PATIENCE Marshall of Market Lavington, who died at the age of 95, will be remembered for her public work which included helping young offenders.

She was born in London in her grandmother’s house in Chelsea in 1913. Her mother was Enid and her father was Brigadier General Sir Gilbert Clayton, who had fought at the Battle of Omdurman in 1910 and was subsequently transferred to Cairo as minister of the interior and director of intelligence.

The family joined Mrs Marshall’s father in Cairo where they remained during the First World War.

Mrs Marshall survived the bubonic plague which she contracted as a child although retained the scars of the bubos until her dying day. Sadly her sister Jane died at the age of six after developing the pneumonic plague.

In 1939, just before the outbreak of the Second World War, Mrs Marshall married the pathologist Dr Alfred (Dicky) Marshall in the Chapel Royal at Hampton Court Palace.

During their honeymoon on the Channel Islands they just managed to catch the last plane out before the Germans invaded.

Before her marriage Mrs Marshall worked as a probation officer in Middlesex. After the war Dr Marshall became consultant pathologist in Wolverhampton where they settled.

In addition to bringing up their four children Mrs Marshall did an enormous amount of public work both for her local church and for the town.

She served as a magistrate specialising in juvenile work and later became chairman of the bench.

With a couple of other people she started a marriage guidance service (now known as Relate) and became a counsellor herself. She started a home for vagrants, one for boys and a hostel for people on remand which was named Marshall House.

She sat on and mostly chaired numerous committees and governerships of schools and on one occasion represented this country at a conference in Geneva on juvenile delinquency.

She was awarded the OBE for her public work.

After her husband died she came to live with and look after her younger brother Dr John Clayton firstly at Eton and then in Market Lavington from 1992.

While living in Eton she went every week to the prison for young offenders in Feltham to chat and play games with the inmates.

Her funeral was held on Tuesday (March 17) at St Mary’s Church, Market Lavington.

As well as her children she is survived by six grandchildren and seven great grandchildren.

Her family have asked for donations in her memory to go to the Medical Foundation for Victims of Torture c/o John Stuart funeral directors in Devizes.