Catherine was born on 23 October 1979 at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital and was a sister for Leigh and Kim. She spent her first few years in the village of Ellingham in Norfolk, where was a content but somewhat shy girl in the presence of strangers. In 1984, the family moved into the centre of Bungay, a small market town on the Norfolk and Suffolk border. However, within a year there was another move, this time to somewhere more exotic, Singapore for a possible stay of two to three years. Unfortunately this all came to a very abrupt end by the following Christmas when it was decided to close the factory and the family returned home to Bungay. After the initial shock of returning to a very cold English winter, Catherine settled down again in Bungay and attended the Primary School there and also became quite proficient in her ballet and tap dance lessons at a local church hall only yards from where she lived. Another change of job resulted in the family moving once again in February 1987, this time to Mersea Island in Essex, Here Catherine attended the local Primary School and her academic ability started to come to the fore. By the age of ten she had made up her mind that she wanted to become a doctor and in particular a GP. The following year she passed the eleven-plus and was accepted into the Colchester High School for Girls.

Colchester High School for Girls is rated as one of the top academic schools in the country in the public sector. It regularly features in the top ten in national newspapers. It was here that Catherine blossomed. As well as achieving academically, she learnt the clarinet and gained a bronze and silver in the Duke of Edinburgh Awards. She eagerly awaited her GCSE results which were faxed over to the family’s rented villa in France. She was not to be disappointed, gaining ten subjects at Grade A, four of those being A*. Two years later, she gained four A Levels all at Grade A. Throughout her school years, she concentrated on what needed to be done to achieve her results always focused on her goal, that of getting to university to train as a Doctor.

In October 1998, she went to Bristol University to begin her first year as a Medical student, staying for the first two years at Durdham Hall, halls of residence. Here she was to meet a fellow medical student who became her best friend. The friendship developed to the point that they could have been taken as twin sisters, and they supported each other through the highs and lows of their training. From Durdham Hall, they moved to a private hall of residence called ‘Unite House’ and then finally to a house share with four other medical students. On her visits home she would revise for her exams, setting herself a revision plan, which she would strictly adhere to. Once the exams were over, she would modestly say that she thought she had done okay. The results would always come back that she had done more than ‘okay’. There were times when she doubted herself, possibly because she set herself too high a standard. Her caring and friendly personality left a lasting impression on everyone she met and she showed a genuine concern for the environment and for those less fortunate then herself.

In the autumn 2001, she started to make plans for her elective placement in her fifth year, which was to gain medical experience in Africa. She left England on 9 August 2002, spending time in Dubai and South Africa, before going on a safari in Namibia. This was to have been followed by a placement in Zambia and then Tanzania. Finally, after a few days rest in Dar-es-Salaam she was to return home on 25 October 2002. It was to be the journey of a lifetime.

On 21 August 2002 she commenced the safari in Namibia with the first port of call being the Waterberg Plateau. The next day she complained of feeling ill, but seemed to recover that night. The following day she deteriorated and that evening it was decided to get her to a hospital. On the way her situation became critical and her companions stopped at a medical clinic at Oshivelo to seek help. However, it was too late and Catherine died on 23 August 2002 from severe gastro-enteritis.

Her family, her friends and the university staff were devastated by her death and many tributes were paid to her.

‘Catherine was one of our top students, she had distinguished herself in many of the units of the course, particularly the clinical ones. She was described by her teachers as a gentle, quiet and caring person who had excellent doctoring skills. We all feel a great loss over a student who was destined to become one of our top doctors’
Dr Clive Roberts, Clinical Dean, School of Medicine, Bristol University.

A plaque underneath a tree planted in her memory at the university has inscribed on it – ‘May her love for the study of medicine grow in the hearts she inspired.’

In July 2003, Catherine was posthumously awarded a Bachelor of Science degree.

One of her favourite quotations was from St Augustine.

‘Trust the past to the mercy of God
The present to his love
The future to his providence.’