Lara Marsh

We would like to pay tribute to the life of Lara Marsh, who was WDM’s Events Officer from 2000 – 2002. Lara died tragically on 31st August this year, aged 37, having been diagnosed with motor neurone disease in 2011.

Anyone who came into contact with Lara will remember how infectious her passion, inspiration and humour were. She joined WDM just as our campaign to stop the GATS trade agreement was picking up speed and set to work to find creative ways to involve WDM groups and activists in the campaign.  

As well as coordinating a series of local group actions on GATS, she was instrumental in the creation of WDM’s fantastic GATS monster, which first paraded through the streets of Westminster as part of the trade justice lobby of parliament. The GATS monster later found fame in many local papers across the UK and has since been used in several WDM campaigns to bring injustices to life.

Lara was a strong believer in providing a platform for the voices of southern campaigners and organised an inspiring national conference as well as a several successful speaker tours across the UK. She developed many strong and supportive relationships with WDM staff, groups and activists and we will all remember her for the incredible person that she was.

Lara’s obituary is in The Guardian online.

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The GATS monster created by Lara