My parents met 1 week, married 7 weeks later. They had me 9 months later, it was always a running joke I was a wedding night conception. They had 2 more children. My dad was the most loving and attentive man. Full of humour and laughs, we grew up so loved and cherished. We didn't have a lot, but we have memories. Most good, some not.

Dad had 2 kidney transplants, one of them from my sister, he had a triple heart bypass, calciflaxis pneumonia but through it all he fought. And won. He was medically retired, and my mum left her nursing job to care for him. She kept him alive more times than I can remember.  

But, even despite this, the good times outweighed the bad. Family holidays, playing snooker, getting dad drunk on more than one occasion. 

Sadly my dad died on the 18th December 2020. He didn't die of any of his underlying health issues. He didn't die of pneumonia. He was taken. 

Like nearly 100,000 people in the UK my dad died of Covid-19. 

I was with my dad as he died. We were told CPAP was the only thing keeping him alive and we were asked to remove the mask to let him go peacefully. My mother was breaking her heart sobbing, begging for him to stay, begging them to help, she had to be carried from the room. 

My sister and I stayed. We held my dad as he died. Told him we loved him, that it was ok, that we'd look after mum who herself has a life limiting disease. We watched as his breathing slowed, his lips going blue, the life leaving his eyes. And we loved him with all our hearts. 

There are nearly 100,000 families who have lost to Covid-19. Over a million worldwide. 

I'm petitioning for a day of national memorial for all those lost to this disease. And to remember how our key workers pulled together to fight to keep us safe.

My dad Colin Reginald Jones wasn't a statistic. He isn't a number. He's my dad. 

After times of conflict we have a day of remembrance. Our war with Covid-19 should be no different. Let us unite in our grief, and our love and remember all those souls we've lost. Our loved ones, our mums, dads, children, our friends, remember the good times and the bad, and keep that day as a reminder of what we've fought. 

Please I beg you please sign this in memory of every one lost to Covid-19.

Thank you.