Pete x

Pete Wicks was just 24 when he took his own life. He had no history of mental illness and gave no indication that he was suffering. He was popular in his home town in Cornwall, had loads of friends and had a family that loved him dearly. We will never understand why he did what he did. We feel the impact of his loss every single day.

Pete's big sister, Alison - our Diva Dragon, does not want anyone to go through this experience alone. Suicide Bereavement Support in the South West is patchy and Devon has been completely without …….until now! Diva is a woman on a mission and will not stop until every family in the South West, the UK and then globally is supported. She has recruited a team of passionate Dragons that are driven to provide others with the comfort and support we so desperately wish we had. You can read Diva's letter here.

Our Timeline

January 2010: Pete dies and Ditsy takes Diva mummy and Daddy Dragon to Derriford hospital to identify the body. During the drive she suggests riding from Lands End to Twickenham to raise money and say thank you to Cornwall Search and Rescue.

Diva helped her Mum sort through Pete’s belongings and found a picture of a Dragon which had been commissioned by Pete. Diva contacted the designer who confirmed that the design had indeed been to Pete’s own specifications and that he had intended to have it sprayed onto his car. Our logo was born.

September 2010: Diva, Ditsy and Dreggie Dragon cycle from Lands End to Twickenham. Raising enough money to buy a second Landrover for Cornwall S&R, complete with Pete's original Dragon - he would be so proud.

February 2011: Mummy and Auntie Dragons zipewire across the longest zipwire in the UK at Adrenaline Quarry.

September 2011: Dragon Royal bungee jumps of the Victoria Falls Bridge in Zimbabwe for Help Our Wounded Royal Marines. CTCRM had offered to send troops to search for Pete and HOWRM have a suicide prevention programme

September 2012: Dragon Bex climbs Mount Kilimanjaro and raises £1000 for Balloons Child Bereavement Service in Exeter who had looked after Diva’s children after Pete’s Death.

August 2013: Dragons Geezer and Jedi cycle from Gibraltar to Bilbao again raising money for Balloons and Cornwall S&R

October 2014: 27 Dragons skydive for Cornwall S&R and Samaritans. 3.5k is given to each charity.The skydive is a significant turning point with skydiving dragons making clear their intention to stay involved.Diva and Ditsy recruit Dinky to enable an application for charitable status with the desire to raise awareness and combat the stigma around suicide, support the bereaved through “Hugs in a Hamper” and Fund suicide prevention charities and initiatives

November 2014: Ditsy’s birthday party takes over a whole restaurant as a practice run for the ball and brings in local business and community support.

November 2014: First “Hug in a Hamper” sent

December 2014: Request for financial help for a bereaved family is received. Decision to offer “Comfort Grants”of up to £300 to the suicide bereaved in financial distress is made.

25th February 2015 CHARITABLE STATUS GRANTED!!!

April 2015: Pete’s Dragons joins the Alliance of Suicide Prevention Charities, The Suicide Bereavement Support Partnership, Recovery Devon, The Devon Suicide Prevention Alliance and the South West Zero Suicide Collaborative.

May 2015: Decision to recruit more trustees taken and role advertised.

July 2015: The very first PD black tie ball is a resounding success. PHEW!

August 2015: Skydive phase 2 features Ditsy and Mummy Dragon.

September 2015: Demure, Ditsy, Drunk, Chris and Shepherd cycle the London to Brighton.

November 2015: Diva is invited to train as an ASIST trainer to be funded by Public Health Devon and Torbay.

February 2016 : Pete’s Dragons lease a three story townhouse in Exmouth which is to become our office space and self-contained holiday home. Diva steps down from the trustee board and becomes the charity CEO.

April 2016 : Devon and Cornwall Constabulary agree to fund a 6-month pilot of our Suicide Bereavement Support Service (SBSS) throughout Devon.

May 2016 : Lilliput Dragon joins the team as administrator for the Suicide Bereavement Support Service.

May 2016 : Dragons win charity of the year at the Exmouth Chamber of Commerce Business Awards 2016.

June 1st 2016 : Pete’s Dragons Suicide Bereavement Support Service for Devon becomes operational.

June 10th 2016 : Pete’s Dragons HQ and Holiday home are officially opened by Hugo Swire MP.

October 2016 : Diva qualifies as a Grief Recovery Specialist.

November 5th 2016 : The 2nd Pete’s Dragons Ball is held and raises £7,000!

December 1st 2016 Pilot period for SBSS ends: 60 families have been supported in this time.

Christmas 2016: Operation Xmas Hamper is supported by local businesses, people and schools and enables us to send 26 beautiful hampers out to families in Devon and Cornwall.

7th March 2017: Countryfile and the Absolutely Fabulous Jennifer Saunders filmed at PDHQ, Exmouth Beach and Exeter Forest School as part of Red Nose Day.

9th March 2017: Jennie Bond and a film crew from BBC spotlight attend HQ to view the project and film a segment which was aired three times on the 24th march, Red Nose Day.

16th May 2017: Diva Dragon was invited to attend a Garden Party at Buckingham Palace in recognition of her work in the community.

22nd November 2017: Pete's Dragons secure £80,000 of funding from the Treasury Department in order to roll out suicide fist aid training to emergency service personnel across the South West of the UK.