Joan Winfield obituary

My sister, Joan Winfield, who has died aged 80 of cancer, was a teacher, a Labour councillor and an active participant in many protest movements, including those against nuclear weapons, the Vietnam war and apartheid.

She joined the peace movement early on, taking part in one of the first marches around her home city of Nottingham at the age of 18. This was the start of her involvement with the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, and she eventually served on the national committee in the 1980s.

Born in Nottingham to Emma (nee Twigger), a cleaning lady, and George Ellis, who worked at the Raleigh Bicycles factory, Joan went to Trent Bridge girls’ secondary school.

In 1961 she married Ian Winfield and they moved to Newcastle-under-Lyme for him to take up a place at Keele University. The same year, she appeared on the front page of the Daily Sketch pushing her baby daughter, Karen, on one of the first anti-nuclear marches the Aldermaston march.

In her late 20s Joan decided to train as a primary teacher, responding to a government call for married mothers to fill teaching shortages at the time. After a couple of posts at local schools she joined Ellison primary school, where she stayed for 25 years, retiring as deputy head in 2003. Joan was a wonderful teacher and mentor, encouraging people to progress and push themselves to do more.

In 1987 she set up Left Foot Forward, an informal walking group that is still going. She fought for social equality throughout her life, joining anti-Vietnam war and later anti-apartheid marches, and visiting the Greenham Common women’s camp. She was also a supporter of the wives during the miners’ strike of 1984-85. This period was particularly poignant for Joan as our grandfather was a miner in a Nottingham pit and suffered from severe knee pains in later life due to working in water for hours.

Following retirement Joan continued to work as a supply teacher, and in 2012 was elected a Labour councillor for six years. During her term of service she became secretary of the local Labour group.

Joan travelled extensively. She went on a minibus trip to Istanbul in the 1960s with friends, long before journeys of this kind became a rite of passage for students. Later, she travelled through India, South Africa, Vietnam, Cambodia, Egypt, Iran, Israel, Bolivia, Ecuador, Cuba and the US, as well as Europe. In the UK she would take her camper van to folk festivals such as Sidmouth and Cambridge.

Joan’s marriage to Ian ended in divorce in 1982. She is survived by her partner of 30 years, Jim Matthews, and by Karen and by me.