Gwen Alley was born into a remarkable family. Her father was headmaster of the local school, and saw education as the fulfilment of each child’s inborn capacity; her mother was a foundation member of the National Council of Women, and Gwen and her brothers all brought innovation and energy to the work they undertook. At sixteen Gwen Alley took a position as a pupil-teacher at a primary school where she was shocked by the harsh discipline. She began to develop her ideas on education, and her marriage to another forward-thinking educator, Crawford Somerset, provided a partner who shared her passion for early learning that was rich in creative expression and responded to a child’s natural curiosity. With her husband she was a co-director of the innovative Feilding Community Centre for Further Education and established a play group. She became involved in training play centre supervisors, and in 1948 was elected the first President of the New Zealand Federation of Play Centres. In subsequent years she published a number of books about children’s growth and development, writing in a friendly and approachable style so that her books were widely read by parents as well as educators.

For thirty years Gwen Somerset served on the Advisory Committee for Adult Education, recognising the value and delight of continuing education. In 1975 Victoria University conferred on her an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws - the first honorary degree it awarded to a woman. Gwen Somerset’s commitment to and love of children, and her passion for lifelong learning, touched the lives of many families.