Eileen Lascelles obituary

As the chief executive of Age Concern Southwark, my wife, Eileen Lascelles, who has died aged 75, made an outstanding contribution to the care of older people in the London borough of Southwark and beyond, by her sheer determination, creativity, loyalty, passion and drive.

Eileen was born in Peebles, to Isabella (nee Gordon) and Thomas Powell. The family soon afterwards moved to Weymouth, Dorset, when her father, a draughtsman, found work at the Admiralty’s Underwater Weapons Establishment. Eileen went to Weymouth grammar school and at 16 to South Dorset Technical College in Dorchester. She worked initially for Dorset county council and then for the local magistrates court.

However, Eileen had greater ambitions and gained employment with the Labour party at Transport House in London, as conference organiser. There she met the international secretary of the Labour party, Tom McNally, and they married in 1970. Soon after, he became special adviser to Jim Callaghan, and eventually gained a seat in Stockport in 1979.

Eileen pursued her own career, working for the Ariel Foundation, promoting Anglo-American cooperation in Africa, and then at Oval House, a creative arts and education organisation in London, becoming a director. She was also one of the first graduates of the Open University, studying humanities and social science.

Age Concern Southwark had its roots in the Camberwell, Bermondsey and Peckham old people’s welfare association. From 1976 onwards, Eileen developed the organisation from two members of staff to more than 200, with a turnover of more than £2m a year. After only a year as chief executive, she was elected as a member of the national executive.

Eileen would always take on the hard tasks – the biggest was establishing a new purpose-built nursing home. She developed innovative projects such as a Welsh holiday scheme that utilised underused facilities of Powys College for elderly residents of the borough during the summer. It was the first time that some of them had been across the Thames. In addition, she successfully managed the largest home help service in the borough and established a network of day centres.

Eileen’s other roles included deputy chair of the Camberwell Community Health Council and chair of the Southwark Youth Opportunities Programme. Asked once how she could remain so enthusiastic after many years, she replied: “Because there is always another challenge around the corner.” One new challenge was establishing the Eldervine charitable organisation in 2001.

In retirement from 2002 onwards, Eileen joined a host of organisations, including serving on the committee of the Capital Age festival, as chair of the London Older People’s Strategies Group, and on the board of Swan Housing in east London and Essex.

Tom and Eileen divorced in 1990. She and I met through the Open University graduates association and we married in 2009, living first in Huddersfield and then in 2013 relocating to Devon. There Eileen stood, unsuccessfully, to become a county councillor in 2017, as an independent. She worked as team leader for Claire Wright’s parliamentary campaign as an independent at the 2019 general election.

She loved reading, travelling and classical ballet.