Celia, Viscountess Whitelaw (1 January 1917 – 5 December 2011) was the wife of William "Willie" Whitelaw, MP, former Home Secretary, Deputy Prime Minister and aide to

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...

. Born as Cecilia Doriel Sprot (she later changed her name to Celia) at her family home, Riddell Estate near Melrose, to Major Mark Sprot of the Scots Guards and his wife, Meliora (née Hay), she attended school at the now defunct

Oxenfoord Castle boarding school Oxenfoord Castle School was a girls' private boarding school, based at Oxenfoord Castle, Pathhead, Midlothian, near Edinburgh in Scotland. The school was founded in 1931 and closed in 1993. It was founded by Lady Marjorie Dalrymple, sister of ...

in Midlothian. During World War II, she volunteered to serve with the Women's

Auxiliary Territorial Service The Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS; often pronounced as an acronym) was the women's branch of the British Army during the Second World War. It was formed on 9 September 1938, initially as a women's voluntary service, and existed until 1 Februa ...

(ATS) and was posted to Edinburgh Castle as a clerk with the Scottish Command. She was referenced in the book, ''Debs at War 1939-1945: How Wartime Changed Their Lives'', written by Anne de Courcy.

Marriage

She was engaged in 1942 and married Whitelaw in St Giles' Cathedral, Edinburgh, on 6 February 1943. They had four daughters. After he returned to civilian life following World War II, she played an active role in helping him run his family estates in Dunbartonshire and Lanarkshire. When he decided to go into politics in the 1950s, she became first a vivacious campaigner and later an active parliamentary wife. When her husband was created Viscount Whitelaw in 1983, she became Viscountess Whitelaw, however the lack of a male heir ended the viscountcy with Whitelaw's death. Lady Whitelaw served on the Lakeland Horticultural Society and was vice-president of the Penrith and District Gardeners' and Allotment Holders' Association. After her husband suffered a series of strokes from 1987, she cared for him until his death in 1999.

Charity work

Lady Whitelaw was heavily involved in charity work and philanthropy, including

Barnardo's Barnardo's is a British charity founded by Thomas John Barnardo in 1866, to care for vulnerable children. As of 2013, it raised and spent around £200 million each year running around 900 local services, aimed at helping these same group ...

British Red Cross The British Red Cross Society is the United Kingdom body of the worldwide neutral and impartial humanitarian network the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The society was formed in 1870, and is a registered charity with more ...

, the Blencowe Women's Institute, Wives of Westminster, the Eden Valley hospice (in Carlisle), and the Yellow Brick Road Appeal of the Children's Foundation.

Death

Viscountess Whitelaw died in Edinburgh on 5 December 2011, aged 94. She was survived by her four daughters (Elizabeth, Countess of Swinton; Carolyn Graves-Johnston; Mary Coltman; and Pamela Graham), twelve grandchildren, and a brother, Aidan. She was buried with her husband at St Andrew's Church, Dacre.Obituary for Lady Whitelaw in ''The Westmorland Gazette''
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitelaw, Viscountess Whitelaw, Celia 1917 births 2011 deaths Auxiliary Territorial Service soldiers British viscountesses British horticulturists People from the Scottish Borders 20th-century British philanthropists Wives of knights