Diane Brace
WILPF would like to extend our deepest condolences at the loss of London member Diane Brace. Please see tributes from her friends and her obituary below.
Tributes to Diane:
“Diane made a valuable contribution to UKWILPF; She was lively, energetic and enthusiastic and helped to encourage young women to participate.” – Margaret Turner
“I admired Diane in all her many professional roles but I also valued her greatly as a friend. She had suffered terrible personal loss but she remained strong, challenging, committed and without a trace of sentimentality. She was a quite exceptional woman.” – Jane Grant
“Diane was excellent at writing minutes and reports, and informing members of what was happening. One of the highlights of London WILPF in the 2000s was the annual summer garden party that Diane organised, often women came who had not been seen at the evening meetings. She was very supportive to Voices of African Women in particular to highlighting human rights abuses in Congo.
In 2008 the London branch had a meeting in Portcullis House in regards to changing law on prostitution with Harriet Harman and this brought a number of groups to the roundtable meeting with Josephine Butler trust, and London Feminists. Diane cheered on by many young WILPFers took part in 5k challenge in Hyde Park in 2010.
Diane and I took part in Stop the Traffick events in 2012. In 2012 Diane helped write briefings with Jane Grant and myself on sex trafficking due to Olympics taking place, this was held in London Assembly in City Hall with Labour Assembly member Len Duval.
In addition to Diane’s work with her local Labour party, UK Wilpf, she set up University of the 3rd Age classes in her home in 2014 on debate and politics.
Diane had great energy and was very articulate, she enjoyed watching wildlife and used to feed local ducks. She was a great patron of her local theatre, enjoyed music and had a great sense of humour. She was a regular at Edinburgh fringe accompanying her grandson Adam Brace who is a successful playwright. She loved meeting people from all the world, and exchanging ideas.
Diane would say to me, that she did not feel her age of 80, sadly in 2013 her health deteriorated and she had a mild stroke. Her eyesight was affected and reading became difficult. In 2016 leukaemia was diagnosed which treatment was very limited. Diane was very open about it, and felt very tired.
At her memorial held at Islington Town Hall, a number of friends described her generosity on many occasions, as well as her speed and success at organising so many activities in working to improve peoples’ lives. She was a great supporter of local youth project Friends of Rose Bowl.” – Alexandra Murrell
Please see Diane’s obituary: Obituary of Diane Brace written by Alexandra Murrell.