Armley asbestos tragedy: How June Hancock's legacy is living on over 25 years since her landmark court victory

June Hancock grew up in Armley, where she played with asbestos ‘snowballs’ with other local children. They would play hopscotch on pavements covered in blue asbestos dust, unaware of its devastating potential.

A local factory was contaminating the area with asbestos and June eventually contracted mesothelioma, a cancer often linked to asbestos that she died of in 1997. The illness had also taken the life of her mum.

Her daughter Kimberley Stubbs said: “My mum grew up in Armley, she was a little girl going to primary school there. She had to walk past the asbestos factory, which was in a residential part of Armley where there were a lot of domestic houses. She walked past there every day and unbeknown at that time. all the kiddies were playing with the asbestos dust.”

However, before her death, June took a stand on behalf of the people who had suffered or were suffering as a result of asbestos contamination. She launched a legal battle over the environmental exposure and the claim found liability with the factory, which was part of the Turner & Newall group.

The case set a precedent, paving the way for people who had not necessarily worked with asbestos but still been affected by it to make a stand. In 2022, the fight for justice is being continued by volunteers at the June Hancock Mesothelioma Research Fund. Among the volunteers is Kimberley, who is “incredibly proud” of the work being carried out.

She said: “Because it was such a miserable experience for all these families to go through, we realised we had to do something positive out of this very dire situation. It was just so painful for the person who has the disease and the family, it's absolutely horrific to witness.

"We decided to set up a research fund and our initial target was £40,000 and that was in 1997. We are now celebrating, this month, the 25th anniversary of the research fund.

"We have raised over £2.9m in that 25 years, which we are really proud of. Most of the donations come from families who have lost people to mesothelioma or people who have died from the disease who have left money for us in their will. It's sad but something we're incredibly proud of because we spend that money on high quality, peer-reviewed research.

"All the trustees are volunteers with full-time jobs, we don't take a penny from the charity. Every penny donated goes to mesothelioma research and that makes me incredibly proud because it's not going away.”

Many affected in Armley had never worked at the asbestos factory and over 25 years on from the court victory, Kimberley and her fellow campaigners are striving to make people aware it is not just a worker’s issue.

She said: “It's affected other families and it's not just Armley, there's hotspots all over the country. Mesothelioma is sometimes seen as an industrial worker's disease but it certainly does affect loads of people. There are the people who are exposed environmentally, like my grandma and my mum, who was just walking the streets of Armley as a little girl.”

June won compensation but had a simple message for those who had caused her health to deteriorate with mesothelioma. Kimberley explained: “My mum was just an ordinary person, taking on this multinational giant company who had resources at their disposal. We just had our story, our experiences.

"My mum was successful, she won and it was only ever about recognition for who was responsible, and justice. There was compensation but my mum said at the time she would give the compensation back if they could give her her life back.”

An event celebrating 25 years of the June Hancock Mesothelioma Research Fund is being held in the Gary Speed Suite at Elland Road on November 18 and tickets are available via Eventbrite.