Exhibition: The Jennie Lee Archive Collection

During the 1970s Jennie also continued to maintain links with India – and became close friends with Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, visiting India several times. A silver and amber necklace given to her by Mrs Gandhi was one of the few pieces of jewellery that Jennie wore during this time. When Mrs Gandhi was assassinated in 1984 Jennie wrote, “I loved and admired Indira Gandhi more than any other world leader”.  

From the early 1980s Jennie’s health deteriorated. She resigned as a trustee of the Milton Keynes Foundation in 1980 and from The Open University in 1982. Her attendance at events declined and she gave fewer interviews. One of her final appearances in the House of Lords was in 1984 and the following year she visited Lochgelly for the last time.

Jennie died on 16 November 1988. Her ashes were scattered on the same spot as Nye’s in Wales - high on the Duffryn hillside under a mountain ash where the bluebells grew.

Jennie Lee’s biography “Jennie Lee – a Life”, written by Patricia Hollis, was published nine years after her death in 1997.

The Jennie Lee archive collection is held within the University Archive on the Open University campus in Milton Keynes. Her papers consist of over 100 boxes of materials, ranging from her early school years, her personal life and political career.

To request a copy of the catalogue or to arrange to view items from the collection contact the Open University Archive team at: university-archive@open.ac.uk