London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

Professor Val Curtis passed away in October 2020, due to cancer, at the age of 62. She was the Director of the Environmental Health Group at LSHTM, still becoming a fierce old battleaxe (in her own words), and was an inspirational professor, colleague, teacher, mother, friend and life partner.

Val's son, Abidine Sakande, is an English cricketer who played for Sussex County Cricket Club. Val’s children invite the LSHTM community to watch a cricket match and a tennis tournament to commemorate Val and raise money for the Val Curtis Memorial Fund. The fund will support research and causes close to Val’s heart, especially in the fields of public health, behaviour change and hygiene. 

The event will take place on Sunday 18 July 2021 at Lindfield Common. Val’s children shared: 

“Mum loved few things as much as setting up her folding chair, putting on her floppy sun hat and settling in to watch Abi bowl or winning a game on the tennis court. She lived in Lindfield for many years and was a familiar face at both the Lindfield Tennis Club and the neighbouring Lindfield Cricket Club, which is where Abi first started his playing career under the encouragement of his best friend's dad, Mark Lawrence, chairman of Lindfield CC. Mark passed away ten years ago, and the cricket club has played an annual memorial match in his memory ever since. It will also be approaching a year since Val passed, so the Tennis Club will commemorate this with a special tournament on the same day.”

Register your attendance.

Details

Where: Lindfield Common, Lewes Road, Haywards Heath, RH16 2LG
When: Sunday 18 July (matches start from 1 pm with games continuing till around 7 pm)

There is a free car park on Backwoods Lane, RH16 2ED. The nearest train station is Haywards Heath, which is 45 mins from London. The Common is about a 25 min walk from the station or a five min taxi ride.