Matt Greenwood was born on 23rd February 1995.

I’m sure most parents will tell you that their children are the best children to ever walk the earth. Mine are no different, and I love them both dearly. Sadly Matt was taken from me far too early. After a brief, but fierce, battle with cancer Matt passed away on the 11th December 2016 at the age of 21.

Life is not the same.

Matt was a wonderful son. From an early age it was easy to tell that we had a very special addition to our family. He was bright, had a lovely sense of humour, and valued his family and friends greatly.

One of his many passions was travel. There is a map of the world on his bedroom wall, and every time he went to a different country he would excitedly mark it off with a pin. Although I had looked at it often, I was still surprised the other day to see how many places he had been to.

When he was 18 he went to Uganda & Kenya with a party of young men from Queen Mary’s Grammar School, Walsall. The aim of the trip was two-fold, Firstly the group went to Kenya where they visited Oronkai Primary School. Here they helped to rebuild a classroom, and did some teaching. Secondly, they crossed over to Uganda to climb Mt. Elgon.

At 20, Matt went to China for four weeks with his friend John Logan, who he had met at Oxford University. They travelled extensively across China, and were able to climb Mount Huà shān – listed as one of the most dangerous hiking trails in the world. 

During both of these trips Matt kept a fairly detailed journal. I have decided to transcribe them here; mainly for the many friends who have asked to read them, but also in the hope that some of his enthusiasm and passion can be passed on to others.

Additionally, because Matt was so keen to travel, various friends and family members have offered to take Matt’s ashes to several places that Matt wanted to go to. I will record those trips here too.

Although you are gone, you are not gone – you are always in our hearts and minds. We will always love you, and take you with us on our travels – where ever they may be.

Don’t read this and be sad that Matt is no longer here, read it and be glad that he was here at all. He wanted us to carry on the better for knowing him, and not let life slide away because he cannot continue with us.