My former nanny, Cleotilde Mercado, who has died aged 86, was part of my family for 47 years. She was a selfless and energetic individual who devoted her time to looking after others while supporting her family back home in the Philippines.
Tilde was the sixth of 10 children and was born in Batanes, the northernmost province of the Philippines. When the Japanese invaded in 1941, she and her family went to hide in the forest. They would creep down to their fields at night to harvest crops, and lived off wild yams and spring water. When she was 15, Tilde went to Manila to be a house girl and then, in 1973, she heard from a cousin that a family in London was looking for a nanny and housekeeper.
The family was mine – me, my brother, Tom, my parents, Nick and Tony Young, and my foster sister, Jo. Tilde took on the job having never met or spoken to us, and when she arrived in the UK my father met her at Heathrow airport at midnight. On the drive home she asked him if there was martial law in Britain.
I was three when Tilde arrived at our house in St John’s Wood, north London, and so began our close relationship. She looked after us all, came on weekend trips to our grandparents’ homes, and went away on holidays with us. She made beautiful apple pies decorated with pastry leaves and flowers, and amazing pork crackling; my father showed her how to cook ratatouille, and that became her signature dish.
She and my mother shared a love of blackberrying and car boot sales, and they would return in triumph with their treasures; Tilde was also a keen vegetable gardener and an expert with roses and orchids.
She lived with us until 1995, when she was able to get a council flat, but even then would come back to stay with us for Christmas and holidays. She never really retired, and was doing part-time work cleaning or cooking (including for my mother) until shortly before she died.
Using the money she earned in the UK, Tilde helped to fund an education for her nephews and nieces in the Philippines, to build a house for the family, and to buy a minibus taxi (known as a jeepney) that brought in extra income for family members.
She went back to the Philippines every other year, but in London she also had a vast network of Filipino friends. They had parties at our home, during which the dining table would groan with pansit, sticky rice and other delicacies.
For many years Tilde volunteered at the over-50s club at the Greenside community centre on the estate in St John’s Wood where she lived. In recognition of her work, she was invited to the Diamond Jubilee tea party at 10 Downing Street in 2012, and her photo with the prime minister, David Cameron, was a prized possession.
We were very lucky to have shared in Tilde’s life. Her kindness, generosity and love will always be remembered.
She is survived by two sisters, Felipa and Lucy, and a brother, Moises, 29 nephews and nieces, and 48 great-nephews and great-nieces.
