My mother-in-law, Margery Lewis, who has died aged 97, was among the original 36 women who walked from Cardiff to Greenham Common in 1981 – aiming to raise awareness of government plans to site nuclear cruise missiles at the US air force base. On arrival, frustrated by the lack of media attention, they pledged to camp there until the weapons were removed. A veteran campaigner, Margery was on the first Aldermaston march in 1958 and her last action for peace was joining the 2003 demonstration in London against the proposed invasion of Iraq.
Born in Box, Wiltshire, daughter of Kathleen and Charles Keane, Margery spent part of her childhood at Whiteway in Gloucestershire – a community whose members lived a simple life based on Tolstoyan principles. While she was still in her teens, her father sent her, unaccompanied, on an "educational" trip to Germany. It was an uncomfortable experience witnessing the early days of Hitler's regime, and she cut the visit short. Her father also encouraged her to learn about motor mechanics – she was still driving at the age of 90.
In the mid-1930s, Margery moved to Oxford and joined the Communist party. Here she met her future husband, Arthur Hartog. Disapproving of the relationship, his parents sent him on a tour of Europe. Undeterred, Arthur returned in time to join Margery in the demonstration against Oswald Mosley and his followers at the Battle of Cable Street in 1936. With the advent of the second world war, Margery and their children, Waldo, and Angela, followed Arthur on his army postings in the UK. Later in the war, she joined the FANYs (the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry) as an ambulance driver in Oxford and Salisbury.
Their marriage did not survive the war, and Margery married Edward Lewis in London in 1947. They had 30 happy years together, adding two sons, Roland and William, to the family. Edward had grown up in the Swansea Valley and when they moved to Cardiff in the mid-1960s he introduced Margery to his beloved Welsh hills, and she developed her passion for the natural world, especially birdwatching and geology. After her eldest son, Waldo died aged 32, Margery became a counsellor for Compassionate Friends – the support group for bereaved parents.
Margery had boundless energy and curiosity. She loved music (especially jazz) and literature. She was a gifted homemaker and gardener, and walked at least a mile a day until well into her 90s.
She is survived by Angela, Roland, William and her stepdaughter, Jane; by nine grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
