Obituary Betty Webb BEM, committee member
We are very sad announce the death of our much-loved, and long-standing committee member, Betty Webb, who died last month. She will be greatly missed by us all.
London-born Betty was a reluctant evacuee. Having lost her Mum in a wartime bus accident in which she was also badly injured, the 16-year-old was sent to Hereford where her brother was with the RAF. He found her digs at 11 Hopton Road and the Labour Exchange found her shop work. “But the shop only paid £1/7s a week and the digs cost 6d more.” Betty went back to the Exchange who found her war-work at Barronia Metals. “They paid £3 a week!”
The mother of six girls, Betty was a firm believer in women’s rights: “In the old days you were dependent on a man. For everything. And that was awful.”
Betty had a worked on the fruit and veg stall in the Butter Market for over 20 years. She was presented with the British Empire Medal in the Queen’s Jubilee Awards which acknowledged her many years as a volunteer with the British Heart Foundation. Betty was a testament, at her great age, to fortitude, survival, and lack of self-pity. She will be greatly missed.