‘Kent Speak Their Name’ Suicide Memorial Quilt

Trigger warning: this post mentions suicide and suicide prevention. You need to feel safe, so just close the page if this is not for you.

This Saturday the ‘Kent Speak Their Name’ Suicide Memorial Quilt was installed at St George’s Church, Ramsgate. This is how the exhibit launch was advertised:

Advert for 'Kent Speak Their Name' Suicide Memorial Quilt — Advert for ‘Kent Speak Their Name’ Suicide Memorial Quilt, photo by Amanda Jane Ogden

There are a number of ‘Speak Their Name’ memorial quilts now. You can find out more about the organisation behind the making of these quilts here: https://speaktheirname.org This quotation from their site is helpful: “The inspiration for this site was the work and creativity of the ‘Speak Their Name Quilts’- originally Greater Manchester Speak Their Name and Yorkshire Speak Their Name. Exploring ways to manage the grief of losing a loved one to suicide, and seeking support through connection to similarly bereaved families, the idea of a ‘suicide memorial quilt’ emerged.

In September 2025 several ‘Speak Their Name’ quilts including the Kent quilt were on display at the Houses of Parliament. The purpose was to highlight the requirement for better suicide prevention measures, for improved Mental Health provision and the need to remove the stigma around suicide.

The organisers of the Kent quilt are Emma and Tristan Kluibenschadl, who founded their charity STAKlife in 2024 in memory of their son Stefan who died by suicide a the age of 15. In addition to the creation of a large quilt of 66 squares (actually two quilts, pictured below), they also produce a film which you can see on YouTube with the link here

'Kent Speak Their Name' Suicide Memorial Quilt, photo by Amanda Jane Ogden — ‘Kent Speak Their Name’ Suicide Memorial Quilt, photo by Amanda Jane Ogden

The quilt is touring various venues in Kent and will be in St George’s Church Ramsgate until 1 April 2026 and will continue to be shown until well into 2027. Although I am a quilt-maker, I was not involved in the making of the quilt, it was expertly made by Heather March. I simply made my own two blocks for insertion in the quilt. I did, however, contribute to the project by doing editing and sub-editing work on the book that accompanies the quilt: there is a page for each person represented by a block in the quilt. The book also includes list of resources including Bereavement Support organisations and Mental Health support organisations. The project is not just a memorial it is a campaign for suicide prevention.

'Kent Speak Their Name' Suicide Memorial Quilt book, photo by Amanda Jane Ogden — ‘Kent Speak Their Name’ Suicide Memorial Quilt book, photo by Amanda Jane Ogden

I spoke at the launch. It wasn’t easy but I knew that all of us there were in the same boat…

Amanda speaking at the 'Kent Speak Their Name' Suicide Memorial Quilt book, photo by Mark Ogden — Amanda speaking at the ‘Kent Speak Their Name’ Suicide Memorial Quilt book, photo by Mark Ogden

So, this is a rather different post to the usual Monday offering but it is about textiles and it is about a subject that shouldn’t be taboo. If you have read this far, thank you.

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