Audrey Callaghan, Baroness Callaghan Of Cardiff

Audrey Elizabeth Callaghan, Lady Callaghan of Cardiff (née Moulton), was born on 28 July 1915 in Maidstone, Kent, and died on 15 March 2005. Her father was a director of the Lead Wool Company, a tool manufacturing company. She was educated at Maidstone Grammar School for Girls and later studied cookery at Battersea College of Domestic Science.

In her early years, Callaghan was involved in political and social organizations, serving as chair of the Maidstone Labour Party and the Fabian Society. She joined the Labour Party during her teenage years. In the early 1930s, she met James Callaghan at the Baptist church Sunday school where they both worked. They married on her 23rd birthday, 28 July 1938. Their honeymoon included trips to Paris and Chamonix. The couple subsequently rented a house in Norwood.

During World War II, Callaghan worked as a dietician at an antenatal clinic in Greenwich. She was also pursuing studies in economics through the University of London extension course, taught by Hugh Gaitskell, a future Labour Party leader. Her academic focus included research on childhood malnutrition and potential remedies.

James Callaghan was elected as Member of Parliament for Cardiff in 1945. While she maintained a relatively private life, she was engaged publicly in political and social matters related to her husband's career. An obituary noted her involvement in his decision-making, including efforts to dissuade him from resigning after the 1967 devaluation of the pound.

In 1958, she was elected as the Labour member representing Lewisham North on the London County Council. She held roles focusing on children's welfare, notably as chairman of the Lewisham Council's children's committee and as an alderman of the Greater London Council from 1964. She also served as chairman of the board of governors at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children from 1969, a position she held for three decades. Her fundraising efforts included securing an extension of copyright on J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan for the hospital, facilitated through a Lords amendment introduced by her husband.

In 1987, upon her husband's creation as Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, she acquired the title Lady Callaghan. Despite her contributions, she declined a damehood offered by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. The couple retired to a farm in Ringmer, East Sussex, where they engaged in farming activities including keeping pigs, cows, sheep, and growing barley. They supported various causes associated with the University College of Swansea, where James Callaghan served as president.

Later in life, Callaghan developed Alzheimer's disease. In July 2001, she entered a care home in Burgess Hill, West Sussex, where her husband visited her daily until her death. At the time of her passing, the couple had been married for 66 years and together for over 70 years. James Callaghan died shortly after, on 26 March 2005, shortly before his 93rd birthday. She was survived by three children: Margaret Jay, Baroness Jay of Paddington; Julia; and Michael.