It is with great sadness that we learnt of the tragic death of Celia this week. Even now it is hard to believe that we will not see Celia at demos and socialist events with her boundless enthusiasm.
Celia was a dedicated UCU activist at Bristol University until her retirement a few years ago. We knew she had mixed feelings about leaving but saw it as a good opportunity to get more involved in various other campaigns. She particularly mentioned wanting to get involved with the freedom riders bus campaign and other campaigns more local to where she lived in the Bath area.She wanted to learn Greek and loved her local classes about Greece.
Every year we would meet up at the Tolpuddle Martyrs festival where she was the most enthusiastic seller of Socialist Worker. Celia was a passionate socialist. Also nothing was too much trouble for her in order to help others. Our last email dialogue was about how she was wanting to help student activists get involved with Stand Up to Racism and how she was opposing the EDL in Bristol on 10 September. Celia, in her usual humble way, thanked us for being such good and supportive friends. But we always felt it was a privilege to be a friend of Celia. Her kindness, her enthusiasm, her passion for a better world will always be her legacy. If she was here she would say to us ‘ Don’t mourn. Organise’. And that’s what we must do.
RIP comrade. You brought so much to so many.
By Sue and Geoff Abbott
Other tributes: https://www.google.co.uk/amp/www.bathchronicle.co.uk/news/bath-news/truly-good-activist-celia-hollingworth-539472.amp