A DEDICATED peace campaigner who went from a council house in Birmingham to a hard-earned place at university in London in the 1940s has died, aged 92.

Audrey Harland lived in Bolton-le-Sands for 25 years and spent her last few years in Morecambe, Grange-over-Sands, Beetham and Silverdale.

She was born in 1923, the daughter of a bus conductor and a housewife who had high hopes for her daughter.

“My grandma had a tough childhood helping her overburdened mother with a large family,” explained Mrs Harland’s daughter Alison Hinds.

“When my mother came along and proved to be clever and studious she put every effort into getting her the kind of life she would have wanted for herself.”

Mrs Harland won scholarships to Holly Lodge High School and ultimately a place at London University – a rare achievement for a woman in 1941.

During the Second World War her university was evacuated to Cambridge, where she met and became engaged to a trained barrister called Din – a member of the Malayan Royal family.

Tragically, Din was killed by a German bomb while staying at Mrs Harland’s family’s home in 1942, and her brother Tom died while serving in the RAF Bomber Command.

Mrs Hinds explained: “This triggered in her a horror of war and she dedicated the rest of her life to campaigning for peace, becoming very involved in CND (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament) and going to Greenham Common Women’s Peace Camp several times.”

After completing a degree at the London School of Economics, Mrs Harland became a teacher, before qualifying as and becoming a social worker in Nottingham.

It was here that she met university lecturer John Marshall, who she married in 1949 and had three children – Celia, Alison and Edward.

The family moved to the Lancaster and Morecambe area in 1966 after Mr Marshall was offered a job at the newly-opened university.

The pair divorced after 25 years and Mrs Harland married Stan Harland in 1976, with whom she led a very happy life until his death in 1994.

She was well-known in Bolton-le-Sands and a regular attender at Scottish country dancing and piano classes.

Mrs Harland also gave time to the Chernobyl Children's Project and, for several years when children from Belarus came to stay in Bolton-le-Sands, she would host the interpreter.

She was chosen for the task due to her ability to speak Russian. A talented linguist, she learned Spanish in a year and passed an O Level at the age of 80.

She remained committed to campaigning for environmental and political issues, even attending a ‘Stop the Cuts’ demonstration in London on her zimmer frame.

Mrs Hinds said: “She was known for being very ladylike, polite and quick-witted, with a very sharp mind and a good sense of humour.”

Mrs Harland also leaves behind six grandchildren – including Westmorland Gazette columnist Anna Smith – and four great-grandchildren.