Name our plane SuperJosh

The Joshua Wilson Brain Tumour Charity is hoping that Superjosh will win the Thomson airlines ‘Name Our Plane’ competition in memory of Joshua Wilson, who died last November.

Joshua was three-and-a-half years old when he was diagnosed with a brain stem tumour, and the surgery to remove the tumour, thereby saving his life, left him with serious post-operative complications; since then, he has been cared for by his mum, Dawn.

The Joshua Wilson Brain Tumour Charity was set up on his 13th birthday in 2013. The charity aims to help other children and families living with childhood brain tumours and other post-operative complications. In its first year, the charity raised £100,000.

During Joshua’s 13th year, his condition worsened, and Dawn was told seven times within eight months that he had only 48 hours to live. Against the odds, Joshua turned 14 in August 2014 before he sadly died later that year.

Dawn, his family, and the charity have continued to work in his legacy to support children in similar situations. In January 2015, Joshua was posthumously voted Mancunian of the Year by readers of the Manchester Evening News, winning over 40 per cent of votes cast.

In honour of Joshua ‘SuperJosh’ Wilson, Dawn, their family, and the charity’s supporters hope to name Thomson’s first Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which will arrive in 2016. It is hoped that it will promote the charity too. Supporters of the charity are known as Josh’s Thumbraisers.

The charity’s mission statement aims to help “children and their families who have brain tumours and post surgery disabilities and others along Josh’s Journey.” The Charity releases weekly SuperJosh news on their website, promoting their hard work, including the recently decorated SuperJosh Van, and the Warehouse Project raising £1,257 in the first two weeks of their yearly lineup.

The Warehouse Project founder Sacha Lord Marchionne is a patron of the charity and the Warehouse Project regularly donates to the Joshua Wilson Brain Tumour Charity.

In March 2013, Former Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police Sir Peter Fahy took part in a spoof video with colleagues and the cast of Manchester-based detective show Scott & Bailey, which included a hunt for GMPs most infamous villain Joshua himself, and a rendition of Gangnam Style to raise funds for the charity. Sir Peter is a patron of the charity, adding in a statement that: “[Joshua] challenged your view of mental and physical disability because of his great love for life and the way he reacted to things around him.

“I am proud to be a patron of the charity named after him.”

You can vote for SuperJosh at nameourplane.com/name/superjosh

The competition ends Monday 16th November 2015 at 12:00.