| Eileen Proctor | |
| Birth Name: | Eileen Field |
| Birth Date: | 11 August 1916 |
| Birth Place: | London, United Kingdom |
| Death Place: | Dublin, Republic of Ireland |
| Burial Place: | Mount Venus Cemetery, Rathfarnham[1] |
| Nationality: | Irish |
| Occupation: | seamstress, psychiatric nurse, telephonist |
| Credits: | , which produces label "Notable credit(s)"; or by |
| Works: | , which produces label "Works"; or by |
| Label Name: | , which produces label "Label(s)" --> |
| Office: | may be used as an alternative when the label is better rendered as "Office" (e.g. public office or appointments) --> |
| Spouse: | Proctor |
| Children: | 4 |
Eileen Proctor (née Field; 11 August 1916 – 3 December 2007) was an Irish woman, the founder and president of the National Association of Widows in Ireland (NAWI).[2] [3]
Eileen Field was born in London in 1916. She worked as a seamstress and psychiatric nurse, and as a telephonist during the London Blitz.
Proctor was widowed in December 1962 when her husband was knocked down by a bus while cycling home from work. In 1966 she wrote a letter to The Irish Press seeking support from other widows. The National Association of Widows in Ireland was founded in Dublin in January 1967.[4] Proctor served as its president until her death in 2007.[5] [6]
Lobbying by the NAWI introduced more benefits for widows, including an electricity allowance; free TV licence, free phone rental, a "Living Alone" allowance, double pension at Christmas, a supplementary benefit for pensioners and those on small, fixed incomes; and widows of Easter Rising veterans.[7] [8] [9] Proctor won a People of the Year Award in 1977.[10]