Aileen Allen McCorkell was born on September 18 1921 in the Indian hill station of Ootacamund, the second daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel EB Booth DSO, RAMC, who was serving in India after the First World War.
In 1950 she married Michael McCorkell from a Londonderry family which had run a well-known sailing fleet in the 19th century. In 1975 he became HM Lord-Lieutenant of County Londonderry and in 1994 was appointed KCVO as Colonel Sir Michael McCorkell KCVO OBE TD JP.
She turned to voluntary work in 1961, having broken her back in a riding accident. She founded the Londonderry City Red Cross group in 1962, which became a fully-fledged branch in 1965, with her as its first president. She also became a member of the Northern Ireland Council of the British Red Cross.
For her work during the Troubles she was awarded, in 1972, the Red Cross Badge of Honour for Distinguished Service. In 1975 she was appointed OBE. Her experiences with the Red Cross during the Northern Ireland Troubles were recorded in a short memoir, A Red Cross in My Pocket, published in 1992.
Aileen McCorkell’s husband died in 2006 and she is survived by three sons and a daughter.
What a lovely piece. That Wiki link lead to some fascinating additional reading. Colonel Sir Michael & Lady McCorkell were clearly a remarkable pair. The McCorkell family seem to have contributed a long line of distinguished public service.
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