A phone call changed their lives forever. Their sister had been killed in a collision with a drunk driver
One year on from the tragic loss of their beloved sister, three brothers are setting off on an incredible challenge in her memory
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Hannah Jones is remembered by her family for her love of reading and passion in helping children(Image: Daniel Jones)
One year ago, a close-knit Cardiff family received the phone call that would change their lives forever. Their daughter and sister, Hannah Jones, had been killed in a collision while travelling through France. She was just 25 years old.
Now Hannah’s three brothers are set to take on a poignant challenge in tribute to their “kind” and “family-centred” sister. Daniel, Patrick and Francis “Frank” Jones are preparing to cycle more than 1,100km from Cardiff to the small French village where they grew up – and where Hannah is buried – raising money for the charity they have created in her memory.
Although the Jones family are Welsh through and through, they have called southern France home for more than two decades.
Originally from Cardiff, Hannah’s parents moved to France 21 years ago after buying and renovating an old farmhouse in the countryside, where they raised their seven children.
Despite building their lives in France, Wales has always remained close to the family’s heart. They return to Cardiff at least twice a year to visit relatives, making the Welsh capital a fitting starting point for a journey that will end in the village of Le SĂ©gur.
July 4 marked one year since Hannah died in a head-on collision with a drunk driver near Toulouse. She had been returning from Barcelona, where she had watched the band Imagine Dragons with her brother Daniel, before setting off with her boyfriend for a surfing trip on France’s Atlantic coast.
“It was – and still is – a huge, huge shock,” said Daniel, 28. “They’d driven straight on after our trip back from Barcelona and unfortunately there was a drunk driver travelling the opposite way on the motorway. He hit their car head-on.”
Daniel had been sitting at work the following day, still on a high from the trip, wondering why Hannah had not replied to his messages.
“That’s when I got a phone call from mum, who was in tears,” he said. “I think that was genuinely the hardest moment of my life. It was such a shock. It brings you back down to earth at one hell of a pace. You feel sick. It’s a very hard thing to deal with and such a surreal reason for her death.”
Daniel describes Hannah as someone whose world revolved around the people she loved. “She was always on the go with her family and close friends, but she was always at home when she could be,” he said.
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Hannah was a kind soul and family-centred(Image: Daniel Jones)
“She loved babysitting her nieces and nephews. She was very, very family-centred – probably one of the most family-centred people in our family.
“There were four girls and three boys in our family, and Hannah was the youngest of the girls, so she was always surrounded by us boys. She definitely had us wrapped around her finger,” he added with a laugh.
“She was a shy person but, as soon as she opened up to you, she would never stop. She was just a very kind person. I don’t think anyone ever said a bad word about her.”
Only weeks before the crash, Hannah had completed her master’s degree and was preparing to begin her career as a primary school teacher.
“That summer was when she was going to become one,” Daniel said. “She had such a love for children and reading. She loved sharing stories and would often buy books for our nieces and nephews, spending time reading with them and helping them grow their love of books too.”
Just six weeks after Hannah’s death, her family transformed their grief into something that reflected the person she was.
Inspired by Hannah’s love of reading, Daniel’s mother, Lizzie, founded the charity Les Histoires d’Hannah, which donates books to children through schools and children’s homes across France.
“My mum had the idea of creating a charity in memory of Hannah,” Daniel said. “The idea is to give as many children as possible the chance to have and enjoy their own books.
“We work with schools and children’s homes to buy and gift books to children, helping them discover the joy of reading. We work with teachers and carers to choose the books. They aren’t school books -they’re books that spark children’s imaginations.
“The charity became an incredible way of channelling our grief and putting our energy into something useful. Into something that could make someone smile.”
The family also hope Cardiff will eventually become the first international home of Hannah’s charity.
First, however, the Welsh capital will provide the starting point for their biggest fundraising effort yet.
On August 4 at 8am, Daniel, Patrick, 22, and Frank, 23, will leave Cardiff Castle and spend the next seven days cycling 1,122km to Le SĂ©gur.
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Daniel, Francis and Patrick Jones are cycling in memory of their sister (Image: Daniel Jones)
The route includes more than 10,000 metres of climbing and averages around 172km each day.
“The boys and I – and by the boys, I mean Frank and Paddy – do like a good sporting challenge,” Daniel said. “We’d always said we’d cycle from Cardiff to Le SĂ©gur, which is where we grew up. Patrick turned to us around January and said, ‘We’ve never got round to that challenge. Why don’t we do it for the charity?’
“Choosing Cardiff and Le SĂ©gur – where Hannah is buried – as our start and finish points felt like the right way to connect both places that shaped our lives while honouring Hannah’s memory.
“It will be nice to finish where Hannah is rather than away from her.
“It’s going to be a huge challenge – pretty much like taking on a week of the Tour de France – but every kilometre will be for a cause that means so much to us.
“Every donation will go directly to the charity and will help put more books into the hands of children.”
As for what Hannah would have thought about the challenge, Daniel said: “She would have teased us for being soppy, said; ‘Aw look how much you love me’. But we really really do.”
The brothers have already raised more than €2,000 and are continuing to train, secure sponsors and prepare for what promises to be the toughest challenge they have ever undertaken – all in memory of the sister whose love of children and stories continues to inspire others, one book at a time.
The page is still open to donations, and can be found here.