A tree was planted in Haverhill to honor Harley Barfield, a murder victim, on what would have been his 18th birthday.
The silver birch, twelve feet tall, stands where Chalkstone Middle School once was. The site is on Millfields Way, sitting by the Railway Walk and a care home.
The Harley Barfield Project, started by Harley’s dad Darryl Barfield, paid for the tree. This project fights knife crime following Harley’s stabbing in 2023, two weeks after his sixteenth birthday.
Darryl planted the tree on December 28, Harley’s birthday, with help from his brother, Harrison. Friends Claire, Jake, and Molly Summerlee assisted too.
Haverhill Town Council aided with the tree by digging the hole and providing protection. Fencing and wire keep the tree safe.
Darryl placed a wreath shaped like the number 18 at Harley’s grave in Haverhill Crematorium.
Darryl thanked Colin Poole and Joe Mason, along with the town council, for the fence and wire for Harley’s tree.
December 28 was a very difficult day for Darryl, who emotionally planted the tree. Harley should have celebrated his birthday with friends and family. Darryl will plant a tree every year to always honor Harley’s memory.
Harley died at Royal Papworth Hospital. The attack, where another boy stabbed him in a car park, occurred on January 9, 2023, at Strasbourg Square.
The tree’s location near Strasbourg Square was important to Darryl, as it’s close to where Harley last walked.
Harley lived in Haverhill and attended Stour Valley Community School. He was wounded twelve times with a knife, one wound piercing his heart.
In November 2023, the killer was found guilty of murder after a four-week trial at Ipswich Crown Court. He received a life sentence with a minimum of seventeen years.