My mum, Anne Dale, who has died aged 58 of motor neurone disease, was a consultant paediatrician who dedicated her career to the children of the north-east of England and their carers.
Anne was born in Salford, Greater Manchester, into a family like no other. Her parents, Pat (Patricia, nee Knight), a homemaker, and George Dale, who worked for the charity Community Transport in Salford, had 12 children through birth and adoption. In addition, they fostered dozens more, both short-term and long-term, and all were treated as their own. In this way, Anne had more than 60 brothers and sisters. She grew up in a home full of love with never a dull moment. It gave her an immense capacity for kindness.
Anne attended Cathedral high school in Salford, then went to sixth form at De La Salle College, where she met Terry Aspray in a production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Iolanthe. They married in 1987.
Anne studied medicine at Leeds Medical School, qualifying in 1987, and trained in paediatrics at hospitals in and around Newcastle. After they both qualified as doctors, she and Terry went to the Gambia, where from 1991 to 1993 she was the first woman to head the Medical Research Council’s Dunn human nutrition unit. As well as running the field station with more than 100 staff, she completed a research project on helicobacter pylori infection in Gambian children, part of her doctoral thesis for Newcastle University, which she completed in 2001.
From 1994 onwards, she worked at the Royal Victoria infirmary in Newcastle, and Newcastle General hospital and Queen Elizabeth hospital in Gateshead, becoming a consultant paediatrician at the last of these in 2001. She was known for her fantastic medical knowledge and her endless kindness.
Anne was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in 2020. She continued to be as active as she could for as long as possible, leaving work in summer 2021.
Outside her work, Anne loved music and was dedicated to worthwhile causes. After leaving her job she continued to be an active campaigner online – including for Extinction Rebellion and No to Hassockfield. She was a trustee for the Children’s Foundation and was the driving force behind its baby box initiative, to give every child born in the north-east the essentials for a good to start in life. She also supported Medical Aid for Palestinians, Médecins Sans Frontières and Freedom from Torture. Her energy for doing good was limitless and her bonds with her family were close, especially with her mother, Pat, who survived her by a month, but also with her in-laws.
She is survived by Terry and their children, Patrick, Fiona, Clare and me, and by her many siblings.
