Elsie Gaskell was for many years a magistrate and Labour councillor in Sowerby Bridge, West Yorkshire Elsie Gaskell was for many years a magistrate and Labour councillor in Sowerby Bridge, West Yorkshire JenniferSmalley Fri 29 Jan 2021 10.13 EST Last modified on Fri 19 Mar 2021 15.20 EDT My mother, Elsie Gaskell, who has died aged 98, was a staunch campaigner for access to the countryside. She started rambling as a child and devoted much of her life to the cause. Despite being profoundly deaf for the last 40 years of her life, Elsie was able to communicate her beliefs about making the open countryside accessible to everybody, speaking at Ramblers’ rallies and meetings, and rejoicing when the Ramblers finally won greater access rights in the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000.