Tribute extracted from an article by Wendy Peters for the Majorca Daily Bulletin, July 2008. Mabel Dorothy Gill, aptly described at her funeral as "The Quiet Voice", died as she had lived; quietly and peacefully. I always had enormous respect and great fondness for Mabel. We would speak on the phone occaisionally and she would trun up at the cricket club on Bonfire Night with her tray of British Legion poppies and her collection box; take up her place and discreetly get on with the job in hand. She always forbad me from mentioning her name in my report of the event. I truly felt that she deserved recognition for her selfless work; I still do. Many others have voiced the same opinion to her son Peter during the past week. I chatted with him about his mother's remarkable life, and he recounted her extraordinary background which Mabel had seldom, if ever, revealed. That was the nature of the lady...and a lady she undoubtedly was in every sense of the word. One only has to consult Burke's Peerage to discover that she was descended from a family with a long and illustrious naval history dating back to the eighteenth century. Her great grandfather was Lord Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald and Marquês do Maranhão and the inspiration for the fictional sea hero, Captain Horatio Hornblower. Napoleon named Lord Thomas the Sea Wolf, when he caused devastation to the French fleet in the early 1800's. Indeed, Mabel's father was the Hon. Sir Archibald Douglas Cochrane G.C.M.G, K.C.S.I, D.S.O and bar, a Royal Navy Captain (ret.) who served in both world wars and was mentioned in dispatches three times. Her mother was the Hon. Julia Dorothy Cornwallis, CBE a daughter of the 1st Baron Cornwallis. Peter recalls that his mother was a bit of a loner possibly due to the fact that she and her brother were brought up in a world of governesses and boarding scvhools, whilst their parents attended to their imperial duties. Her father was Governor of Burma from 1936 until 1941. In 1958, Mabel married Geoffrey Douglas Gill in Hong Kong. He was a serving British Army Officer. Te couple travelled extensively throughout their married life. On retirement from the army, Colnel Gill served as a Military Attache in Poland and in Washington DC, where he worked for the Pentagon for a time. His final posting was to Rome. Peter recounts, "After he retired, my father workd for the British Red Cross in London, then we moved to Geneva. He was the first foreigner to work for the Swiss Red Crosss; I was six and attended school there. I recall that my father frequently travelled to Vietnam and Cambodia and other places in South East Asia to deal with Military related disasters and humanitarian concerns." The family settled in Majorca in 1980 where Peter attended Kings College. His father died ten years later. It has been said that Mabel Gill was "a star performer" for the British Legion Poppy Appeal, and I wholeheartedly endorse this sentiment. She was also a dedicated and valued member of the Anglican Church, where she was secretary for many years. Mabel Dorothy Gill may have been "The Quiet Voice", but she will be greatly missed by all who knew her.