'It tortures me to imagine her dying without us' – the life and lonely death of Doreen Chappell

In April, Doreen, who lived in an assisted living facility, contracted Covid-19. Her family are devastated by her death, and believe she would still be alive today had she not been disabled

If Doreen Chappell's first marriage was a disaster, her second one was a great success. She was born Doreen Brenda Ward in the East End of London, in 1936; her mother was a seamstress, her father, who had seen action at Gallipoli, later became a telecoms engineer.

It was a working-class household: Doreen left school at 15 to look for a job. Like many young women of the era, she became a typist and secretary, even having elocution classes to improve her chances of getting work.