My mother, Gill Benton, who has died aged 81, began her career as a school teacher but, frustrated by the rigidity of teaching, in 1981 she retrained in careers guidance. Her work took her into schools and community settings across the north-west region, supporting young people who had limited trust in institutions.
A lifelong socialist, she held to the principle “from each according to their ability, to each according to their need”, sharing her time, skills and even her home with those who needed support. Her gift was to be able to transcend differences of education, class and accent to really connect with the people she worked with – hearing their aspirations and lighting the way.
From 1993 until her retirement in 2007 she worked at Wirral Metropolitan College, leading their careers and guidance service in supporting professionals ranging from sexual health advisors to counsellors.
In the late 1990s Gill was seconded to the Aim Higher initiative, part of the EU Objective One programme, working with Liverpool’s universities to widen participation in higher education, and used funds to support students who would not otherwise have had access to university visits or preparatory activities.
She made others believe in themselves and never fell into the trap of thinking her generation had reached the pinnacle of social evolution. She did this through language – subtle, persistent, trusting. She had a way of expecting great things without sneering, shouting or betraying disappointment, but by simply showing a path.
Gill was born in Barnetby, Lincolnshire, to Olive and Cecil Armitage, both teachers, and was educated at Brigg girls’ school, alongside her twin sister, Rosalie. She went on to study French at the University of Leeds. A pacifist, she joined CND, maintained all‑night vigils during the Cuban missile crisis and took part in the Aldermaston marches.
The third year of her degree course was divided between Laval in western France and the University of Grenoble. During a later stay in Paris, she rekindled her relationship with Ray Benton, whom she knew from school holiday work in Grimsby’s frozen food factories, and who later became a librarian. They married in 1967 and lived happily in Chester.
She taught French at the Queen’s school, Chester, then Blackburn high in Liverpool (the girls’ equivalent of the school attended by the Beatles), and Whitby high school, Ellesmere Port. When she went to Edinburgh Napier University to study careers guidance, she took my baby sister, Helen, along with her. After graduation, her early posts were with careers services in Flint, the Wirral and Cheshire.
Ray died in 2005. Gill is survived by Helen and me, four grandchildren, and her sister, Rosalie.
