Chair of Rushen Heritage Trust Doreen Moule has died at the age of 74.

In a statement at the weekend, the charity said: ‘Doreen was such a lovely person, who committed herself heart and soul to Rushen Heritage.

‘She was involved with the Trust from its inception in 2014, leading our World War II Women’s Internment Team and being our schools liaison officer, before being appointed chair in November 2020.

‘She played a leading role in creating the Rushen Heritage Centre in 2021, was a driving force behind two of our books - Friend or Foe? and Living with the Sea - and did so much to establish the strong reputation that the Trust enjoys today.

‘Doreen will be very much missed by us all and our thoughts are with Dennis, her partner of 52 years, at this difficult time.’

Born in Wolverhampton, Doreen trained as a teacher in Birmingham and taught in primary schools until 1999, when she moved to the island to teach at Fairfield Primary School.

She retired from full-time teaching in 2008 but continued in a part-time role at Victoria Road Primary School in Castletown for a few years.

Hugh and Sandra Davidson, co-founders of RHT, said: ‘Doreen led our WWII Women’s Internment Team to great successes with two exhibitions in Port Erin, attracting more than 6,000 people from more than 20 countries; and she edited the book Friend or Foe, as well as writing some chapters.

‘Doreen was also a very effective chair of Rushen Heritage Trust for two years until she became ill.

‘Her values were clear: modest, unselfish, kind, helpful, trustworthy.’

Caroline Savin, former colleague at Fairfield, said: ‘She was one of the kindest people, known for beautiful embroidery work, and many children born to Fairfield staff have christening robes and blankets created for them by Doreen.

‘She was committed to making the world a better place for us all.’

Ian Postlethwaite, former head of Victoria Road Primary School, said: ‘Doreen gave a lot of her time to helping children with emotional difficulties.

‘Her determination to get things done well always shone through.’