Real lives: Helen was a champion for people of Craigmillar

COMMUNITY stalwart Helen Crummy MBE has died at the age of 91.

Mrs Crummy was best known for her part in founding the Craigmillar Festival Society (CFS) and for working tirelessly to champion a better quality of life for poor families.

Born Helen Prentice in Leith in 1920, Mrs Crummy moved to the newly established Craigmillar housing scheme in 1931.

She and her family took residence in Harewood Drive, becoming one of the first residents in the area. She attended the James Clark School in Holyrood, but left school at just 13 years old. She met her husband, Larry Crummy, at a dance in Craigmillar during the Second World War. The couple married in 1942 and had three sons - Phillip, 64, Steven, 58, and Andrew, 51.

The CFS was formed after Mrs Crummy asked the headmaster of the local primary school if her son could be given violin lessons.

After he told her it took all their time just to teach children the 3 Rs, Mrs Crummy and the other mothers reacted by creating their own talent festival.

The festival - for which Mrs Crummy remained organising secretary until 1985 - grew over the years and attracted thousands of participants, including Bill Paterson, Billy Connelly, Richard Demarco and John Murtagh.

The CFS is said to have been a model and inspiration worldwide for community arts and the use of arts and education to regenerate communities.

Mrs Crummy's vision of the festival was that it was about people in the community working together to create a better quality of life for Craigmillar.

She devoted her life to changing the face of Craigmillar, believing firmly that "poverty is as much about a lack of opportunities as a lack of money".

Mrs Crummy was awarded an MBE in 1972 for her work in the community. She also received an honorary doctorate from Heriot-Watt University in 1993.

Mrs Crummy published three books in her lifetime and her first, Let The People Sing!, which documented the development of the CFS, has been sold and studied in many countries.

Mrs Crummy's son Andrew said: "She left a legacy which has travelled the world. It wasn't just about my mother, though, it was about the group.

"She was a figurehead, but she never wanted it to be like that. It was about everybody working together to make Craigmillar a better place.

"She wrote it all down when she retired and the books have gone on to influence a lot of people."

Mr Crummy added: "An awful lot of people knew her.

"I didn't have a first name - I was always known as Helen's son."

Mrs Crummy died peacefully earlier this week after suffering a stroke. She was still living in Craigmillar and was still an active member of the community right up until her death.