Real lives: Friends plan party to celebrate MBE honour for tireless Phyllis

Published on Saturday 4 July 2009 11:20

Friends and neighbours of former Lothian regional councillor and tireless community campaigner Phyllis Herriot are holding a party to celebrate her MBE in the Queen's birthday honours list.

Mrs Herriot was born Phyllis Taylor on 5 April 1926, in East Thomas Street, the youngest daughter of former Lancashire Fusilier James Taylor and his wife Mary Ann.

She was educated at Leith Walk School, before going on to the old Broughton Secondary, at the foot of McDonald Road, but her dreams of going to university were scuppered by her traditionalist father.

"My dad never believed in women being highly educated in those days," said Phyllis. "He thought it was a waste of time – and then spent the rest of his life apologising to me."

She took a job at W&AK Johnston Printers on Easter Road, printing Royal Ordinance maps and Bank of Scotland banknotes, before moving on to JF MacFarlan Pharmacy at Abbeyhill just before the Second World War broke out.

She added: "My sister joined the ATS (Auxiliary Territorial Service] and I had hoped to follow her, or go into the Wrens (Women's Royal Naval Service] but my job at the pharmacy was a reserved profession as we made dressings and medications for the hospitals, which I found a little galling because I wanted to do more active service."

Sadly, she lost her brother Norman during the war, when he was one of around 800 men killed on the Lisbon Maru prisoner-of-war transport ship in the waters surrounding Hong Kong.

She met her husband during the war and they were married in 1949, settling in Wolsley Place.

In 1956 she began a 30-year career as a saleswoman at the Gas Board shop on George Street, and a little over ten years later she was persuaded to stand as an Edinburgh City councillor for Craigentinny.

She said: "I used to get the bus from George Street to the City Chambers, and I had to give my boss a timetable of my council duties so he could give me time off.

"I'm proud of some of my achievements on the council, especially the work we did for children and older people in improving conditions in schools and bringing in the concessionary bus pass."

Sadly, her husband died in 1981 aged just 59, and Phyllis retired from the council the following year.

She retired from the Gas Board in 1986, but for Phyllis this was just the start of her community activities.

Among the posts she has held over the last two decades are roles as non-executive director of Lothian Regional Transport, chair of the Craigentinny Tenants Association, chair of the Craigentinny Community Centre, chair of Lochend Neighbourhood Centre, assistant secretary of the Scottish Pensioners' Forum, a member of Craigentinny Community Council, a member of the East Edinburgh Crime Prevention Panel and chair of the Moira Park Tenants Association.

Phyllis is also a Save Meadowbank Stadium campaigner, a vocal critic of Edinburgh Council's home-care cuts and a staunch Hibs supporter.

Her tireless work gained her an MBE in the Queen's birthday honours list last month, and there will be a party to celebrate her award on 23 July at Moira Park.