The death of Diana Lamplugh represents the loss of one of the most natural and selfless communicators in Britain of the last 20 years.
Mrs Lamplugh’s daughter, Suzy, was an estate agent in London. In 1986, she went to show a flat to a prospective purchaser called “Mr Kipper”. She disappeared and was never seen again.
She was assumed to have been murdered, but neither her body nor her killer have ever been found. The case received enormous media coverage at the time, because of the sudden and almost casual nature of Miss Lamplugh’s disappearance.
Mrs Lamplugh would have been justified in sinking into years of grief, self pity and perhaps bitterness. We would all have totally understood. But she did not.
She set about establishing a Trust - the Suzy Lamplugh Trust - to explore areas of safety of women working alone, including nurses, midwives, police officers and even office cleaners.
Mrs Lamplugh became a familiar and popular figure on television, radio and in the press for her tireless advocacy of the trust and a commentator on women’s safety. She was always a welcome guest on programmes of any kind.
She was a very appealing communicator - sincere, forthright, and never a hint of self pity, and had the right to be heard because of what she had been through. Never strident or unmeasured. Always warm. She was someone who could persuade the highest levels to listen.
Sincerity and integrity are underrated values for communicators in today’s reality obsessed society. They shone through in Diana Lamplugh and I hugely admired her.
Thank you, Mrs Lamplugh. Rest in peace.
(Posted from Singapore)
No comments:
Post a Comment