We are saddened to hear that Baroness Dean has passed away and extend our deepest sympathy to her family.
Baroness Dean started her working life in the Trade Union movement and was subsequently elected General Secretary of the Society of Graphical and Allied Trades (SOGAT), the printing, publishing and paper trades’ union. She was created a life Peer in 1993 and a member of the Privy Council in 1998.
A tremendous supporter of The Printing Charity, she said she was proud to be our 2017 President, continuing her association with the industry.
For the past six years, Baroness Dean very kindly hosted our annual Print Futures Awards event at the House of Lords, saying that it renewed her faith in the industry to see so many young people joining a very old industry but one that is now wide-ranging with modern technologies. Welcoming winners of Print Futures Awards to the industry, she said: “Once printing is in your blood, it never leaves you.”
Residents at Beaverbrook House, our sheltered home in Bletchley for retired people with a print connection, swapped stories with Baroness Dean of working in the industry when she visited the home. She said at the time: “It’s like walking down memory lane today as I’ve got a connection with all of you through the printing industry and The Printing Charity.”
We will remember Baroness Dean as an inspirational advocate of the printing industry and a true friend of the charity.