On Wednesday 21st December 2005 the world lost a pioneer. Serena Norah Coles was actively involved in The Vegan Society from 1953 through to her resignation as President in 1987.
Across the years she served as Distribution Secretary for The Vegan, as Honorary Treasurer, on the Editorial Board, and as Deputy President and President. She was made an Honorary Patron in 1993. Many people knew Serena from her heartfelt and authoritative discourses on various aspects of the vegan lifestyle, delivered at meetings, festivals and congresses across the world. Kirsten Jungsberg, Tracey Mills and Kathy Silk remember an amazing woman who touched their lives and did so much for the vegan movement.
I met Serena at a Mind, Body and Spirit exhibition in spring 1981. I introduced myself and told her that I was going to organise the very first International Vegan Festival in July in Denmark. She right away said: 'That's wonderful, I'll come.' Not 'I'll think about it and maybe come' - no, it was 'I'll come,' (she was very impulsive).
And so she did. I even got her to give the speech of welcome and other talks - after all she was the Vice President of the world's first Vegan Society. We became good friends and travelled together in Europe sometimes with my children. Everywhere was Serena giving talks and demonstrations - veganism was her whole life. Now when I think about it, Serena must have been 70 years old when I first met her but she had the energy of a teenager, probably because of her good diet.
She was indeed a good representative for the vegan lifestyle. Why we felt so close was probably because she considered me as the daughter she never had and I considered her as a very dear family member and my children liked her very much and enjoyed being with her. Serena became President of The Vegan Society in 1983 following the death of the previous President, Jack Sanderson. She served as President until 1987, so at the 2nd International Vegan Festival in 1985 she also gave the speech of welcome. She was such a dynamic lady, who was very enthusiastic about veganism and never said no if anyone asked her for help. She was a retired social medical worker and knew how to care about people.
She was a member of The Order of the Cross, a Christian fellowship based on John Todd Ferrier's message of compassion where the members have to be vegetarian or vegan. I visited The Order in South Kensington with Serena many times and we both enjoyed it. Serena's correspondence stopped suddenly and I later discovered from her niece that she was in a nursing home in Croydon. I was very happy when I was told she was still alive and I went out there right away just to be sure.
I'm very grateful to have known her, both as a very inspiring vegan and as a very good friend I always will remember. I am sorry for all the vegans who have never met this wonderful patron, because without people like her veganism would not be the international movement that it is.
There are still a few people around who knew Serena when she was in her prime, but most of us only know of her, and the things that she achieved for veganism. Her legacy survives in anyone who lives a vegan lifestyle and who, in turn, wants others to share the joy that veganism brings.
I am glad to say that I and others who helped support Serena in her final year of life managed to secure a restoration of her vegan diet, which had been denied to her for several years. It wasn't easy, but at least in her final six months she was back on the diet that she had adhered to and fought so strongly for during 60 of her 95 years.
I also take comfort from the fact that during that last year she wanted for nothing. She received many greetings cards, including a sizeable proportion from people who never knew her, but who recognised the magnificent contribution she had made to veganism.
We did not have the opportunity to celebrate her 94th birthday with her, and instead threw a 94 1/2th birthday party in April, which she thoroughly enjoyed. This was followed up with a 95th birthday party in October, where although Serena did not join in with the singing quite so much, she nevertheless equally enjoyed the birthday gifts that people had either sent or given to her in person, and of course the company of vegans. With financial donations I was able to buy vegan toiletries and even some make-up for her, as well as a whole new wardrobe of good quality outfits.
After the vegan diet, the most important improvement in her life this last year must be due to the informal support group who visited Serena at the care home. This gang of visitors kept an eye on her care and on the food and drink that she was being served. Moreover we engaged her in conversation, played music to her and read to her to stimulate her mind. At Serena's funeral a group of us discussed a lasting memorial to her. The consensus was that a fitting and lasting tribute was required; not a fountain, plaque or statue erected in her name, but something that would continue to touch the lives of vegans, just as she had during her active life.
For starters, we decided to gather for a vegan meal on Serena's birthday (12th October) each year. We also hope to rename an appropriate Vegan Society annual award after her.
Serena Coles was a special lady - beautiful, confident and serene, with a special smile and a twinkle in her eye that many of us will remember. I first met Serena at a London meeting in the 1970s with that other vegan pioneer Kathleen Jannaway, when talks were given about the vegan diet and lifestyle and little samples of food were offered.
In Serena's last years friends lost touch as she was moved from one care home to another. We were able to renew our friendship, however, thanks to the diligent detective work of her friend Kirsten Jungsberg. Along with Croydon Vegans and others, we were able to give Serena two special parties with vegan treats, gifts and cards, and songs from the 1930s and 1940s. Serena enjoyed this very much, gently swaying to the music as we sang and smiling that special smile that we all remember so well. It was lovely to have the chance to see her again - we owe so much to Kirsten Jungsberg, and of course to Serena for her pioneering work in our ever developing vegan world.
The greatest legacy we can offer Serena will be to ensure that, in future, vegans will be properly catered for in hospitals, care homes and schools. There is already a precedent for this: currently Prison Service Guidelines ensure that vegans in Her Majesty's Prisons are provided with vegan food, clothing and drink. These guidelines are not always rigorously adhered to and the Vegan Prisoners Support Group and The Vegan Society keep in regular contact to ensure that the catering staff have the information needed to supply nutritionally balanced vegan food. Until recently, vegans in nursing homes, schools and hospitals have been entitled to no such protection. However, now that the Equality Bill has come into force we should be able to make a strong case to say that all government run institutions and all privately run institutions are obliged, by law, to offer equal opportunities to vegans.
The Equality Bill is expected to make life easier for vegans as it broadens the definition of belief to include non religious beliefs. The Department of Trade and Industry gave examples from the European Court of Human Rights rulings that it felt would qualify as beliefs, specifically mentioning veganism (as well as pacifism and atheism).
A profoundly held philosophical belief should entitle vegans to equal consideration of interests. However, we must not be complacent, many caterers will need a lot of support if they are to properly cater for vegans and we will need to persuade the government that the implications of the Equality Bill require them to produce guidelines. The Vegan Society will be writing to the government and publishing packs later this year to support and inform local hospitals, schools and care homes.
Rosamund Raha
Vegan Society Information Officer.
Source: The Vegan l Summer 2006, pages 12 and 13.
