Jean Davies

Dame
Jean Lancaster
Birth name Jean Davies
Born (1909-08-11)11 August 1909
Died 29 August 1996(1996-08-29) (aged 87)
Merseyside, England, UK
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service/branch Royal Navy
Years of service 1939–1964
Rank Commandant
Commands held Women's Royal Naval Service
Battles/wars Second World War
Cold War
Awards
  • MBE (1944)
  • OBE (1958)
  • DBE (1963)
Spouse(s)
Roy Cavander Lancaster
(m. 1967; d. 1981)

Commandant Dame Jean Lancaster, DBE, ADC (née Davies; 11 August 1909 – 29 August 1996) was a senior British Royal Navy officer. From 1961-64, she served as Director of the Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS).

Early life

Davies was born on 11 August 1909 to Richard C. Davies.[1] She was educated at Merchant Taylors' Girls' School, an all-girls selective independent school in Great Crosby, Merseyside.[1][2]

After leaving school, she worked as a secretary to the headmaster of Merchant Taylors' Boys' School in Crosby.[2][3]

Military career

First Officer Jean Davies (4th from left) meeting Queen Elizabeth in 1945

Second World War

In December 1939, with the Second World War having broken out, Davies joined the Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS).[1][2] In May 1940, she was granted the rank of third officer (equivalent to sub-lieutenant) with seniority from 6 December 1939.[4]

From 1940-42, she was a member of the staff of Flag Officer Liverpool; her tasked included encoding and decoding messages concerning the Royal Navy's fight against the U-Boats.[2] In February 1941, she was promoted to second officer (equivalent to lieutenant) with seniority from 2 December 1940.[5]

In 1942, she was selected for signals officer training;[2] this was usually reserved for men and she was one of the first six WRNS officers to qualify.[6] She then worked at the headquarters of the Commander-in-Chief, Western Approaches in Liverpool.[2]

In August 1943, Davies was selected to be part of the delegation accompanying Winston Churchill, the then British Prime Minister, to the Quebec Conference. She worked in the cypher room aboard the RMS Queen Mary ocean liner during the voyage to Canada. After the conference, she was posted to Washington D.C. where she undertook signal work for the British Embassy; the results of the conference had overloaded the permanent staff there.[2] She returned to the United Kingdom with the rest of the British delegation aboard the HMS Renown; unusually for a woman, she was "actually established as a member of the ship's company" during the voyage.[2]

In November 1943, Davies was made an acting first officer (equivalent to lieutenant commander) with seniority from 26 October 1943.[7] She was then part of the Churchill's entourage to the Cairo Conference (22 to 26 November 1943) and the Tehran Conference (28 November to 1 December 1943).[2]

Churchill's 69th birthday occurred during the latter conference, and she attended his birthday party which was held at the British Embassy in Tehran.[2] It was also attended by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Soviet Marshal Josef Stalin.[2][8]

She then returned to the headquarters of the Commander-in-Chief, Western Approaches, where she worked until the end of the war.[2] In May 1944, her promotion to first officer was confirmed and she was granted seniority in that rank from 26 October 1943.[9]

Later career

After the end of the Second World War, Davies remained in the military but transferred to the Administrative Branch.[2] She then worked in a number of staff posts and also in personnel management. In 1958, she was promoted to superintendent (equivalent to captain) and appointed commanding officer of the WRNS personnel serving in the Fleet Air Arm.[2]

In October 1960, it was announced that Davies would succeed Elizabeth Hoyer-Millar as the next Director of the Women's Royal Naval Service.[10]

On 17 May 1961, she took up the appointment and was promoted to commandant (equivalent to commodore).[1][11] She retired from the military in 1964.[1][2]

Later life

On 28 March 1967, Davies married Roy Cavander Lancaster at the Chapel of Gray's Inn.[12] He died in 1981, predeceasing her.[1]

In her final years, Davies lived at Warren Park Nursing Home in Blundellsands, Merseyside. She died on 29 August 1996, aged 87.[1][2]

Honours

In the 1944 King's Birthday Honours, Davies was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE).[13] In 1958, she was promoted to Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE).[1]

On 17 May 1961, she was appointed Honorary Aide-de-Camp to Queen Elizabeth II.[14]

In the 1963 Queen's Birthday Honours, she was promoted to Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) and therefore granted the title dame.[15] She also was awarded the Defence Medal, the War Medal 1939–1945, and the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "LANCASTER, Dame Jean". Who Was Who. Oxford University Press. April 2014. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 "Dame Jean Lancaster". The Times (65680). 9 September 1996. p. 23.
  3. ↑ "The OBA and the School". The Merchant Taylors' Schools. Archived from the original on 2016-12-20. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  4. ↑ "No. 34862". The London Gazette. 31 May 1940. pp. 3278–82.
  5. ↑ "No. 35068". The London Gazette. 7 February 1941. p. 759.
  6. ↑ Stuart Mason, Ursula (1992). Britannia's Daughters: the story of the WRNS. London: Pen & Sword Books. p. 131. ISBN 978-0850522716.
  7. ↑ "No. 36326". The London Gazette. 11 January 1944. p. 229.
  8. ↑ "THE TEHRAN CONFERENCE, 28 NOVEMBER – 1 DECEMBER 1943". Imperial War Museums. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  9. ↑ "No. 36556". The London Gazette. 9 June 1944. p. 2763.
  10. ↑ "NEW DIRECTOR OF WOMEN'S ROYAL NAVAL SERVICE ANNOUNCED. OCTOBER 1960, SUPERINTENDENT JEAN DAVIS, OBE, WRNS, WHO SUCCEEDS COMMANDANT DAME ELIZABETH HOYER-MILLAR, DBE, HAN ADC, WRNS, AS DIRECTOR OF THE WOMEN'S ROYAL NAVAL SERVICE IN MAY 1961". iwm.org.uk. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  11. ↑ "NEW DIRECTOR OF WOMEN'S NAVAL SERVICE. MAY 1961, HMS DAUNTLESS, WRNS TRAINING ESTABLISHMENT, BURGHFIELD, NEAR READING. SUPERINTENDENT JEAN DAVIES, OBE, WRNS, WHO IS TO SUCCEED COMMANDANT DAME ELIZABETH HOYER-MILLAR, DBE, WRNS, AS DIRECTOR OF THE WOMEN'S ROYAL NAVAL SERVICE ON 17 MAY 1961". iwm.org.uk. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  12. ↑ "Marriages". The Times (56901). 29 March 1967. p. 12.
  13. ↑ "No. 36544". The London Gazette (Supplement). 2 June 1944. pp. 2572–73.
  14. ↑ "No. 42358". The London Gazette (Supplement). 19 May 1961. p. 3762.
  15. ↑ "No. 43010". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 May 1963. p. 4797.
Military offices
Preceded by
Elizabeth Hoyer-Millar		 Director of the Women's Royal Naval Service
1961–1964		 Succeeded by
Margaret Drummond
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