Gwen Caldicutt, who died last week at the age of 91, was well-known for many things; her work as a parish councillor, her support for the local church, as a member of the WI and Mothers’ Union, but mainly for her unbroken work record. When she retired at the age of 72 she had served Weston under Penyard School, near Ross-on-Wye as a cleaner for 50 years.

Her dedication to the job was rewarded with a British Empire Medal and a feature in the Daily Mail of October 30th, 1996.

Gwen was herself a pupil at Weston under Penyard and her mother had been the cleaner there before her. When she started working she was paid £3 a month and her daily duties included carrying 24 buckets of coke to feed the boilers. When there were terrible blizzards in Herefordshire in 1986 this was the only school in the county to remain open because Gwen arrived each day to start the heating.

At the time of her retirement the Headmaster John Usticke said:?“She was loved by generations of pupils and teachers. Gwen and her mother gave 81 years of service to this school and will be greatly missed.”

Her eldest son Ron is very proud of his mother and of how hard she worked to keep the family. He told the Ross Gazette that a typical day started at 5am when she would cycle to Ross to clean the Red and White bus company offices. At one time she had 14 customers she cleaned for. He said she started by walking from her home in Pontshill where she lived for 68 years, then she got a bicycle, then a scooter and finally a car. She didn’t stop working until she was 75. Gwen’s husband Reg was also well known in Ross as he worked as a bus driver and also helped with St John Ambulance. He died about 20 years ago and since then Gwen has lived alone. She leaves four children, Ron, Cynthia, Brian and Keith and several grandchildren.