My mother, Eileen Russell, who has died aged 90, was one of the original Greenham Common peace women. As our family home in Berkshire was so close to the RAF base at Greenham, she became a source of great support to many women who went there in the early 1980s to protest against nuclear weapons, and she is still remembered fondly by many who met her. Offering a hot bath and serving up vegetable soup were among the many ways she supported the cause.
Born in Plymouth, Eileen was the younger daughter of Edna (nee Fry), an artist and milliner, and Mervyn Arthur, the local chemist. She grew up and went to school around the Totnes area of Devon. Both parents were active members of the local Labour party, and one of their proudest moments was being photographed at an event with Nye Bevan, the founder of the NHS.
