Charmaine Lyn George

Charmaine Lyn George was a British grief campaigner and travel agent who, after the death of her teenage son, founded a bereavement café in Cornwall that grew into the Good Grief Pop Up Cafes. Her work earned her national recognition. She was found dead at Portreath beach on 5 October 2026, aged 52.

She was born in Islington, London, and later lived in Pool, near Redruth, in Cornwall, where she worked as a travel agent. She had a son, Ewan, and a daughter, Libby.

In May 2020 Ewan, aged 18, was found beneath cliffs at Portreath. An inquest found there was not enough evidence to support a conclusion of suicide. A year later, looking for a way to carry her grief and help others, George contacted the Good Grief Trust and volunteered to open a café in her own area. The first, at Amy's Kitchen and Bar in Treviskey between Redruth and Falmouth, met every two weeks so that bereaved people could talk over coffee and cake. She went on to run family days for bereaved children, quiz nights and book clubs, co-hosted the trust's Sunday evening Moving Forward virtual café, and became its national café co-ordinator, training volunteers to start cafés elsewhere.

In 2021 she received the Caroline Flack Mental Health Hero Award at The Sun's Who Cares Wins Awards for starting the café.

On 5 October 2026 a member of the public raised a welfare concern and she was found on the shoreline off Lighthouse Hill at Portreath beach, the same stretch of coast where her son had died. Police, coastguard teams, the St Agnes RNLI lifeboat and paramedics attended, and she was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said her death was not being treated as suspicious. An inquest was opened and adjourned in Truro on 22 October; the coroner said the medical cause had not been established and a full inquest was expected the following year.

The Good Grief Trust said she had helped to improve access to vital support and helped many others find a way forward after losing someone they loved. Sending its love to her daughter, Libby, and to her family and friends, the trust recalled the awards evening in 2021 as a proud night for Charmaine and for everyone involved.