Here her daughters tell us why Sheila wanted future generations to be able to enjoy precious nature just as she and her husband Roy had done. 

Our mother Sheila Bentley, who died in April aged 84, left a legacy of £1000 to the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust in her will.  

She was very clear that she wanted to help the good work of the DWT, having been a member of the Trust for nearly 60 years. 

Sheila had a lifelong interest in nature and especially in wild flowers and botany, which she had studied at school.  

She and our late father Roy Bentley were among the original members of the DWT when it first started in 1962, not long after they moved from London to set up home in Duffield.  

They both loved the Derbyshire countryside, with Roy particularly interested in birdwatching, geology and the history of the landscape. 

Some years after Roy died, Sheila was very pleased and touched to be invited to an evening at the DWT’s headquarters in Middleton to commemorate the founding of the Trust.  

For much of her retirement, Sheila was a keen rambler in Derbyshire. In later years she enjoyed family outings with her grandchildren to beautiful places such as Cromford Canal, where we spotted the little grebes amongst the moorhens and ducks.  

Our mum left a legacy to the DWT because she wanted to help preserve Derbyshire’s wildlife beyond her lifetime. She wanted future generations to be able to enjoy precious nature just as she and Roy had done. 

Stephanie Bentley and Vicky Cross