Scotsman Obituaries: Margaret Mills MBE, trailblazing children's champion

Colleagues at Children First have been fondly remembering Margaret Mills MBE, who worked tirelessly as a children’s champion for the charity for over 54 years until her sudden death.

Starting her career in the 1970s as one of the first female inspectors with the Royal Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (RSSPCC), now known as Children First, Margaret dedicated her life to helping children and families.

Specialising in supporting children to recover from sexual, emotional and physical abuse at Children First’s service in the Scottish Borders, she helped transform the lives of hundreds of children.

Margaret Mills was awarded an MBE in the 2012 New Year Honours List

Margaret pioneered support for child victims required to give evidence in court. This paved the way for Scotland’s first Bairns Hoose, a safe space for child victims and witnesses of crime run by Children First, based on the Icelandic Barnahus model, to provide a child-centred approach to justice, care and recovery.

The Bairns Hoose approach is now being rolled out across Scotland and is in development in the Scottish Borders.

Mary Glasgow, chief executive of Scotland’s national children’s charity, said: “Margaret considered it a huge privilege to work with young people and regarded each and every family and young person she connected with as special.

“Margaret was an extraordinary person, and we will all miss her hugely at Children First. She was a dedicated, compassionate advocate for the rights of children, striving to ensure that they had the opportunity to access all the support they needed.

“Her meaningful connection with children meant that for years afterwards many young people chose to stay in touch with Margaret and would reconnect with her for support and encouragement when they needed it.

“Margaret was loved by so many and leaves a lasting legacy behind, having paved the way for Scotland’s first ever Bairns Hoose.

"She was truly an inspiration to others, devoting her life to securing a brighter future for children who had suffered trauma and abuse.”

After leaving school at 15, Margaret – who hailed from Leitholm in the Scottish Borders – worked as a nanny with a family in Edinburgh before undertaking nursery nurse training with Barnardos. Once she was old enough she began working for Barnardos in Essex and Cambridge in children’s homes where she was fondly known as the “Scottish auntie”.

On completion of her residential childcare course at Langside College in Glasgow, Margaret embarked on her career as a children’s champion with the RSSPCC in 1973 supporting parents to care for their children. At that time the RSSPCC had the duty and power to investigate and prosecute incidents of child abuse and all male RSSPCC staff were inspectors, and female staff were “women visitors”.

Margaret moved back to the Borders in 1973 as an RSSPCC visitor and excelled in the role. She was instrumental in setting up a support group in Galashiels for mothers of preschool children who needed help. In 1976 she was promoted and became one of the first female RSSPCC inspectors, moving into a lead role in the field of child protection and family assessment.

By 1980 she had started another parents support group in Hawick. These groups gave Margaret and her colleague and lifelong friend Bill Dunbar the inspiration to set up the Ettrick Family Resource Centre in Selkirk in 1990. This laid the foundation for today’s Children First service in the Scottish Borders which has supported thousands of children and families over the years. Margaret and Bill responded to calls from the public for support with their children’s wellbeing 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

From then on, Margaret continued to help children to recover from unthinkable trauma and trailblazed support for child victims required to give evidence in court, leading to Scotland’s first Bairns Hoose.

Margaret played an active role in her community, running the creche at Kelso North Parish Church for many years. She was also president of Broomlands Scottish Women’s Rural Institute.

Margaret’s contribution to the wellbeing of children and young people was recognised in January 2012 when she was awarded an MBE in the New Year Honours List for her services to children and young people in Scotland. She is survived by her sister Ella, two nieces and their families