While lawyers thrash out compensation deals for those affected by the September 11 atrocities, Emily Flanagan discovers the creation of a memorial patchwork quilt has provided comfort for a couple mourning the loss of their son.

A LAWYER for the United States government flew into London this week to discuss compensation claims with British families who lost loved ones in the September 11 attacks.

But for Terry and Linda McMahon, the issue of money barely figures in their struggle to come to terms with the loss of their son Gavin.

They are not alone. It seems few of the families seem able to stomach the prospect of filing a compensation claim at the moment, as so far, only a handful of the 68 British families have lodged claims.

Gavin McMahon, an insurance executive, had been working on the 99th floor of Tower Two when the second plane slammed into it. His father Terry, 68, had been visiting his son at the time and after trying to persuade him to take the day off, left to catch a bus to Cape Cod in Massachusetts to visit his sister. Less than three hours later, the towers were gone.

Many aspects of the tragic events that unfolded in New York that day are still too painful for the couple to deal with and Linda has carefully folded away the many letters she has received from Gavin's friends and acquaintances from around the world to read them properly when she feels more able to deal with them.

A support group for the relatives of the UK citizens who lost their lives in the atrocity has been formed and, at the weekend, Kenneth Feinberg, a lawyer for the United States government, met them to outline the process of compensation applications and terms and conditions.

Terry and Linda, who live in Chester-le-Street, in County Durham, agreed to attend the compensation meeting hosted at the weekend by the British Government in central London, to hear what Mr Feinberg had to say.

Although no figures have been discussed, families could stand to receive between £1.3m and £2.7m if they lodge a claim before December 2003, with life insurance pay-outs being deducted from the compensation. But those accepting payments must waive their rights to sue the American airlines involved, or the World Trade Centre.

Mr Feinberg denied allegations he was trying to railroad families into accepting compensation, rather than taking the lawsuit option, saying those who opted for lawsuits may end up with less money than the government was offering.

Tom Clarke, spokesman for the September 11 UK Families' Support Group, said it was too early to say how many families would sign up to the offer and described the general feeling among families as cautious.

As Linda sums up: "It's the loss of our son, it can't be compensated."

While talk of money provides little comfort, a proposed memorial to her son in the shape of a patchwork quilt panel has. The giant quilt is an attempt to stitch together the lives shattered by September's events. Once finished, it will contain thousands of panels representing the victims of the atrocity.

The couple decided their son should be portrayed through his most passionate interests, football and music. The 6ft panel has been decorated with red and white stripes, not to represent the American flag, but Sunderland FC, his favourite football team.

Record discs with the names of his favourite bands written on them also feature. One of Gavin's favourite bands included in the design, Stiff Little Fingers, recently paid tribute to Gavin by dedicating his favourite song to him when they played in Newcastle.

The panel has now been completed after two American quilters were commissioned to create the artwork, and they will add the panel to the thousands of others currently being made. The massive memorial will be unveiled next month.

Terry says: "When the whole quilt is put together it will cover well over the size of a football field. It will be on display on the great lawn in Central Park in New York."

Nearer home, they are also pleased with news announced at the weekend's support group meeting that a London memorial is being planned.

Other thoughtful gestures from the other side of the Atlantic have helped them through the traumatic last few months. On Monday, Terry and Linda received a letter from Nasa containing a small American flag. It told them that the flag had been one of 6,000 taken on the 12th Shuttle Mission to the international space station in honour of the September 11 victims.

'You could see the space shuttle from here, it was a like a very bright star," Terry says, realising he had been watching his son being commemorated by astronauts thousands of miles away.

Linda says: "It just came through the post. It's a nice thought. We get something nearly every day. We get a lot of things we can't look at. We read them briefly, put them away and another day we will get them out."

Letters of condolence are coming from across the world, from Gavin's friends and associates and former school mates, and many of the letters come from the mothers of his friends.

Linda and Terry find themselves constantly confronted by events from the fateful day. The repeated images of burning towers are particularly difficult to deal with, to the extent that Linda has been told by her doctor to avoid watching the news or reading newspapers.

But now they are steeling themselves for an emotional pilgrimage to Ground Zero in September, to take part in the first anniversary commemorations.

Although they have been back to America since September, to visit Terry's sister Maureen Sproha in Cape Cod, it will be the first time they have made such a trip.

They hope to lay flowers at the victims' memorial and see for themselves their son's life immortalised in the giant quilt, created from the kindness of strangers.