Former Chester school head mistress and river volunteer given …
The coffin of a waterways volunteer praised by the King for her service was transported on a historic working boat which she once helped to restore.
Diana Skilbeck MBE, 80, was given the touching send off at the National Waterways Museum in Ellesmere Port[1] last Tuesday (April 4).
She was described as ‘inspirational’ for her 50-year service to the museum by King Charles in a letter of condolence after her death last month.
After a memorial service at her local church, her coffin was transported by boat along the Shropshire Union Canal for a short distance before she was cremated.
Affectionately known as Di, she had volunteered at the museum site since the 1970s.
She was part of a band of enthusiasts who rescued the derelict port and transformed it into a national home for the UK’s historic boat and waterways collection.
Richard Parry, chief executive of The Canal & River Trust, said: “Di Skilbeck MBE has been a passionate waterways supporter for half a century and she has given so much to them in that time; her record of achievements is remarkable.
Diana Skilbeck MBE will receive a Master of Arts for her outstanding contribution to education in the country, particularly in her role as president of the Boat Museum Society
“Her passion for local history and the canal network placed her at the centre of the ambitious work to restore the derelict Ellesmere Port and as a founder of the museum society.
“Since then, she has served tirelessly as a volunteer in a range of leadership roles that have made such a vital impact on the Waterways Museum, its historic boats and the wider collection of artefacts.
“As a retired schoolteacher and headmistress, Di had a natural gift for sharing her knowledge and enthusiasm with adults and children alike.
“Always a source of generosity and good humour, she will be greatly missed by all who knew her.
“Everyone who today shares Di’s passion for our working canal network owes her a debt of gratitude – a great lady and a giant of the waterways.”
Diana, born in Heswall on the Wirral[3] in November 1942, moved to London to train as a teacher before returning home to teach geography and history.
She later became deputy head at West Kirkby Grammar School, head mistress of Sheffield High School and head mistress at The Queen’s School in Chester[4].
Diana Skilbeck MBE was given a boat funeral (Image: Nigel Player)
She became involved in the Boat Museum, now the National Waterways Museum, in 1974, when she and her students joined the first working party to restore the site.
They then became regular Sunday helpers and she once said: “I was horrified by the dilapidated state of the once thriving Ellesmere Port site.
“Desperate to do something, I offered to help with the restoration work and enlisted my students in the massive and muddy project.
“We pulled so much from the mud in the upper basin – a scooter, car doors, tyres, cans of oil – the site had become a dumping ground.”
In 1981, she took on the role of working party organiser and later became chairperson and president of the Boat Museum Society.
She personally led the major restoration of two historic boats – the tar boat Gifford and Box boat 337.
And in recent years had continued as an enthusiastic volunteer at the museum, regularly dressing up in traditional costume and giving tours to visitors.
In 2012 she was awarded an MBE for Services to Heritage. She died on March 4.
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References
- ^ Ellesmere Port (www.cheshire-live.co.uk)
- ^ Family’s tribute to ‘our darling Felix’ after teenager killed in A530 crash (www.cheshire-live.co.uk)
- ^ Wirral (www.cheshire-live.co.uk)
- ^ Chester (www.cheshire-live.co.uk)
- ^ Get all the latest news from Crewe and Nantwich by subscribing to our dedicated newsletter here (data.reachplc.com)