Former church warden Gwen Kirkpatrick, who lived in Hilmarton for more than 50 years, has died at the age of 86.

Mrs Kirkpatrick was the first woman to become church warden for St Laurence Church in Hilmarton, serving from 1970 to 1996, and during this time she also raised money to help with much needed repairs to the church roof.

She was born on October 3, 1926, in Upney, London, and had a twin brother Ronald Delamere, an elder sister and brother, Arthur Delamere and Wynne Pike. During the Second World War she was evacuated to Bristol and survived after the house she was staying in received a direct hit from a German bomb.

After the war she became a maternity nurse, training at the London Hospital from the age of 17.

Mrs Kirkpatrick moved to Hilmarton in the 1960s and in 1966 she became a dental nurse for a Calne practice in Kerry Crescent, a job which she kept for 20 years.

As well as becoming a church warden she also sang in the choir as a soprano, ran Sunday school for children in the village and organised the local Mothers’ Union.

She was a tireless fundraiser and held many different charity events over the years. In the 1970s she raised money to build a library in Africa and filled this with books.

Mrs Kirkpatrick’s daughter Jan Jones said she was a lovely kind lady and will be remembered by many.

A funeral service will be held at St Laurence in Hilmarton on Wednesday at 11.30pm. Donations in lieu of flowers to the Stroke Association via E Wootten and Son, 1 North Street, Calne, SN11 OHQ.