Dame Sheila Marshall McKechnie DBE (3 May 1948 – 2 January 2004) was a Scottish trade unionist, housing campaigner and consumer activist.

Biography

Sheila McKechnie was born in

Camelon Camelon (; sco, Caimlan, gd, Camlann)
is a large set ...

Falkirk Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a ...

, on 3 May 1948 to Hugh McKechnie, then a commercial traveller, and Christina (''née'' Marshall). She studied politics and history at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

, where she was a friend of

Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chance ...

. She was a member of the

students' representative council {{Unreferenced, date=July 2014A students' representative council, also known as a students' administrative council, represents student interests in the government of a university, school or other educational institution. Generally the SRC forms par ...

, holding the posts of Secretary and 2nd Junior President. After graduating, she studied for an MA in Industrial Relations at the

University of Warwick The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands (county), West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded i ...

. After working as a trade union official in the 1970s, during which she was active in the

women's movement The feminist movement (also known as the women's movement, or feminism) refers to a series of social movements and political campaigns for radical and liberal reforms on women's issues created by the inequality between men and women. Such is ...

, she became director of the housing and homelessness charity

Shelter Shelter is a small building giving temporary protection from bad weather or danger. Shelter may also refer to: Places * Port Shelter, Hong Kong * Shelter Bay (disambiguation), various locations * Shelter Cove (disambiguation), various locatio ...

in 1985. After ten years in this post, she left to become head of the Consumers' Association, campaigning on a wide range of issues, often using headline-grabbing stunts. In 2001 McKechnie said: "I am a fully paid-up member of the awkward squad and will remain so for the rest of my life. No government would ever feel entirely comfortable with me or the association because we are both fiercely, fiercely independent." She was made an OBE in the

1995 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours 1995 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as part of the Queen's Offi ...

for her work with Shelter, and DBE in 2001 for her work on behalf of consumers. She was chosen as the University of Edinburgh alumnus of the year in 1991. She was on the Board of Trustees of

The Architecture Foundation Founded in 1991, The Architecture Foundation is Britain's oldest independent architecture centre. It examines contemporary issues in architectural theory and practice, through a public programme that has involved exhibitions, competitions publicatio ...

. McKechnie was diagnosed with cancer in 1997. Following her death in 2004, aged 55, the

Sheila McKechnie Foundation The Sheila McKechnie Foundation (SMK) is a charity based in the United Kingdom. The foundation is a type of civil society campaign. It was founded in 2005 to support new and inexperienced campaigners, and to champion the right to campaign, offeri ...

was established to support a new generation of campaigners. In 2006, a bronze bust of Sheila McKechnie was erected in the walled garden within Dollar Park in Falkirk, near her birthplace of Camelon. The bust was created by artist Suzanne Robinson.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McKechnie, Sheila 1948 births 2004 deaths Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Warwick Consumer rights activists Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Deaths from cancer in the United Kingdom People from Falkirk Scottish activists Scottish trade unionists