‘Sweet’ volunteer who had time for anyone dies at 93

Friends and family share memories of Gwen

Tributes have been paid to a “kind-hearted” volunteer who shared the same birthday as the Queen.

Gwen Heath, 93, died at the William Harvey Hospital on Sunday, October 27 from pneumonia - two years after she was diagnosed with dementia.

Born in Cottingham, East Yorkshire on April 21, 1926, the former secretary and mental health volunteer shared the same birthday as the Queen.

She moved from Beverley in Hull to Kennington with her younger sister Margaret in 2004, and lived in Ashford until she passed away.

In 2006, Gwen - who was 80 years old at the time - featured in the Kentish Express after she attended a banquet at Buckingham Palace along with 99 others who were born on the same day as Her Majesty.

Gwen met her husband Geoff shortly after the Second World War.

The pair went on to share 49 years of marriage and had two children - John and Carolyn.

Mrs Heath - who also had five grandchildren and one great-grandchild - dedicated a huge proportion of her life volunteering for Depressives Anonymous, which is now known as Depression UK.

Along with her husband, she would take telephone calls and help edit a self-help magazine to support others who suffered from depression.

Her daughter Carolyn Banham, 61, said: “She was a very sweet and kind-hearted lady.

“She was a good listener and she used to take calls from people with depression.

“She suffered with depression herself and battled it all her life.

“She was still taking the calls well into her 80s, until her hearing started to fail.

“Everyone who knew her thought she was a lovely lady.

“She had low confidence and self-esteem but she was highly thought of.”

Family and friends paid tribute to Mrs Heath on Friday, November 8 at Charing Crematorium.

‘She was a sweet and kind-hearted lady...she was a good listener and everyone thought she was lovely...’

Gwen Heath pictured in September