A DEVOTED champion of adult and lifelong learning, Enid Hankins, has died at the age of 70.

Enid was proud of her Welsh upbringing in Trelyn (Fleur de Lys) and her commitment to social justice was reinforced by being born in Tredegar — the birthplace of Aneurin Bevan.

She initially trained as a teacher in Llandaff and then following a family tradition took her skills across the border into England.

Her earliest teaching experience in an educational priority area led her to develop her interests in youth work, community learning and wider community work.

She later worked in communities in Suffolk, Waltham Forest, Hertfordshire and Sheffield, working in both literacy and community arts projects, and was an active contributor to the Arts Council’s community panel.

In her later working career she was active in leading projects in the youth work apprenticeship scheme back in the Valleys, helping young adults towards formal qualification in youth and community work.

As her interest in the interaction between community and learning grew she took on an active role in the Workers' Educational Association (WEA) in Wales.

She followed this experience becoming an inspector in ESTYN (the Welsh Inspectorate for education), her particular area of work being post-16 and continuing adult education.

For nine years, along with her Patagonian grey squirrel hound, also acted as a respite foster carer while living in Cardiff, giving children and teenagers stability, guidance and fun.

Retirement brought Enid and her husband Guy Richards to the Isle of Wight, initially in Sandown and for the last nine years in Bembridge.

She soon became involved in the work of Quay Arts, as a committee member, and both the local Island WEA and the southern region of the national WEA.

She was involved as a volunteer in a range of committee activities with particular emphasis on community development, the voice of the learner and quality standards.

She was also a member of Down to the Coast, an IW community project, for the last two years.

An avid traveller, she enjoyed extended trips to Australia, New Zealand, central America, India and Egypt, particularly enjoying exploring the different social systems of Guatemala, Costa Rica and Cuba.

Somehow she always managed to spend two months in southern Spain escaping from the rigours of the English winter.

She died on January 23 following a short spell in the Mountbatten Hospice, where she received compassionate care in her final days.

A cremation was held on February 9 and an interment will take place on March 1 — fittingly St David's Day — in the woodland burial ground at Newchurch.

A celebration of her life will be held in the summer when it is safe for people to travel.