I’ve thought about writing this blog for a while because even though the film documents the time leading up to his death I wanted to highlight the great work we did that raised awareness of his cause and of him as a person.
Chris and Ukraine
Autumn 2022: Chris, our landlord and flatmate, had just come back from “holiday”. He’d been gone for a few months with no contact, but this wasn’t unusual for Chris so we didn’t take much notice.
Chris had, in fact, been secretly operating on the front lines in Ukraine, evacuating civilians who were left behind.
The stories he told were near unbelievable. He was literally dodging gunshots and artillery fire to help people on the front line. His videos and pictures were equally frightening and fascinating. It was hard for his energy to not be contagious. Despite the obvious danger, it was exciting and I wanted to be part of it or live through it in some way.
I asked him about fundraising and, incredibly, he wasn’t doing any. He was working with an NGO but at the time didn’t have any active donation links and wasn’t talking about anything online. He was focused on being out there and helping people—but there was an opportunity to tell the story and let others be involved through their donations.
The main issue he had on the front lines was access to vehicles and fuel. He told us how he’d often be in a situation where he’d trade cigarettes with the military for diesel. “Cigarettes are gold, chocolate is silver,” he told me. But just as the news in Ukraine had inspired him into action, telling his story could inspire others to support him.
Telling Chris’s story
The idea was simple: pitch for interviews with UK media and foreign correspondents with the aim to drive people to a fundraising page for diesel, or even a 4×4 if enough was raised.
Chris soon left for Ukraine again, and I spent the next few weeks pitching, finessing to find the angle that would resonate
- Interview with a UK national at an NGO in Ukraine?
- UK national evacuates Ukrainian civilians in his van
- Cornish local helps evacuate Ukrainians in his van
- Former Cheltonian running coach dodges artillery fire in Ukraine
- Human Interest story: running coach on the front lines of Ukraine
An empty inbox had me worried I’d oversold the idea. Chris was excited to see the story in the news and was following-up regularly to get updates. I told him I’d keep trying but that we may need to set my sights on regional press, and work up to national coverage and broadcasters. But eventually came a reply from Sky News—a major result and an awesome first hit. The call resulted in some great feedback from the journalist and a story that would get Chris some real publicity.
The Result
What was originally a news story on the website became a live interview which aired on a Saturday morning. Chris called us immediately afterwards, overjoyed at the time, saying how nervous he was and asking whether he did ok and sounded alright—which, of course, he did.
This was followed by more interviews, and the fundraiser to support his efforts was also a success. More big news came a few weeks later when Chris was approached by a producer keen to shoot a documentary about the foreign volunteers travelling to Ukraine.
Overall we achieved:
- Coverage in: SkyNews, The i Paper, BBC Radio Cornwall, Gloucester Live, Cornwall Live
- £23,386 in fundraising to support Chris, from 597 supporters
- The attention of a documentary producer, and the potential to spread the word even further
I was already thinking about long term results, maybe I had a promising future as a publicist? First the documentary, maybe a book deal, public speaking perhaps? While Chris was focused on his work evacuating civilians from the front line, he was a likeable and engaging interviewee, and with the right support could do a lot of good by raising awareness and funds for volunteering efforts.
Chris Parry went missing in Bakhmut in January 2023. It was later confirmed that he and Andrew Bagshaw had been killed while attempting to evacuate an elderly woman from near the front lines.
Final thoughts
It didn’t feel like it but I only worked with Chris for two months. We were talking so much that it felt like I’d known him for years but that was Chris—after speaking with his family and friends that’s just what he was like.
Chris put his life on the line to help people in danger, and I’m happy that I was able to, in our short time working together, get his story to the right people—and hopefully help to raise awareness of those suffering and the volunteers trying to help.You can watch Hell Jumper on iPlayer and if you want to donate to Chris you can do so here.
