Dame Gillian Wagner, British writer and philanthropist and chair of Barnardo’s, died on December 31, 2025, aged 98.
Born Gillian Mary Millicent Graham in London on October 25, 1927, she was educated at Cheltenham Ladies’ College and the University of Geneva, and later studied social administration at the London School of Economics, where she completed a Ph.D. Wagner was the first woman chair of Barnardo’s, the Thomas Coram Foundation and the Carnegie Trust.
She published biographical and historical works, as well as reports on social care, including a 1979 biography of Thomas Barnardo and Thomas Coram, Gent.
Dame Gillian Mary Millicent Wagner (née Graham; 25 October 1927 – 31 December 2025) was a British writer, philanthropist and social administrator, who was the first woman chair of the children’s charity Barnardo’s, the Thomas Coram Foundation and the Carnegie Trust. She published biographical and historical works, as well as reports on social care.