We are deeply saddened to announce that Barbara Veale, a founder member of our campaign, passed away on Sunday 7 September. Barbara was a tireless campaigner for Lewisham Hospital and the NHS as a whole and she will be deeply missed by all of us for her boundless enthusiasm and committment, political insight and humour.
Barbara had been ill for over a year and a half but carried on campaigning almost to the end. Our deepest condolences go to Barbara’s daughters Ellie and Megan and to all her family and friends.
We have lost a true friend and pillar of our campaign.
Rest in peace Barbara.
Louise Irvine, Chair, Save Lewisham Hospital Campaign/Save Our NHS
It is with great sadness that I write this at the loss of our lovely friend and colleague Barbara. Barbara was a wonderful person – kind, clever, funny, loyal, passionate and committed wholeheartedly to the values and causes she believed in. We were so fortunate to have Barbara as a leading figure in the Save Lewisham Hospital Campaign. She was there from the very beginning and helped lead our campaign to success and beyond.
She was a great organiser – her significant achievements include organising the two highly successful Rivoli Ballroom fundraisers, regular street stalls during the campaign and continuing afterwards in defence of our NHS taking our message directly to local people, and organising our 10thanniversary celebration at Lewisham Hospital, as well as the commemoration bench in Ladywell Fields.
Barbara’s joyous enthusiasm is forever etched in my mind with the image of her standing outside the High Court on 31 July 2013 announcing our victory shouting “We’ve won! We’ve won!” I am so grateful for all she did for our campaign and for all she gave to those who knew and loved her.
Kathy Cruise, Co-Secretary, Save Lewisham Hospital Campaign/Save Our NHS
I will miss Barbara so much. She was a kind , thoughtful woman and great fun. She was a key person in saving Lewisham hospital maternity and A and E services back in 2013. She had excellent analytical skills and great political knowledge.
Barbara was so proud of Ellie and Megan and often talked about them over the years ( all good…) and their lovely partners and of course her adored grandchildren Lily and Oscar . We often compared ‘Oscars’ as my grandson Oscar was born 4 days after Oscar.
I will miss meeting up with Barbara and swopping stories and laughs. We had a lovely trip to Margate back in March with Clare and Mags to see the Steve McQueen curated photography exhibition Resistance- many photos from Lewisham in the 70s Barbara really enjoyed this exhibition and we all reminisced about many of the marches we’d been on and campaigns we’d supported that were included in the exhibition.
Barbara gave so much to the Labour Party over many decades and to many local and national causes . She had so much energy and positivity and was prepared to fight for what was right
Thank you Barbara for all that you did and for your friendship. Rest in peace now
Love and condolences to Ellie and Megan and all of the family
Barbara has left a lasting legacy and her good work lives on in so many ways
❤️❤️
Jane Mandlik, Treasurer, Save Lewisham Hospital Campaign/Save Our NHS
Barbara is missed not only for being a lovely and brave woman but also for her huge contribution in so many areas, a model citizen.
For me it was always a joy to turn up at a campaign event/meeting and find Barbara there.
Olivia O’Sullivan, Co-Secretary Save Lewisham Hospital Campaign
Dear Barbara, you will be so sadly missed by me and all of us. You have been a constant for us with your keen political understanding, wicked sense of humour, and tireless energy. I remember how you badgered us all to get the 10th anniversary of the campaign organised – which happened so successfully in the end, with our commemorative bench now installed in Ladywell Fields.
Whenever we organised a picket or event you would be there – whether outside Lewisham Hospital supporting doctors, nurses, cleaners, porters or outside Parliament, supporting Keep Our NHS Public events, or standing up against the Hostile Environment in the NHS for migrants.
You were embedded in the life and work of the campaign and in Lewisham. You can be seen in the video carrying the banner in summer and winter, rain and sun, taking part in every kind of event in defence of Lewisham Hospital or the NHS.
People don’t understand the inestimable value of someone like you who sees beyond the day to day and is prepared to give up a big part of their life on behalf of the fight for a more equitable and just society, in this case particulary for our hospital and NHS.
Thank you Barbara
Vicky Penner, Save Lewisham Hospital Canpaigner
Barbara was truly the beating heart of the Save Lewisham campaign ❤️ It has been a total privilege and also lots of fun to campaign alongside her to save our hospital.
Barbara inspired me in so many ways – always kind, relentlessly energetic, very insightful and with a wonderfully dry sense of humour that often made me giggle. No suffering of fools and always spot on! Barbara was a fantastic colleague and friend who has contributed so much to the Lewisham community. She made all our lives richer and warmer from knowing her. ❤️
She adored her family, her brilliant daughters and gorgeous grandchildren. Her spirit and legacy will continue to shine brightly through them and will also stay in all our hearts too.
☀️🙏
Tony O’Sullivan, Lewisham campaigner and Co-Chair Keep Our NHS Public
I am so grateful to you Barbara for everything – you gave total commitment to our campaigning to save the hospital and to fight for the future of the NHS; your wise advice helped steer us through some anxious decisions; you were ever present in all weathers; you wrote the FOI letters to Lewisham Trust that exposed the extent of damaging migrant charges there and in turn helped us succeed in halting the worst of practice; you always supported Keep Our NHS Public nationally too; and you were forever a funny and lovely personal friend – like so many, I’ll miss you greatly but will always remember you.
Mags O’Connor, campaign steering committee member
I will miss you Barbara, your intellect and knowledge of all things political and the passion you had for social justice. I admired you hugely and was constantly in awe of your analytical skills, your innate ability to get to the nub of the matter and get things done.
I will miss our times having long chatty coffees and brunches, visits to the Tate and Bankside Studios to see Olivia’s paintings and the great day out we had in Margate earlier this year. I will miss listening to your stories about your life, husband, daughters and their partners and grandchildren of whom you were so proud. It was lovely to discover our children went to the same Lewisham swimming club and have memories of each other. As with the swimming club, Food Bank, Labour Party and Save Lewisham Campaign, you were very involved and gave your time and energy freely making these groups better places.
Your enthusiasm, joie de vivre, wicked sense of humour and infectious laugh will be missing from our lives. I will remember your friendship, energy, warmth, bravery through your illness and general loveliness with warmth and huge admiration. You enriched all our lives. Much love and rest easily now Barbara.
My heartfelt condolences to both Megan and Ellie, Barbara’s daughters and to their families.
Iain Wilson, founder member of Save Lewisham Hosptal Campaign
Barbara was exceptional, modest, fun and committed. She always waited after meetings to check if I had a lift home. Typically, this was 5 minutes after that point in a meeting when campaign plans were being finalised and her diary was out- reliably checking for any clashes with local labour party meetings or other events, which she was also attending. We would spend car journeys debriefing about some of the campaign madness and catching up. She always took the time to talk with people and her commitment to educating the shoppers of Lewisham about the hospital campaign, every single Saturday, should be the stuff of legends. https://sites.gold.ac.uk/inlivingmemory/postcode/se4/
I am sure Barbara will be missed by many people for countless reasons (not least her prolific, hilarious whatsapp output) because she was a real gem.’
Brian Fisher, founder member of the Save Lewisham Hospital Campaign, former GP
I am very sad. My wife and her sister were school friends of Babs and have been in touch ever since. So I knew Babs through both family and campaigning. Her love and support has always been strong. Her life has not been easy. She showed the same strength, insight and compassion for others through her husband’s death and her own. Her daughters have always been at her centre.
I saw her political acumen and strength in both Labour Party and the Hospital campaign. Always practical, always thoughtful, always looking for solutions that would work for everyone. She was key to our success, on the streets and behind the scenes.
And always with humour, laughter and optimism. She brightened up my political and personal life.
She is sorely missed by all of us.
Brian
Di Cooke, Lewisham Campaigner
Barbara’s special qualities and humanity are evident. Barbara will be much missed by me, and everyone else at Catford Foodbank.where she was a volunteer for some time. I appreciated her strong support for social justice, warm and compassionate approach to Foodbank users, and other volunteers, and her sharp sense of humour. What a woman.
Teresa Bailey, Lewisham Campaigner
It’s very sad to have lost such a committed and inspirational woman. I will remember her with warmth and admiration.
A message to Barbara in her final days:
Dear Barbara, as I write this, I can picture you on the pickets and leafletting events, the zooms and at the stalls. You’ve always had a beautiful speaking voice and are easy to listen to even when you deliver harsh facts about what is happening to our NHS.
You have a way of explaining complex information in a plain and straightforward way. Your sharp intelligence and your passion for justice are a powerful combination. I remember your great sense of humour and your kindness.
I hope you are not in pain and that you can feel the love we all have for you.
Thank you for your inspiration, your persistence and your courage. We can only aspire to what you showed us.
With love and admiration, Teresa xx
Jane Keogh, Lewisham Campaigner
A wonderful woman and campaigner – Barbara gave courage to so many and given me so much warmth and support up here over the past 3 years – I will hold onto her courage ❤️ sad news Barbara was an inspiring amazing woman she leaves a huge hole in the world – condolences to Barbara’s family and SLH community ❤️😥❤️
Maggie Palmer, Campaigner
Such sad news. Barbara was an inspiring fighter, my thoughts with Barbara’s family and friends ✊🚩
Barry Still, Campaigner
Very sad news. My condolences to her family and all those who knew her well. Though I wasn’t so lucky, I respected her as one of the pillars of the SLH team, and I know how much she will be missed.
Rest In Peace, Barbara, you have surely earned it! xxx
Jane Wilson, Campaigner
So sad to hear of Barbara’s passing. Her passion and commitment will be much missed. Condolences to her family and those here who knew and loved her. ❤️
Judy Harrington, Campaigner
I am so sorry to hear this. She was inspirational and she will be much missed as well as being a lovely person My thoughts are with her daughters, family and friends. ❤️❤️
Meena Khatwa
We are so sorry to hear the news 😢 about Barbara. She was a phenomenal trailblazer and i admired her tenacious spirit and energy… I certainly couldn’t keep up.
South East London Peoples Assembly
RIP Barbara. Great campaigner and an incredibly friendly person. You will be tremendously missed.
Leila O’Sullivan
Sending lots of love to Barbara’s family, friends and fellow campaigners. Xxx
Alison Pick
I was so sorry to hear that Barbara has died. Whenever I went to events or actions, she was always there with leaflets and some helpful advice. She was someone who cared so much about the NHS. What a loss for you all.
