'He embraced life for all it had to give': Remembering Harry Dunn seven years on
A motorbike-loving teen with a huge heart, Harry's legacy lives on through the joy he brought to others
Last updated 27th Aug 2026
Seven years after Harry Dunn's death, his family are today remembering the fun-loving teenager whose life, humour and kindness continue to shape those around him.
Harry Dunn, from Charlton, died aged 19 on 27th August 2019 after his motorcycle was struck by a car being driven on the wrong side of the road near RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire.
The driver was American citizen Anne Sacoolas, whose husband worked for the US intelligence community and was stationed at RAF Croughton at the time. The case sparked an international diplomatic dispute after Sacoolas returned to the United States and diplomatic immunity was granted on her behalf.
Harry's parents, Charlotte Charles MBE and Mr Tim Dunn, launched a years-long campaign for justice that took them from Northamptonshire to the White House and ultimately led to significant changes to diplomatic arrangements and road safety measures.
In 2022, Sacoolas admitted causing Harry's death by careless driving via video link from the United States and received an eight-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months.
Today, Charlotte said she wants people to remember Harry not for the headlines that followed his death, but for the fun-loving and kind young man he was.
"He never took life too seriously and he never took himself too seriously. He wore his heart on his sleeve," she said.
Charlotte said the years spent campaigning for justice left little time for her family to fully process their grief, meaning they are still coming to terms with the loss of the son they loved so dearly.
"It doesn't feel like seven years"
"I think a lot of that is because we lost a few years. We weren't able to start our grieving process because of the fight for justice that we had on our hands.
This year, Harry's family will honour his memory by spending time as a family and celebrating some of his favourite things.
''We're spending time with each other. We're trying to do things that perhaps we wouldn't have done a few years ago,'' She said.
''He was full of life''
Charlotte will also bake his beloved chocolate brownies, which Harry jokingly nicknamed "frownies" because they tasted far better than they looked.
"He absolutely loved chocolate brownies, but I am not the best baker," she laughed.
"He nicknamed them frownies because they tasted great and looked awful."
The family will also make Harry's favourite pitta bread pizzas, light Nag Champa incense, which he often burned for his mum after work, and spend time together riding motorbikes and visiting places that were special to him.
"There'll probably be a few tears that go into the mixture," she said of the brownies.
Charlotte described Harry as a fun-loving and hard-working young man who was excited about his future.
"Even though he was only 19 when we lost him, he'd grown into himself. He was full of life. So excited about what the future was going to bring."
Harry achieved distinctions and merits at college and worked alongside his studies to support his passion for motorbikes.
Finding comfort in words
Charlotte says poetry has helped her navigate grief in the years since Harry's death.
Whenever memories or emotions become overwhelming, she turns to pen and paper, often writing directly to her son.
A legacy still growing
In the years since Harry's death, Charlotte has become one of the UK's most prominent road safety campaigners and was awarded an MBE in 2025 for her 'outstanding services' to road safety.
More recently, the Foreign Office confirmed it had begun implementing recommendations from an independent review into its handling of the Harry Dunn case, including measures aimed at improving support for bereaved families and road safety.
Reflecting on what Harry would make of everything achieved in his name, she said: "He'd be proud. But I don't think he would expect anything less.
"If the shoe was on the other foot and it was me on the road that night, he would have done exactly the same for me."
Harry's legacy is also taking shape through a new project led by his twin brother, Niall, who wants to use his own experience of loss to support others.
Known as Harry's Harbour, the initiative aims to provide mental health support for young people and is being developed alongside therapists from Brackley Wellbeing Centre.
"Niall needed that help himself after losing Harry," Charlotte said.
"Now he's going out there and saying, 'We're here to help you'."
For those wishing to remember Harry today, Charlotte suggested lighting a candle or supporting the Harry's Harbour fundraising campaign.
Asked what she would like people to remember most about her son, she added: "I think he'd want to be remembered as that fun-loving, bear-hugging lad that just embraced life for all it had to give."
To find out more about Harry's Harbour charity visit: harrysharbour.org.uk