‘She was easy to love’: friends and family pay tribute to Hannah Lynch

The 18-year-old daughter of the British tech tycoon Mike Lynch, whose body was recovered on Friday from the wreck of her father’s yacht, was “fiercely intelligent and genuinely kind” and had a promising future, friends and teachers have said.

Hannah Lynch was described as “one of the best English students in the country”. She was one of seven people, including her father, who died after his yacht Bayesian sank during a storm off the coast of Sicily on Monday.

In a statement released on Friday, the Lynch family said they were “devastated” and “in shock”.

Hannah had recently finished her A-levels and was looking forward to taking up a place studying English at the University of Oxford.

Jon Mitropoulos-Monk, the head of English at Latymer upper school in west London, where she studied, said: “I’ve never taught someone who combined sky-high intellectual ability with warmth and enthusiasm in the way Hannah did. She lit up the classroom with her energy, passion for learning and sheer intelligence (though never with a hint of arrogance).”

He said Hannah was “one of the best English students in the country”, scoring 100% in her English literature GCSE.

“By age 16, she’d read Joyce, Faulkner and Nabokov … She loved literature, learning and life. She was so excited to start studying English at Oxford, a goal she had worked so hard towards. When she got her place, she sought out every single member of the Latymer upper English department to thank them individually and give them a hug!”

Hannah’s sister Esme described her as “the most amazing, supportive and joyful sister”, adding: “Hannah often burst into my bedroom and lay down with me. Sometimes beaming with a smile, sometimes cheeky, sometimes for advice. No matter what, she brought boundless love to me.

“She was endlessly caring, passionately mad, unintentionally hilarious and the most amazing, supportive and joyful sister and best friend to me.

“And on top of all this, she had even more love to give endlessly to all her friends, and passion to give to her incredible studies and goals.

“She is my little angel, my star.”

Hannah’s friend Katya Lewis said: “The love Hannah had for everything she held dear was passionate and pure. She had a warm and beautiful soul.”

Another friend, Gracie Lea, said: “When I think of Hannah, I think of poetry, sunshine and her beautiful eyes. She was easy to love: sincere, dedicated, fiercely intelligent and genuinely kind. I’ll always remember her smiling.”

Hannah was the last of the missing passengers from Monday’s yacht disaster who remained unaccounted for before her body was found on Friday.

Patrick Jacob, a family friend, said she had “an insatiable thirst for life and knowledge” and was “warm, loving and deeply considerate”. He added: “We have lost one of our brightest stars whose future held so much promise. Her loss is unbearable.”

Lynch, 59, the founder of Autonomy Corporation, had been celebrating his acquittal on fraud charges in the US when his superyacht capsized at about 5am on Monday.

In a statement, his family said: “The Lynch family is devastated, in shock and is being comforted and supported by family and friends.

“Their thoughts are with everyone affected by the tragedy. They would like to sincerely thank the Italian coastguard, emergency services and all those who helped in the rescue. Their one request now is that their privacy be respected at this time of unspeakable grief.”

Poppy Gustafsson, the chief executive of the cybersecurity company Darktrace, paid tribute to Lynch, who was a co-founder of the firm. “Without Mike, there would be no Darktrace. We owe him so much,” she said.

“Mike drove an unwavering focus in everything that he did. He was binary: there was no half Mike. His intelligence was, to me, what a galaxy is to a planet. That intelligence was intimidating.”

She said Lynch left “an enormous legacy with us, but also with the broader UK technology ecosystem”.

Referring to the recent case in the US in which Lynch and his co-defendant Stephen Chamberlain were cleared of charges of fraud and conspiracy, she said: “At a time when both Mike and Steve were so recently acquitted, it feels too cruel.

“But also, such a relief to know that they died with the world knowing their innocence.”

Chamberlain died after being hit by a car while out running in Cambridgeshire last Saturday.

Alongside Hannah and Lynch, the others killed in the yacht incident were the chair of Morgan Stanley International, Jonathan Bloomer and his wife, Judy; Chris Morvillo, a lawyer for Clifford Chance, and his wife, Neda, and the yacht’s chef, Recaldo Thomas.

Andrew Kanter, a close friend and colleague of Lynch, said: “Mike was the most brilliant mind and caring person I have ever known. Over nearly a quarter century I had the privilege of working beside someone unrivalled in their understanding of technology and business.

“There is simply no other UK technology entrepreneur of our generation who has had such an impact on so many people. His passion for life, knowledge and all those around him was instantly inspiring to everyone he met, and he will be sorely missed.”

Another friend and colleague, Sushovan Hussain, said he and his wife were “utterly devastated by the deaths of so many of our dear friends”.

Hussain said he had known Lynch since school. “I was thrilled when he was acquitted and now his departure leaves an unfillable hole in my life,” he said.

“We have known Hannah since her birth, and for her to be taken on the precipice of her life is cruel beyond belief. Our hearts bleed for Angela and her remaining daughter.”