Children's rights campaigner Richard Taylor dies at the age of 75
Richard dedicated his years to improving the lives of disadvantaged kids
Richard Taylor, who dedicated his life to improving the lives of children across the UK and the world, has died at the age of 75.
In a statement posted by Richard's family, his loved ones said that Richard had died following a long illness.
The statement read: "It is with a heavy heart that the family announce the death of our beloved father, grandfather and uncle, Mr Richard Adeyemi Taylor OBE, who sadly passed away in the early hours of Saturday March 23 at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Woolwich, after a prolonged battle with prostate cancer."
Taylor was the father of Damilola Taylor, who died at the age of 10 after he was attacked with a broken bottle in November 2000.
Damilola had been walking home from the library when he was approached and got into an altercation, which resulted in him being left bleeding in a stairwell.
Following his tragic death, his father Richard - a Nigerian civil servant - took it upon himself to raise awareness of knife crime and find ways to tackle it.
In 2001, Richard - together with wife Gloria - set up the Damilola Taylor Trust, which aims to tackle knife crime head on
By working together, the pair were able to collaborate on huge outreach projects in schools, inspiring a generation of children to give up knife crime altogether.
Gloria passed away in 2008, leaving Richard to continue the work they did together on his own.
Throughout his life, Richard's campaigning was recognised by several famous faces personally touched by his story including footballer Rio Ferdinand and actor John Boyega, who was a close friend of Damilola.
After the announcement of his death, tributes poured in for Richard, who was commended for his ability to take a devastating event and turn it into a positive and motivational experience.
Chief of youth charity UK Youth, Ndidi Okezie said of Richard's death: "Everyone at UK Youth is truly saddened to learn of the passing of Richard. He was an incredible man who made a real difference to so many young people's lives.
"Richard was a dear friend to me and UK Youth. We were thrilled to work alongside Richard with the Hope Collective, working to establish real change and reduce poverty, violence and discrimination among the UK's most vulnerable communities, and celebrating young people's hopes for the future on the Day of Hope, on Damilola's birthday, December 7, each year.
"We send our heartfelt condolences to Richard's close family, including his daughters Gbemi and Florence and son Tunde, and friends, Richard will be hugely missed.
"We commit to continuing his and Damilola's legacy of hope and working with others to improve the lives of young people from the most vulnerable communities."