Our Mum was the most fantastic person we could have ever hoped for...she was a loving wife, a great Mother, a brilliant Nanny and a friend to so many. It's heartbreaking to us all that Mum passed away - she will be so missed by everyone that had the good fortune to know here. Always smiling, always helpful and always busy!

Born in Plaistow, London, Mum became a life long member of the Girl Guide Association, which all started when she joined the Brownies at the age of 9. From that moment she had a great time and there started what was to become a life long connection. Mum progressed through the ranks as she got older joining the Guides and then taking on more senior positions to help continue the growth and development of Girl Guiding - eventually becoming the District Commissioner for Canning Town District. In later years she kept up her association with Guiding and went on to become the resident warden for the Chigwell Row Girl Guide campsite in Essex. Once retired, Mum stayed with the Guide Association with being a member of the Trefoil Guild until the day she passed away. She thoroughly enjoyed and un-waveringly supported the Guide Association for the whole of her life.

Mum worked in the Scout shop in Buckingham Palace Road but was also a seamstress of some repute - she was employed in 1953 to be one of the team which produced the coronation robes for the Royal Family for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth. To this day, she still has a piece of the Ermine that was used on the collars of the robes...as a little one I always remembered Mum's stories of this and the feel of this ever so soft chocolate coloured Ermine fur piece.

Mum and Dad married in 1958, in Canning Town, London. In time moving to East Ham, then Harold Hill, then to Chigwell Row and finally to Spalding in Lincolnshire.

Mum was also noted as a superb cook, and always making us such extravagant birthday cakes every year....I particularly remember my Treasure Island cake when I was about 8 with lots of matchmaker chocolates used to make the pirate stockade. It was a joy to look at and was even better to eat! Mum always had that talent to be able to create an extravagant meal out of nowhere and any meal at Mum's house was a great experience for everyone who was there. Her grandchildren had the good fortune to enjoy Nanny's cooking and still hold "Nanny's mash" as the standard for everyone to meet.

Mum's talents went beyond her Girl Guiding and cooking, she had a good eye to flower arranging and was a fine florist in her time who had the touch for making beautiful displays - this led to her very much enjoying her annual trips to the Spalding Flower Festival (in the days when they used to take place). Her stories of visits to all of the Lincolnshire churches to see their flower displays would last for hours! And this love of flowers and her trips to Spalding led to her loving the area - eventually of course seeing Mum and Dad retire to the comforts of leafy Spalding.

Mum, as I call her, is much loved and will always be remembered by us all.