My friend Gunnel Ingham, who has died aged 92, always stood up for what she believed to be right. For many years she single-handedly ensured that her Amnesty International UK group in Haslemere, Surrey, kept going.
Gunnel grew up in Sweden, loving books, science and languages, and trained to be a librarian at Stockholm central library, working there from 1953 to 1965. Swedish nature was also a great passion, with many summers spent in the Stockholm archipelago. She explored postwar Europe and Egypt, and first worked in Britain on a library exchange scheme run by Middlesex County libraries in Harrow in the early 1960s.
Later, Gunnel worked on a bibliography of the history of science at Imperial College London (1965-81), and as the librarian at the British Institute of Radiology (1982-91). In 1965 she met and fell in love with John Ingham, who became regional architect for the South West Thames Regional Health Authority; they were married in 1967.
In the same year the couple moved to West Byfleet, Surrey, where their two daughters, Erika and Astrid, were born, before settling in Haslemere – Gunnel would live there for 46 years. Sadly, within 12 months of the move, the family was involved in a car crash; John died, leaving Gunnel to raise their girls alone.
An amazing single parent, she formed a strong unit with her daughters and was always supportive. She made their clothes, took them travelling, and shared her love of books and Swedish traditions with them.
While still new to Haslemere, Gunnel had joined the local Amnesty International UK group, becoming a key member. Her dedication was extraordinary – she gradually took on every role, working as chair, secretary, treasurer, fundraiser and archivist. Batches of her delicious Swedish marmalade were sold on Amnesty stalls.
In 2018 she was given the Haslemere Volunteer award for exceptional service to the town. Her final outing was to the Amnesty tea in the local meadow last summer. Despite her failing health, Gunnel always remained at the heart of the group.
Born Gunnel Meijling, in Stockholm, she was the eldest of three children of Elisabeth (nee Forssblåd), a housewife, and Joel Meijling, a civil engineer. She gained her matriculation (school leaving certificate) in 1951.
Gunnel’s family was of supreme importance to her. She was making Swedish gingerbread biscuits with her grandsons, Kester and James, shortly before she died.
Her daughters and grandsons survive her.
