A Tribute To Our Founder

DOROTHY MANN
26 June 1920 – 21 November 2006

Dorothy came to the WFA late in life having lived with the knowledge that her Uncle Edwin James had died in the Great War but she knew little else about him, only his photograph which hung on the wall as she grew up.

The WFA enabled Dorothy to satisfy a long held need to understand. She was able to find out about Uncle Edwin and so was fired with the desire and the determination to start a local branch. With the support and comradeship of the early committee, the MK branch began.

We owe Dorothy so much – she is our inspiration and our guide, always having a keen eye for what is best; always striving for that degree of perfection in a sometimes less than perfect world.

Dorothy was a gracious lady in all she undertook – a campaigner for the rights of others and of animals, she worked for the RSPCA, for U3A and for human rights. A firm belief in vegetarianism caused her to learn about such a life style in detail. She was a talented photographer, a highly respected English teacher and a champion of good grammar. Her knowledge of the Poets of the First World War and of literature was inspiring. She was a true daughter of Wales and a most beloved wife and partner to John.

We shall miss her, but her legacy will continue. She will be our guiding light in the years to come and we will remember her as we remember those whose legacy allowed us to be a part of the WFA and ‘whose memory we treasure’.

 …But many there stood still
To face the stark, blank sky beyond the ridge,
Knowing their feet had come to the end of the world.