places and I’m hoping he’ll go to another 25. Nothing will ever bring Jack back, but sending him on this final journey to so many incredible places brings me comfort and hope.”
Jack's journey so far
- Brynglas
- Krakow
- Ireland
- Machu Picchu
- Cyprus
- Benalmadena
- Barcelona
- Twmbarlwm (small mountain in Gwent)
- Gozo
- Jamaica
- Lindos
- La Coruna
- Mallorca
- Leaning tower of Pisa
- France
- Barcelona
- Cadiz
- Christopher Columbus Monument
