Edinburgh mum plans to launch charity in memory of heroic husband Barry Martin who died following Jenners fire

An Edinburgh mother of two, who lost her ‘remarkable’ firefighter husband last year, has set out plans to launch a charity in his memory. 

Barry Martin, 38, tragically died in January last year, days after attending a serious fire at the former Jenners department store on Princes Street. The heroic firefighter left behind wife his Shelley and their two young sons Oliver and Daniel.

Shelley Martin, 37, who first met Barry when she was 16, said the charity will raise funds to support people experiencing trauma and provide support to bereaved children. A GoFundMe page has also been launched to fundraise for ‘Team Barry’ - a group Barry’s colleagues and friends who will compete in this year’s Tough Mudder on June 15.

The fundraiser has generated over £900 since it was launched on April 9. You can donate to ‘Team Barry’ by visiting the GoFundMe website with all funds going to the new charity once it has been registered at a later date.

Shelley said: “Barry was my best friend, my side kick, my soul mate. We met when I was 16 and he, 18. It’s an incredible love story. I am so proud of us. My heart literally glows with it.” She added: “He was the most remarkable man, and an absolutely brilliant firefighter.”

The mother of two said her family’s ‘world stopped turning’ on January 27, 2023 following Barry’s tragic death and she had to tell her twin eight-year-old sons that ‘daddy was not coming home’.

Shelley said: “Still, 14 months on, I don’t know how we do it. I don’t know how I do it. But I know I have to keep going. For Barry, and for the family he gave me.” 

Shelley said the ‘long-term aim is to start a charity in memory of my wonderful husband’ which will ‘provide services for trauma, help colleagues with support after a traumatic event and provide bereaved children with support’.

The charity will also ‘set up mediation training and access for families to communicate, discuss and address any issues.’ Shelley said: “The charity will provide mental health support where it is needed most. Although initially, the framework is based around the emergency services, it is a charity for all, and nobody will be turned away. There is a place for everyone.” 

Shelley added: “All of the services our charity will provide is based on my own experiences since my husband died. I am on the fastest and steepest learning curve of my life, I have to use it for something, whilst my heart is full of love and my brain is working overtime.”