My partner, Celia Mason, who has died aged 86, was a teacher, probation officer and author of novels on the English civil war. She also wrote short stories and poetry.
While working as a probation officer in Birmingham in the 1980s, Celia spent a year producing an illustrated manual designed to help prison inmates whose heavy drinking had led to their conviction. Her research showed 75% of prisoners at Winson Green suffered with this affliction. Her manual led to her being presented with an award by the Princess Royal on behalf of the prisons charity the Butler Trust. The citation stated: “Her endurance and dedication are of the highest order and her initiative in a large local prison will without doubt bear fruit for many years to come.”
Being a probation officer was not without its dangers. Celia once had a narrow escape when one of her clients attempted to take control of the car she was driving. But, Celia wrote: “A heartening aspect of my work was the realisation that there is not necessarily an immediate pay-off. Years pass. Suddenly you are accosted by a vaguely familiar male face. Accompanied by his wife and children, he has taken the trouble to cross a car park to tell you: ‘I really appreciated all you did for me.’”
Celia was born in Derby, the daughter of Jessie and Edward Kaulfuss, who were both active in the Co-operative movement. Edward was blind and the family moved to Sheffield when he became the first blind student to study economics at the city’s university. To make ends meet they took in students from overseas. Celia went to High Storrs grammar school in Sheffield, then studied English at Birmingham University before training to be a teacher.
She switched to the probation service after losing her job teaching English and drama at Saltley College, which was closed in 1978.
Celia retired from the probation service in the mid-1990s, and I met her not long afterwards through Guardian Soulmates. We lived in Hay-on-Wye, where Celia revitalised the town’s arts club, before moving to Cheltenham. In retirement she began writing, and her first novel, First Dry Rattle, was published in 2006, followed by A Daring Resolution (2007), Act of Rebellion (2009) and others, published under her married name of Celia Boyd. Celia’s first marriage, to Alex Boyd, a teacher, had ended in divorce, and her second husband, John Mason, an army officer, predeceased her.
She was an accomplished music-hall performer and, with a small team of amateur actors, the Silver Threads, performed at clubs and care homes in and around Cheltenham. At the end of each show, the audience would shout: “When are you coming back?” Celia would welcome players to the weekly U3A bridge sessions with a smile and often a line from a music-hall song.
Celia’s magnetic personality and love of people enriched my life, and she acted as a wonderful grandmother to my three grandchildren, Julia, Imogen and Astrid. She is survived by me, her son, Andrew, from her first marriage, and by a granddaughter, Hannah.
