Patricia Herbert obituary
From 1975 until 1998, my mother-in-law, Patricia Herbert, who has died aged 81, was the south-east Asia curator at the British Library in London. In this role, she wrote multiple books, essays and papers, including The Life of the Buddha (1993), based on Burmese myths and legends, and an important bibliography of Burmese writing, described as one correspondent as 'like a bible' to scholars in Burma (now Myanmar). She also became friends with Aung San Suu Kyi and her husband, Michael Aris, who were then living in Oxford.
In her spare time, Patricia became a vital node in the international movement for democracy in Burma. Over the following decades, she often supported the families of liberation leaders forced to live in London, and served as vice-chair of the educational charity Prospect Burma from 1989 until 2017. For many young Burmese students in London, she became 'Auntie Pat'.
Patricia was born in Pinner, north-west London, to Winifred (nee Lathey) and Laurence Herbert, who ran a bakery. She went to Heriots Wood grammar school, and pursued south-east Asian studies at Soas University of London, where she learned Burmese. During further study at the University of Michigan, she lived in a large Quaker housing co-op and, in 1968, joined protests against the Vietnam war. She moved to Yangon, at the time known abroad as Rangoon, shortly after with her first husband, U Kyin Swi, whom she had met at Soas and married in 1969.
During her time in Burma, and on multiple subsequent visits to the country, as well as carrying out academic research, she became friends with many of the leading figures in the liberation struggle. In the early 1970s, she separated from Swi (they remained friends – indeed, he died in the family home while visiting her in 2015), and moved back to London.
While working at the British Library in the 1970s, Patricia met Ariel Daigre, and they married in 1984. She acquired two stepdaughters, Olga and Christine, and the couple had a daughter together, Juliette.
In 2017, Patricia was made MBE for her work, and the following year the International Institute on Social History in Amsterdam archived a collection of her papers as The Patricia Herbert Collection on Burma.
She is survived by Ariel, Olga, Christine and Juliette (my wife), and by seven grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
a day ago
- BBC News
The Documentary Podcast Reworking a future: Buddhist revival in Mongolia
Cambridge anthropologist David Sneath is in Mongolia to find out how Buddhism continues to make a comeback after years of persecution under Communism. David tells the story of how a young Mongolian boy has recently been recognised as the new reincarnation in a lineage of major Buddhist leaders, once known in the country as 'Holy Emperor'. The 10-year-old boy will, when formally enthroned, be considered the 10th Jebtsundamba Khutughtu in a lineage stretching back centuries. The Jebtsundamba Khutughtu (widely known to Mongolians as the 'Bogd') is a leader of the Gelugpa School within the tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, and the young boy was officially recognised by the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan religious leader. David meets the boy's mother, religious leaders and leading cultural figures to find out what is in store for the young Bogd. This episode of The Documentary, comes to you from Heart and Soul, exploring personal approaches to spirituality from around the world.
Edinburgh Reporter
2 days ago
- Edinburgh Reporter
Number of people with Gaelic skills on increase
The number of people with Gaelic skills in East Lothian has nearly doubled over the last 14 years, a new report has revealed. East Lothian Council says the 2022 census found 1, 396 residents above the age of three had some ability to use the traditional language. It added out of those, 638 said they spoke Gaelic with 452 people who said they could speak and read but not write Gaelic and 385 Gaelic literate speakers while 15 people said that Gaelic was their main language. The local authority highlighted the figures as it launched a public consultation on its new Gaelic Language Plan, which covers the period 2025-30. The draft plan, which the council has a statutory duty to renew, sets out actions to help meet a commitment to the aspirations and objectives included in the National Gaelic Language Plan and the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005. And it reveals the results of the census show use of the language is on the increase. In its report it says lowland Scots rather than Gaelic would have been spoken in East Lothian, however, there are some examples of place names in East Lothian having Gaelic origins, such as: • Cuil Choinnich – Cockenzie (the neuk of Coinneach) • Craobhbarraidh – Carberry (at the palisade) • Fan Taisidh – Phantassie (at the damp slope) • An garbh-Allt – Garvald (the rough burn) The report says the Jacobite army that fought in the Battle of Prestonpans (1745) was largely made up of Gaelic speaking Highland clansmen and the interest in commemorating the battle has resulted in the provision of some bi-lingual road signs and place names around the battlefield site. It says the council is now looking to build on its first Gaelic Language Plan, which covered the period 2020-25 and looked at ways to encourage and establish the use of the language and community engagement. A council spokesperson said the council hoped to build on the progress of recent years by continuing to develop Gaelic language provision in East Lothian in a proportionate way. They said: 'The draft plan recognises how the council can playing our part in making Gaelic more visible, valued and accessible — ensuring it thrives as part of our diverse and inclusive cultural landscape. 'Since 2011, there has been an increase in the number of people with Gaelic language skills in East Lothian. Gaelic, however, continues to face a number of challenges and that is why organisations such as East Lothian Council are required to play their part in supporting collective efforts to ensure the long-term sustainability of the language. We would encourage everyone with an interest to respond to the consultation.' The consultation runs until August 4. By Marie Sharp Local Democracy Reporter Like this: Like Related
Daily Mail
7 days ago
- Daily Mail
THE CANNY COOK: Prawn rice-paper dumplings
Full disclosure: this week's recipe repeatedly popped up on my Instagram feed for a couple of months before I tried making my own version. Usually I'm sceptical about trying viral dishes. A few years ago I reviewed some of TikTok 's most popular recipes for this magazine and, although some were better than expected, I didn't rush to remake any. But I'm happy to report that these dumplings are worthy of a Canny Cook appearance. I'm a huge fan of summer rolls – the Vietnamese soft rice- paper rolls stuffed with prawns, herbs and rice noodles, and these use the same rice-paper wrappers but are fried till crispy. Most videos I've seen make it all look very easy, but it did take me a few attempts to get the dumpling assembly right. You need to work quite quickly because the wrappers continue to soften after soaking and you want a roughly even layer on all sides, as they'll tear during cooking if too thin. Making the dumplings bite-sized proved the easiest method (and great for eating), but you can make them bigger if you prefer. In terms of the filling, you could add some grated ginger or shredded cabbage, swap the prawns for minced chicken or pork, or use chopped shiitake mushrooms for a vegetarian option. The recipe here is a very simple but satisfying option. METHOD Finely chop the spring onions and grate the carrot. Tip into a large mixing bowl. Chop the prawns using a large, sharp knife. Keep running the knife through them until they're really chopped. Add to the bowl with a pinch of salt and pepper, 1½ tsp soy sauce and ½ tsp toasted sesame oil. Mix well. Fill a large, rimmed plate with cold water and have a chopping board ready. Soak a rice-paper wrapper in the water for 5 seconds, then lay it on the chopping board. Cut in half. Add a teaspoon of the prawn mixture to the middle of each half. Wrap the dumplings one at a time, folding the top and bottom edges over the filling, then folding one side of the wrapper over the top to seal and the other side underneath, so you have an even layer of wrapper all round. Repeat the process to make all the dumplings (brush the outsides with oil if they're sticking). Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Fry the dumplings for about 4-5 minutes on each side until golden. Serve with extra soy sauce for dipping. *This cost assumes you already have some basic store-cupboard ingredients. prices taken from aldi and correct at time of going to press.
