In Memoriam Lorraine Stokes
Lorraine Stokes, 1957? – 2016
Groups: Wolves of Andred, Tylwyth Mon
Lorraine joined the Vikings in 1989 with her husband Paul, known as Cameron to all, as a member of the Wolves of Andred. Initially as a reluctant supporter, she quickly got involved on the combat side and proved an able warrior who could hold her own on the field, due in no small part to her work along Cameron as a landscape gardener which gave her a level of wiry strength and fitness which few could match. When Cameron took on the running of the group, she stepped into the secretary role but in effect she was the centre of power in the group and kept them all organised while Cameron was the front man who got to pose for photos. She had strong opinions and was prepared to speak out in defence of others, and also where she saw something which needed to be fixed.
Cameron and Lorraine moved to Anglesey in the late 90s, and remaining members of the society for a few years, but their restoration of an abandoned Methodist chapel and the arrival of two sons, plus a degree of disillusionment with the politics within and direction of the society led them to drift away after 2003. They remained active in the background of the Amlwch festival for a number of years.
After Cameron's death in 2014, Lorraine's health also declined rapidly in the following years, and they were reunited in 2016 when their sons were still in their late teens.