Sally was born in 1937 in Kingston, Jamaica. During her first ten years the family had a number of homes; partly because her father was in the Army and partly due to the war. Sally was educated at The Royal School in Bath. Rather than pursuing an academic education and career for which she would have been well suited, she preferred activities which included travel and working with people.
In the mid-Fifties she worked in Malaysia for a number of years, then took off to be a purser on the Union Castle liner going all round Africa. At that time female members of the crew were very rare and this resulted in a fund of amusing memories. In the 1960s Sally was secretary to the late Rev Austen Williams, vicar of St Martin-in-the-Fields.
Sally and Donald met at the end of September 1965 and she maintained always that she decided on their first meeting that he was the one; he took a few weeks longer and they were married very soon thereafter. During their first ten years of married life they lived in five different places, in three countries and had the joy of three children. In 1976 the family moved to Chipperfield which they have enjoyed so much that this is still their home.
Sally was a volunteer with the Citizens Advice Bureau in Chesham for many years. Later the activities of the Chiltern Decorative and Fine Arts Society appealed to many of Sally’s interests; for a number of years she was involved in administering the Society’s affairs and was their Chairman from 2004 to 2006. In the 1980s when Chipperfield News was born, Sally was its first Editor. At that time the monthly publication was very much hand-crafted rather than computer generated and this involved much trial and error, but also great fun.
Throughout her life Sally loved plants and was very knowledgeable about their requirements and characteristics. Much of the garden at Mahogany Hall originates from cuttings and seeds from all over the world. As in past years, and although she will not be there, her garden along with three others in Chipperfield will be open in aid of the Red Cross on 19th July.
A Service of Thanksgiving for Sally’s life on Tuesday 9th June in Chipperfield was designed to reflect the family’s love and great appreciation for all that Sally meant to them and the wonderfully happy life of which she was at the centre.