A MUCH-LOVED nurse, matron, and community figure has died at the age of 92.

Mollie Holt, of Palmerston Road, Buckhurst Hill, was probably best-known as the matron at the old Forest Hospital, in Roebuck Lane.

In an eclectic and outgoing life, she also served as a nurse during the Second World War, worked at a hospital mission in Croydon, and ended her days helping out at an estate agents in Queens Road, Buckhurst Hill.

Born in Sydenham, Kent, Mollie soon moved with her parents to a house, in Monkhams Lane, Woodford Green.

The daughter of a bank manager, Mollie was expected to follow in the family footsteps, but always had a passion for nursing and served instead at King's College Hospital where she tended wounded soldiers during the Second World War.

She would later train as a midwife, and served at the Hope Mission in Croydon, to which she would commute from her parents' house in Woodford Green, by motorised bike.

Moving back to the area, Mollie took up a job at Jubilee Hospital, in Woodford Green, before gaining the positions of assistant matron and then matron at Forest Hospital.

An active member of Epping Forest Chamber of Commerce, Mollie shared a home with its president Heather Thirtle for the last 16 years of her life, and worked at her estate agents, in Queens Road.

Ms Thirtle said: “She was a most interesting character. She had an interest in old painting, loved her two dogs and was a great friend.

“She never had a drink or cigarette in her life. She was a wonderful, supportive presence. As she got older and couldn't stand or walk she still had that quiet, reliable presence.

“The tributes keep coming in. There's nearly 30 cards here already.”

Mollie never married, and she outlived all her family. Her sister Joan died just weeks before her.

Mollie Holt's funeral will take place at Buckhurst Hill Baptist Church, in Palmerston Road, on Friday January 29 at 11.30am.