In Wantage, at King Alfred’s Grammar School, Nancy was ‘The Head’s Wife’ and redefined this from a passive, supporting role: while respecting tradition, she never let it rule her. She resumed teaching, both at the school and at St Mary’s (an independent girls’ school) down the road – all this while bringing up four children. She retired in 1981, a decision made partly because of Cedric’s Parkinson’s. Neither slowed her down: moving to North Oxford, she made sure the Lib Dems there knew she’d arrived and was instrumental in the massive bazaars they held in the Town Hall. She also demonstrated at the Sheldonian against honours being given to the Prime Minister of the time. Nancy was a champion of the oppressed and marginalised, using her French, for example, at Campsfield to help refugees. She was very hands-on regarding grandchildren, and all her life, our Mum/Grandma/Great-Grandma went far above and beyond to help us weather life’s vicissitudes. Her family all owes this truly remarkable woman so much and we remember her with love, admiration and so much thanks. Nancy’s final years were spent very happily in Cornwall, a place she loved. Tom Bower, son LESLEY PARKER
Lesley Gordon Parker (Gray, 1939) Lesley was born in 1921. Both her parents were actively involved with the arts and associated with the Bloomsbury set. Lesley was a protégée of Edith Sitwell for the poetry she wrote throughout her life. Having unsuccessfully applied to Oxford for October 1939, she was offered a place at short notice when war began. Undergraduates were allowed to have men visit during the day, provided there was no alcohol in the room. One day the Bursar marched in, took a bottle of sherry out of the cupboard and put it outside the door, all without saying a word. On finishing her degree, Lesley was interviewed for Bletchley Park with two questions: do you prefer Bach or Jazz? Do you prefer chess or bridge? She preferred Bach, and hated both chess and bridge, but hated bridge more. By May 1945, there was very little work in Hut 6. Lesley met and soon married Frank Parker, an American serving in the Canadian Black Watch, who spent most of the war in prison camp. He was an artist, offering a life in the artistic community of Paris, where he had lived and painted in the 1930s. In August 1945, a Norwegian shipping line was willing to sign on GI brides as stewardesses for the crossing. One stewardess was Melissa, aged 18 months. They lived in New York, then France and finally settled in Boston USA, when her mother-in-law, who had lost her husband and younger son in the war, asked them to stay. She worked in Harvard University Library as a cataloguer of foreign books, but also designed and made costumes for one of Robert Cohan’s ballets.
After her marriage broke down, Lesley returned to England in 1968. Having originally intended to settle in Oxford, she visited an old college friend in Norwich and bought the house next door. Lesley was very active in many spheres after she settled in Norwich, including as candidate in local and national elections for the Liberals, never winning, never losing her deposit. She volunteered at Strangers’ Hall Museum where she helped develop new techniques for conserving fabric, which became the basis for the National Trust’s fabric conservation unit, and later catalogued part of the collection and reference library. She volunteered at the CAB, and she helped set up a scheme to support clients who were facing tribunals, representing them at the hearings, almost always, successfully, relishing the challenge of putting her case and defeating her opponents. She was active in Norwich Quaker Meeting, serving a wide range of roles including Clerk. Throughout her life, she always enjoyed a wide range of crafts: sewing, quilting, embroidery, knitting … the list goes on. She loved gardening and it was a point of honour that there would be some flowers blooming every month of the year. Throughout her life, there would be friends, family or others, needing a bit of extra support, which she gave freely, whether a listening ear or more practical help. She is survived by two daughters: Linzee Jerrett and Lucy Parker (Somerville 1979). Lucy Parker, 1979
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