TRIBUTES have been paid to a keen Wye Valley sportsman and ‘valued friend’ who has died aged 26 while working in London.

Former Monmouth Comprehensive pupil Oliver Hedges, who rowed at the school and later at Birmingham University, died three days after his birthday on September 26 at home in Balham, where he was working as a software engineer in the City.

His funeral is this Friday (October 27) at 1.30pm at the Forest of Dean Crematorium, with donations in his memory to mental health charity CALM and Friends of Monmouth Comprehensive Boat Club.

A memorial board of photos, films, recollections and tributes has been set up in memory of ‘Shrub’ (his nickname), who held a masters degree in Mathematics, with more than 120 already posted.

One university friend said: “Ollie will forever be the man who constantly made me laugh, who often let me cuddle him as he made dinner, or dye his hair with left over dye. He was an absolute joy to live with and work with at uni xx.”

Another fellow student added: “From being shouted at by the rest of table because we drank all of the wine at maths ball, to getting ridiculously silly studying together until the early hours, Ol made uni and studying maths a lot of fun.

“I will miss his humour and his ability to see the fun in anything.”

Another friend who met him while travelling added: “After meeting in Thailand and travelling to Laos together, we didn’t need to know you very long Oliver to see what a kind hearted, lovely soul you are.”

Brother Sam recalled how he thought nothing of getting up early and cycling home to Monmouth from London, posting a picture of the route and saying: “The only person I know crazy enough to attempt this, setting off in the dark, at 4am on a November morning.”

A workmate posted: “Oli and I joined Finbourne as grads in the Luminesce team in late 2022.

“We spent many hours together early on discussing code, trying to work out what it did and how it worked, usually leaving more confused than when we started.

“We quickly became good friends. Oli was a great engineer, and I wouldn’t be able to do my job without half of the bash scripts he wrote for me.

“We would send each other good morning messages that always contained a different emoji (I think that’s a sweet potato), it always made me smile. I’ll miss you, friend.”

And a photo of Olly and friends in a pub was posted with the memory: “In the pub in Anglesey having finished our Welsh cycling tour. Seven pints later, the three mile cycle back to the campsite was a challenge - Shrub ended up in his namesake en route.

“We had just come off the back off 10 straight days of perfect weather in Wales, and is still the most fun I’ve ever had on a holiday.”

A family tribute published in The Beacon said: “Oliver is brother to Sam, son to John and Alex, stepson to Sally and Ade, grandson to Flossie and Valerie and valued friend to countless others...

“He held a Master’s Degree in mathematics and worked as a software engineer in the City of London.

“He is sorely missed. Oliver’s funeral is being held at 1.30pm, Friday 27th October at Forest of Dean Crematorium, GL14 3HU.

“All are welcome to attend. Please enjoy and contribute to his memorial board at www.kudoboard.com/boards/zpqy7LrO/shrub and donate generously to CALM and Friends of Monmouth Comprehensive Boat Club at www.justgiving.com/page/shrub-mon-boats and www.justgiving.com/page/shrub-calm.”

The funeral will be followed by a celebration of Oliver’s life at Monmouth Rowing Club.