Baroness remembered as 'kind, caring person'

The former chancellor of a university is being remembered as "a kind, caring person who just really did make a difference".

Tributes are being paid to Baroness Rennie Fritchie, a life peer and former member of the House of Lords, who died on Thursday, aged 83.

Baroness Fritchie was chancellor of the University of Gloucestershire from 2012 to 2022. She attended Gloucester's Ribston Hall High School and was part of the Pied Piper Appeal when it launched in 1992.

Roger Head, a friend of Baroness Fritchie, said: "Rennie made an enormous contribution to society both on a local and a national basis."

Born in Fife, Scotland as Irene Tordoff Fennell, Baroness Fritchie left school at the age of 15 following a serious road accident.

She forged what she later described as a "mosaic career", the University of Gloucestershire said.

In the 1970s, Baroness Fritchie became one of the first full-time training advisers focused on women's development, helping manufacturing companies improve staff training and championing opportunities for women in the workplace.

Baroness Fritchie later established her own training consultancy and went on to hold a wide range of senior leadership roles across the public and private sector.

These included the chair of the 2gether NHS Foundation Trust, sitting on the board of the Gloucester Rugby Charitable Foundation, commissioner for public appointments, and civil service commissioner.

In 2002, Mr Head was asked by Baroness Fritchie to chair the Pied Piper Appeal, which she was a patron of until her death.

The charity supports sick and disabled children in Gloucestershire.

"I should remember her as a kind, caring person who just really did make a difference," Mr Head said.

"I mean, I've lost not only a close friend and close advisor, but a mentor, and she'll be sadly missed."

Baroness Fritchie also helped establish Winston's Wish, was a trustee of Longfield Hospice, and was charity ambassador for Age UK Gloucestershire, the University of Gloucestershire said in a tribute.

Dame Clare Marchant DBE, vice-chancellor, said Baroness Fritchie will be remembered not just for her remarkable achievements, but also for her "generosity, warmth, wisdom and deep belief in the power of education, leadership and community".

"She will be greatly missed, but her legacy will continue to inspire our University community for many years to come," she said.