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[Image: A white blonde woman in a grey top with skyscrapers behind her]

Part 23 of a series of posts honoring the Grenfell Tower victims.

Deborah Lamprell, from the 16th floor of Grenfell Tower

Deborah Lamprell, 45, worked front of house at Opera Holland Park. She was very close to her mother, who described her as “a wonderful,
precious daughter, always smiling and helping others”. She was her parents’ only child, and a football fan who loved cheering on Tottenham Hotspur with her father before he passed away. One of her friends, Gary Maunders, was staying with her the night the fire broke out, and sadly he died too.

Her boss at the opera house remembered her at the inquiry:

“She knew everyone; all the singers knew her, all the orchestra knew her. Everyone loved her because she was so chirpy, and she remembered things. She’d ask after someone’s mum, or their children.”

Deborah’s parents often visited her at Grenfell Tower, but
sometimes found it difficult to reach her floor because of the broken lifts. Her mother said,

“She loved her flat and she kept it lovely but the refurbishment became a nightmare. She had problems with the electricity, problems with the heating. She was very upset about having the boiler in the corridor right when you opened the front door. But I used to think at least when I go she’s got a roof over her head.

She would have me over to stay with her often for a week at
at time. But recently as my legs got worse it was difficult to visit. The
problems with the lifts made it not very nice to be in there when Debbie was at work, because you couldn’t get out easily.”

Deborah also had issues with the plumbing in her flat and the general bad conditions, her friend and co-worker Selina James told The Guardian.

Selina also told the publication about Deborah’s love for
her job:

“Debbie loved coming here. She made friends with everyone, including
patrons. But she was like me. We didn’t have opera backgrounds. I’m more into calypso, soca, carnival. We got to love it. That’s why we kept coming back.”

Opera Holland Park held a memorial and charity performance for Deborah and all the victims of Grenfell, which is available to watch on the internet.

Deborah’s mother Miriam told the Grenfell inquiry that at her daughter’s funeral, a friend approached her and said, “You would not
believe how much people loved her.”

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Sources

http://www.itv.com/news/london/2017-08-08/opera-holland-park-worker-is-latest-grenfell-victim-to-be-formally-identified/

https://news.channel4.com/2017/grenfell-tower/

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/jul/28/grenfell-tower-opera-holland-park

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/live/2018/may/22/grenfell-tower-fire-inquiry-second-day-to-hear-more-tributes-to-victims-live-updates?page=with:block-5b03dfc1e4b0738b88745843#block-5b03dfc1e4b0738b88745843

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/live/2018/may/22/grenfell-tower-fire-inquiry-second-day-to-hear-more-tributes-to-victims-live-updates?page=with:block-5b04193be4b05aef3eee85a5#liveblog-navigation

https://www.classicfm.com/music-news/opera-holland-park-tribute-grenfell-tower/