A South London man whose mum celebrated her final Christmas in St Christopher’s Hospice last year is urging others to support the charity to help make a loved one’s last Christmas special.
When Allen Mills’ mum, Susan Mills, was admitted onto St Christopher’s inpatient unit in late November 2024, her family thought she might only have a few days to live. Susan managed six weeks – long enough to share one more Christmas with her husband and three children.
“She was a strong, stubborn, loving woman,” Allen says. “She had been told she was dying more than once, and she just refused to accept it. Mam was great at everything… except for dying. She always kept fighting.”
Susan, who lived in Peckham, was born in London and raised between County Galway, Ireland, and London. She was first diagnosed with cancer in 2003 and had two periods of remission before it returned in her lungs several years ago. She was referred to St Christopher’s in spring 2024 and was supported at home by the hospice’s community team before being admitted to the inpatient unit where she died, aged 66, a few days after Christmas 2024.
On Christmas Day, the family were still able to celebrate together thanks to the hospice’s staff and volunteers. Susan, husband Tony, daughter Sarah and Allen sat together in the hospice’s cafe and had a full Christmas dinner, sharing stories and memories. Susan enjoyed her Christmas lunch on the ward so much that she had a second sitting with her family.
Allen, 39, from Peckham, says: “It was joyous, really, that we were able to spend Christmas Day together. She looked fantastic, she had a lot more energy about her. We didn’t do presents; the present was mum being with us. I’m always quite happy talking about it because it was a nice day, and we might not have had that without St Christopher’s. The fact that we got Christmas Day and we had a good day, she was in good form. And we all had a chance to sit around the table and eat Christmas dinner, as close to normality as we could, I look back on it really fondly.”
“It must be tough for the staff working over Christmas, especially being away from their families and seeing other people enjoying their Christmases in a very different environment, but they were first class. From the minute you walk through the door, from reception to the wards, it is so accommodating and helpful and just makes the process easier.”
Allen adds: “The quality of the dinner itself was a surprise too. Mum had an early Christmas dinner on the ward and then came down and had another with us, so she had two dinners. It was fantastic, I’ve had some pretty ropey ones over the years with watery gravy but the food at the hospice was great.”
“Before then I only really knew St Christopher’s from the shops on Lordship Lane. I’d never actually set foot in the hospice, and you think it might be full of sadness and misery but it’s not. This place is like nothing I’ve ever experienced in my entire life.”
Allen is now supporting St Christopher’s Christmas Appeal to help other families make lasting memories together at the hospice.
“Thanks to the team at St Christopher’s, we managed to have one last Christmas together as a family and it was a joyous one. Please support this amazing hospice today so the nurses, carers, chefs and all the other team working over the festive period can help make other people’s last Christmas special this year.”
Susan’s husband, Tony, was from a small coastal village in Ireland and Allen says she used to love going there to visit.
“Mum used to love going back there with the dogs, the next stop over the Atlantic Ocean was Boston. Fresh air, fresh food, great people, great craic, the pubs were open late.”
It was during their Christmas dinner that Susan noticed a poster for a fundraising bike ride from London to Versailles, reminding Allen that he had done a similar challenge before. “That kind of nailed it for me that I was going to do it,” he says. “By hook or by crook.”
In September 2025, Allen completed the 283-mile ride alongside 47 other riders, including his friends Gavin, Paul and James, raising more than £11,000 in memory of Susan.
“The nurses were first class,” Allen says. “Often we’d be finishing work and it’d be late but they let us in at any time. Sometimes I stayed the night or stayed quite late to get her settled, something as simple as just watching TV with her. We watched Titanic one night together, I moved the bed around and we watched Titanic while she had her dinner.”
Tom Abbott, Director of Income Generation and Communications at St Christopher’s Hospice, says:
“Hospice care is so much more than managing symptoms and our dedicated team work really hard all year round to help people and their friends and family achieve what matters most to them.
“But at this time of year, we know it can be even more difficult for those people we’re supporting across south London as they may be facing their last Christmas together.
“Donating just £30 to our Christmas Appeal could help us to provide a Christmas dinner for a patient and their loved one at the hospice over the festive period, helping them create treasured memories just like Allen and Susan were able to.”
To donate to St Christopher’s Christmas Appeal visit bit.ly/HospiceChristmasAppeal and to explore what else is happening at St Christopher’s during the festive period, including their Remembrance candle-lighting events, visit here: bit.ly/StCHospiceEvents
