Appeal launched after sudden death of Max Oliver aged 31 raises £50,000 for heart disease screening for 800 young people

A fundraising appeal set up by the grieving family and friends of a popular rugby player, who died suddenly aged 31, will see 800 young people screened for potentially life-threatening heart disease.

Max Oliver’s death from a cardiac arrest in September last year led to his friend Spencer Kersey launching a Just Giving page aimed at raising money for heart charity CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young).

Max’s dad Perry made it his mission to raise enough money for screenings by CRY at clubs and schools in the town as a way of keeping alive the memory of his son.

Max, captain of Bishop’s Stortford Rugby Football Club’s (BSRFC) Chindits team, who was described as a “go large and go home” character, collapsed on a train between Newbury and Reading, in Berkshire, on his way to work on September 5. Despite efforts by an off-duty police officer and paramedics, he was pronounced dead when they got him to hospital.

Perry had revealed that while living at the family home in Stansted, Max had described how his heart sometimes “fluttered” and he had had “episodes” after setting up home with fiancée Molly in Newbury.

Four days after the appeal was set up, almost £25,000 was raised – and days before what would have been Max’s 32nd birthday, a post by Perry, with a picture of him and Max sharing a drink, revealed on the club’s Facebook page it was just £600 short of hitting the £50,000 mark.

Perry posted: “I’d love to buy Max a beer on his birthday and I don’t think I’m alone!” He added: “[It] occurred to me there are probably lots of other people who would gladly donate the price of a beer via the page, whilst at the same time wishing him a happy birthday to prove that he may be gone, but he’s certainly not forgotten.”

He said every penny of the money raised to date had either already been committed to funding CRY screenings within the community or will be.

Already one ‘sold out’ screening has been held for Max’s work friends and their families. Two screenings will be taking place within the next few weeks at Max’s old school, The Bishop’s Stortford High School, and two are booked for next May at the rugby club.

Perry added: “With the monies raised through the considerable efforts of his close friends, added to that in the Just Giving account, we are just £600 short of being able to fund an incredible eighth screening.”

He revealed 100 young people in the community “that helped create the wonderful young man that Max was” can be screened on each day. Following Perry’s post, the fund smashed £50,000 and stood at £51,190 yesterday (Tues).

The screening for young people between the ages of 14 and 35 involves them having an ECG (electrocardiogram) test, with the results read by a cardiologist.

CRY says one in 300 people who have tests will have a potentially life-threatening heart condition which will benefit from lifestyle advice, treatment and sometimes corrective surgery.

Speaking to the Indie yesterday (Tues), a day after an emotional reflection on Max’s birthday, Perry said he was so grateful for all those who had contributed to the fundraising.

The whole community had rallied round, with Max’s friends particularly active in fundraising. One had run the London Marathon, five took part in the Hackney half marathon and another had run the Singapore marathon.

Various organisations and clubs had chipped in, from BSRFC raising £1,400 from a dinner to Hatfield Heath FC donating £100.

“It was a way of turning a negative into a positive,” said Perry, who besides welcoming the money was pleased the appeal had raised awareness.

“If we can shine a light for just a few minutes of someone’s day it’s got to be a bonus,” he said.

The family attended the CRY Heart of London Bridges Walk 2025 in central London on June 22 and, while taking part, decided to mark the milestone of Max’s birthday in some way – hence Perry’s post to the rugby club.

“If it saves one person and one family from having to endure this agony then it has to be a good thing,” he said.