Carol 

I was born Carolyn Anne Ogilvy Gordon on March 5th during the Clydebank blitz…in the cellar and that’s all I can remember. The rest of this article was written with the help of my daughter. 

When you think of Carol Steel (my mother) it’s hard not to think of her compassion or her quick wit but did you know she is Scottish?. Of course you do, because she is a very proud Scot. She was born around the Clyde bank blitz and her family had to take shelter in the cellar to escape. 100s died, many more were injured and over 8000 homes were destroyed. 

She grew up surrounded by faith. (She was able to quote the Bible backwards). Her father the Rev Walter Gordon was a Scottish Presbyterian minister while her Mother played the organ and wrote the children’s sermons. She also wrote a column for the People’s Friend called “A view from the Manse window”. When Carol was a child she would travel with her dad to see his parishioners but was always told to sit quietly. When she was four years old she ran away from home crossing a buy road and went to school only to be brought back home by one of the teachers. (She can tell you of quite a few more misdemeanors). 

Carol attended university in Edinburgh on the path to becoming a teacher. She loved to dance and taught Scottish country dancing. In fact she met her beloved husband Bill at a dance. Since Bill was older and headed to a party and Carol didn’t wish to be home by her curfew, she decided to go with him. And so began a wonderful romance. They got married and had 2 children, move to England and created a home full of much love and laughter. But in the middle of all this was Carol’s faith.

Not long after moving to England Bill got ill. This was a shock to Carol as at that time she was caring for her sister who had aggressive breast cancer and a mother with dementia. Every day she asked God for strength, guidance and the ability to keep moving forward. Sadly after 29 years of marriage Bill passed away age 59. Her sister and mother followed soon after. Bill’s death impacted Carol’s life in a massive way. She still talks about his laugh and those of you who knew Bill would know this huge man with a booming laugh.

Carol had completed a second degree in education and went on to teach at St Catherine’s in Crawley and Queen Elizabeth II ( QE 2) in Horsham. With her gift of kindness and ability to help others, she excelled in the field for children with exceptional needs and different learning disabilities. She went on to become the deputy head, then head forging friendships that are still strong today. 

Carol plays Bridge, scrabble, love a good crossword and is excellent at most game shows on television until it comes to sports and current events. Never wavering in her faith despite so many sad events and very knowledgeable about it, Carol was always ready to defend it. She seldom missed a service often searching for churches to visit as she travelled the world. Carol gave in all aspects. 

Carol came to London Road in the late eighties. In her time she was a church Steward for over six years (fondly called Hinge to Denise Sillett’s Bracket), served as a communion Steward, was part of the Church Council and a welcoming steward. She also helped clean the church and collected and drove the elderly to lunch club and other church activities until she realized she was older than many of them. 

Carol is a fantastic mother to me and my brother Michael. She ensured that we were raised in a safe home surrounded by love and laughter while teaching us the difference between right and wrong. We both attended church with her and went to “Bible school“ in the summer holidays. Michael is happily married with two fantastic sons and lives close by, keeping a good eye on her and pop in for daily visits. I moved to the USA after gettng married to my husband James. I’ve got two lovely daughters and four amazing grandchildren which makes Carol a grandmother of four and great grandmother of four. We visit often and I try to get over four or five times a year.

Carolyn Anne Ogilvy Steel is one much loved lady! 

A note from Michael and myself… a huge thank you to Jay Dunning who has continued to enable mum to be part of her beloved church community and to all those who keep in touch and continue to bring joy to her life it is very much appreciated. A church family is invaluable especially to people like our mum who lives on her own.