As a little girl, Anne discovered three words that could sometimes stop her father beating her mother: “I love you.”

She grew up believing that loving someone meant keeping them safe. But love could not spare her the death of her baby son, protect her from betrayal, or shield her younger sister, Wendy, from violence that left her almost unrecognisable.

Then Wendy was found dead in a bath.

Her death was officially recorded as accidental drowning. But Anne knew about her sister’s injuries, hospital admissions and time in refuge. Already raising Wendy’s young daughter, she was left grieving—and asking whether the circumstances of Wendy’s life had been fully considered.

Years later, when Frank, her partner of decades, lay dying in hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic, Anne fought for the chance to be with him—and for their children to say goodbye.

The little girl who once lived in fear grew into a woman determined to stand up for vulnerable children and families, becoming the advocate she herself had once needed. Her work earned her an honour in the Order of the British Empire.

For much of her life, Anne knew how to protect others. Learning to speak for herself would take far longer.