Helen Katharine Frances Bevan was born on Armistice Day, 11th November 1930 in Rangoon, Burma.  Now Myanmar. Her mother, Elizabeth was from Fife, Scotland and her father, Gilbert from Bury St.Edmunds. 

She returned to the UK from Myanmar with her mother when she was approaching a year old, to Suffolk.  While living in Reydon, Nr Southwold she started her first school at St. Felix. 

When war broke, for fear of invasion on the flat landscape of East Anglia, the school relocated to Cornwall.   

Aged 11 she started St Paul’s School for Girls in London, catching two buses across the city to get there from her family home in Hampstead.  This was always useful when one of her grandchildren was studying World War II in History as she would come in as a ‘live’ show and tell, so in true Helen style, she did not hold back the visions, smells and noise she experienced as a young girl travelling across London in the war to get to school. 

After four years, Helen’s mother decided that it probably wasn’t quite the right decision to stay in London and sent Helen to Scotland to be home schooled by The Aunts.  This adventure lasted a year, as it transpired that The Aunts were really only successful at teaching History and atrocious at Maths – which stayed with Helen for the rest of life, a love of History, but a hatred of Maths! 

So, the best plan was put forward for Helen to attend Downe House.  She spent four years boarding here in the mid 1940’s and met her lifelong close friend Margaret Massey-Stewart (better known as Gritty). The best story she ever told me about her time at DH was when the swimming pool had been drained.  Back then, the ‘pool was an outdoor one, unheated as well, and would be drained in the Winter months, ready to be refilled for the Summer. 

She and Gritty went into the empty pool, one afternoon, possibly for something to do, feeling a little naughty with it.   They started a squeaky noise game…with one making a mouse like noise and the other repeating it back, giggling as the echoes from the empty deep end of the pool resonated around them.  The charming rodent squeals, then escalated into barks, culminating in screams, broken by peals of hysterical laughter. After some time, throats hoarse and laughter drained they strolled back to school, only to be met by the Headmistress, Deputy and senior staff. It turns out the entire school were ushered into the main hall (like in ‘lock down’ mode) as terrifying screaming could be heard from near the woods and two pupils were unaccounted for. 

The consequences of their actions were never disclosed... 

Helen went on to train as a teacher, working at Henrietta Barnet School in North London before moving to Indiana, USA to teach and live with her eldest brother and his family. 

She moved back to the UK in the early 1960’s to become a social worker in fostering and adoption in Camden.  She found this work tremendously challenging and frequently 

talked about cases well after retirement.  It was at this time she met John and his daughter Pam, so it was timely too. 

John and Helen married in 1966, with their first child, Kirsten being born in late 1969.  They moved from London to Eyke in Suffolk, which was the beginning of a very happy chapter in their lives, with Alexander (Lix) coming along in 1973, she also moved into mental health social work as well. 

Helen had time for everyone.  She was genuinely interested in what other people did, their opinions and thoughts.  Helen was a huge supporter of human rights charities and couldn’t contemplate wrong doings to another person. She was fiercely independent, enjoyed her own company but in equal measures, being with other people too. She was also a night owl, if you knew her well, you’d know never to phone or visit before 10am. 

Helen could never lie, but very much enjoyed bending the rules, teaching her children to drive at 14 yrs. old, as well as turning a ‘blind eye’ to other minor misdemeanours (my pink hair at 13!). Her innocent exterior fooled many and she had a special, cheeky sense of humour.  

She loved music (last concert was The War Requiem in November) read extensively and had an ongoing interest in the work of spies and their activities. Her knowledge and memory for historical events was astonishing – but those who ever tried to teach her to text or use technology will only know how frustrating that was on both sides! 

Being a Christian was very important to Helen and she took enormous comfort and solace in her faith.  Her bible reading group and church band where she played the flute, were all important activities and people to Helen, in the small town of Framlingham.  

Helen was gracious, kind and stoic to the end, surrounded by family when she passed away from a short illness on New Year’s Eve 2018. 

We will all miss her terribly.