Roma Draper, who died suddenlyTRIBUTES have been paid to Devizes woman Roma Draper who campaigned tirelessly for Devizes Maternity Unit.

Miss Draper, who was 58, died of a brain haemorrhage as she was preparing to travel to Gatwick Airport for a holiday to Australia to visit a sick friend.

Miss Draper's body was discovered on the floor of her kitchen in her flat in Sheep Street, Devizes, after a taxi driver who had called at 6am on Saturday to drive her to Gatwick failed to get any answer.

Her suitcases were packed and a cereal bowl and milk were set out in her kitchen and she was dressed in her nightclothes and dressing gown.

Miss Draper used to live in Australia and she was due to return for the first time since she came back to Devizes in 1994.

Miss Draper, a grandmother, was well known in Devizes and played a substantial role in the campaign to save Devizes Maternity Unit, which began in January 2003.

She would stand for hours on end in all weathers in The Brittox collecting signatures for the Gazette & Herald's petition.

That petition was signed by more than 10,000 people and Miss Draper collected a large proportion of those signatures.

She also helped to deliver leaflets about the maternity unit to GP surgeries across Wiltshire, including Swindon.

She attended public meetings where she would often berate health trust representatives and she was proud to be on the protest march in February 2003 in which 500 people took part to deliver the Gazette's petition to the Kennet and North Wiltshire Primary Care Trust at Southgate House in Pans Lane.

Illness prevented her from travelling to the Houses of Parliament in London in March last year when a second Gazette petition was presented to Devizes MP Michael Ancram and North Wiltshire MP James Gray.

The maternity unit, which was to close last November has a stay of

execution while another review of health services is carried out but Miss Draper continued to promote the unit to pregnant women and handed out leaflets to those she would meet out shopping.

Helen Cosslett, a midwife at Devizes Maternity Unit, said: "All of us at the unit are stunned to hear of Roma's death. She had a heart of gold and she was passionate about the maternity unit.

"She did an awful lot for the campaign and she stood for hours in the freezing cold collecting signatures for the petition."

One of those she got to sign the petition was Devizes MP Michael Ancram and he said: "Roma Draper was a true campaigner on behalf of the interests of both the citizens of Devizes and further afield.

"She will be missed and we owe it to her memory to ensure the causes for which she fought in relation to our hospital ultimately succeed."

Miss Draper was a friend of Jo Batchelor, owner of Devizes Books in Sidmouth Street, and her staff.

Ms Batchelor said: "Roma's death came as a great shock to us, she had called by the shop on Friday evening with promises of postcards from Australia.

"Roma will be missed by all those she came into contact with and I have had a steady stream of people in the bookshop since early Saturday expressing their sorrow and disbelief at the news.

"Roma was a fount of local knowledge and life in the bookshop will be poorer without Roma popping in with her frequent bulletins on Devizes life."

Miss Draper was a regular customer at Tony Duck's newsagent in Maryport Street and he said: "Roma was quite a character and was very devoted to the maternity unit campaign in particular and to the concept of a Devizes Hospital in total. She will certainly be missed around the town."

Miss Draper was born in Devizes and raised in Potterne. She worked as a chef and then became a nanny to families of British Army officers.

She emigrated to Australia in 1970 and lived in Sydney where she ended her working life and was employed by a charity looking after the welfare of elderly people.

Eleanor Christmas, a mother of three from Ramsbury who has been involved with the maternity campaign since the beginning, said: "Roma worked really hard for the campaign. She attended lots of meetings organised by the health trust and she made quite lively contributions. She also delivered lots of leaflets about the maternity unit to various places where pregnant women would access them."

Jennifer Harrison, of Roundway, an acquaintance of Miss Draper, said: "Roma did outstanding work campaigning for the maternity unit and she was tenacious.

"Many mums in the Devizes area should be very thankful that we still have a maternity unit thanks to Roma and others campaigning. The sad thing is that Roma will not see the results of her hard work.

"Roma also had an incredible memory and knowledge of local history and stories and she had a keen sense of family and will be sadly missed."

Her funeral had not been arranged as the Gazette went to press.