A councillor, bereavement worker, sailing enthusiast, female pioneer and keen cyclist, Lesley Williams has been at the centre of politics in Stroud for the last 20 years – and was rewarded for her efforts with an MBE in the Birthday Honours.

As part of our monthly Stroud Legend features, Saul Cooke-Black spoke to the mother-of-two about her campaigns, influences and life outside politics.

A campaigner for fairness and equality, Lesley traces her interest in politics back to her grandfather, seaman Tom Harper.

Tom was on board three ships which sank at sea, and despite being unable to swim, survived by hanging on to the remains of the wrecked boats.

After joining the National Union of Seaman, Tom helped to gain recognition for Samuel Plimsoll, who campaigned for a safe limit to which a ship could be loaded, leading to the introduction of The Plimsoll Line.

A self-described ‘teenage rebel’, Lesley grew up in the port town of Folkestone, Kent, in a family which talked about anything and everything.

She attended a grammar school but was more interested in sailing and pushing boundaries than classroom work.

“I was dreadful as a child,” she said.

“I didn’t work at school and I was a nightmare to my parents.

“I was lucky to grow up in a household where we could talk about everything.

“My parents were interested in what was going on around them.

“I used to sail beyond the limits and I was a bit of a rebel but my parents were very supportive of me being a teenager and doing the things teenagers do.”

After leaving school, Lesley, who is county councillor for Stonehouse, attended art college before moving to London to work in advertising.

She became the first woman to be employed by the Observer newspaper’s advertising department.

“They were advertising for a man so I replied saying why do you need to employ a man when you can employ a woman,” said Lesley, who has been leader of the Labour group on GCC for the last five years.

“They asked me for an interview and gave me the job.

“It was quite male-dominated but I never really thought about it.

“I just did my own thing, we are all equal and I just thought of my colleagues as equals.”

After meeting her husband Tom at a sailing championships in Saundersfoot, Pembrokeshire, the couple moved to King’s Stanley in the late 1970s.

Always at the centre of village life, Lesley was part of the ministry team at her local church, St George’s, where she volunteered as a bereavement worker.

In 1996, caught up in the public groundswell towards New Labour, Lesley stood and was elected as a district councillor representing King’s Stanley and Woodchester.

During her four years on Stroud District Council, one of her proudest achievements was setting up the Stroud District Youth Council in a bid to encourage young people into politics.

“I feel really passionate about getting more people engaged in politics,” she said.

“I thought if we can get young people involved it would be a start.

“It is an opportunity for them to learn what goes on in a council and how things are done.

“They can bring forward their ideas to a wider forum and learn to talk to each other and to debate issues.

“A number of young people have really benefitted from it.”

Lesley was elected to Gloucestershire County Council in 2001, where she campaigned tirelessly on issues from the Javelin Park incinerator to the changes in funding to children’s centres in the district.

Outside of politics she is well-known for taking on cycling challenges, including one which saw her cycle 100 miles in a day last year.

She also has a collection of around 2,000 cookery books, and four grandchildren, including twins aged three.

Her years of service representing the community were recognised in this year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours, when she was made an MBE.