#15525, Lilias Mulgrave NOBLE

Lilias was the daughter of Sir Humphrey Brunel Noble, 4th Baronet (1892-1968) and his wife the former Celia Weigall (1904-1982).  Lilias was brought up in Northumberland.  Having been at boarding school since the age of six and a half she went to Edinburgh University to read Music, particularly Piano and Singing after which she studied at the Ecole Normale de Musique in Paris.

She married Capt. Robin John Sheepshanks, scion of that landed gentry family, of Arthington Hall, West Yorkshire.  He was the son of Major Richard Hassell Sheepshanks and his wife the former hon Bridget Mary Thesiger, daughter of 1st Viscount Chelmsford. She and Robin had four sons, David Richard (1952), Richard John (1955), Andrew Charles Hassell (1960) and Christopher James Hassell (1964).

The bringing up of four sons took up much of her early married life.  They had moved to Suffolk in 1952 and a subsequent serious accident curtailed her activities but she put her convalescence to good use by undergoing training in counselling, group work, sensitivity and listening skills with the Adult Board of Education at the Westminster Pastoral Foundation and Ipswich Civic College.

She was a Samaritan for 5 years and in1987 she founded ADFAM (Suffolk) where she served as Director for more than a decade.  She became a Governor of RHS in 1983 and was reappointed for a number of years.  She held two school Governorships at the Royal Hospital School, Holbrook and at Eyke Church of England Primary School.

As well as being a member of the Deanery Synod one of her recreations was swimming.  Notably, in this day and age she declared her hobbies as living and listening.