South West London seal remembered in tribute book

A couple from Sevenoaks have spent weeks charting the “fascinating” life of the young seal who died recently in a dog attack on the banks of the River Thames.

Alison Kelly, 39 and partner Matt Millard, 40, were gripped by the sad story of the iconic seal’s death in March and decided to co-author a tribute.

The animal-loving couple has two cats, Thor and Pixie, and have recently created the first in a series of children’s books “Duck Story: The Lost Eagle,” featuring a duck detective, due to be released in July.

The pair spent over two months researching the life of seal ‘Freddie Mercury’, who hailed from the Netherlands before settling in London’s waters.

Freddie after he had been rescued in the Netherlands, Credit: Zeehondencentrum

“We had been following Freddie’s antics on the TV and the news, but we were so saddened by the dog attack. We couldn’t really understand why it had happened and why seals didn’t have more protection,” said Alison.

“I started to wonder where he had come from and did a bit of research and found out he had been quite far, from the Netherlands, to France, to the UK. He went where all the fish were.”

Freddie: Life of a Seal includes anecdotes and never seen before photos, as well as colourful illustrations from Samia Astow.

The 50-page eBook includes a map of the seal’s journey, created using information from its electronic tag.  

Map of Freddie's journey from the Netherlands to the UK

Various animal organisations have contributed stories, including an animal protection league in Calais, France, which found Freddie stranded on a famous WW1 beach near Dunkirk.

Profits from the eBook will be split between the four organisations that cared for Freddie, including the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) and South Essex Wildlife Hospital.

Alison added that any leftover proceeds will go towards her “dream” of printing the book in hardback.

She said that the issue is particularly relevant with the development of the Thames Tideway Tunnel, a 4.2 billion ‘super sewer’ that stretches 25km in length.

“The reason we’re getting so many more seals and porpoises is because of the Thames Tideway, which is making London’s water cleaner,” Alison said.

"It’s really important to shine a light on it now, as if there’s going to be more wildlife in the Thames then more seals like Freddie won’t be protected.

Freddie towards the end. Image: Samia Astow

"The aim is to get signage up telling people what to do if they encounter a seal, and to keep their dogs on leads in particular areas.

“Hopefully the government will pass a motion, protecting seals like the deer in Richmond Park.”

The book is released on Tuesday, June 1 and will be available to buy on Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Google Play Books, Lulu and Smashwords.

To find out more from the authors, you can follow their Instagram page: @Freddielifeofaseal