Vonla McBride
| Vonla McBride | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Birth name | Sara Vonla Adair McBride |
| Other name(s) | Sara McBride |
| Born |
20 January 1921 Ballygarvey, County Antrim, Ireland |
| Died |
2 August 2003 (aged 82) Downton, Wiltshire, England |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service/ | Women's Royal Naval Service |
| Years of service | 1949–1979 |
| Rank | Commandant |
Sara Vonla Adair McBride (20 January 1921 – 2 August 2003) was a British naval officer. She was director of the Women's Royal Naval Service before women were accepted into the Royal Navy.
Early life and education
McBride was born in Ballygarvey, County Antrim in 1921. Her parents were Agnes and Andrew Stewart McBride. Her father was a farmer and miller.[1] She was educated at Ballymena Academy, a grammar school in Ballymena, County Antrim.[2] She studied English and French at Trinity College, Dublin, graduating in 1942 with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree.[1][3][2]
Having graduated from university, McBride returned to Ballymena Academy as a teacher.[3][4] In time she moved to Gardenhurst School in Burnham on Sea, England, as a demonstration of her independence.[4]
Military career
McBride joined the WRNS before women were accepted into the Royal Navy in 1949. The organisation had been formed at the end of the first world war to free men to go to war. It started out as just cleaning and cooking but the range of tasks quickly expanded.[3] McBride was sent to HMS Dauntless, which was the WRNS's training centre in Burghfield, to be trained as an officer.[3]
She entered a human resources role and this was unusual for a women. However her career made rapid progress although she found that could not become a French interpreter. This was one of the roles that only men were allowed to do.[3] She was sent to advise Haile Selassie when he wanted to create a women's service.[4]
In the 1970s it became obvious that equal pay for women and the need to remove sexual discrimination meant that the WRNS and the Royal Navy would become one organisation. The key change was that women would become subject to the Naval Discipline Act 1957. This meant that women had more serious punishments but it also allowed then to take on roles that had previously been denied to them.[3] McBride who had experience in Human resource management became the Director of the WRNS in 1976 and members of the WRNS had the same discipline as men in 1977.[3] She retired in 1979.[4]
Later life
Having left the military, McBride became Director of the City of London Region of Lloyds Bank in 1980. In addition, she served as Chair of the Civil Service Commissioners' Interview Panel from 1985 to 1991. She retired in 1991.[2]
McBride died in Downton, Wiltshire, England on 2 August 2003, aged 82.[1]
References
- 1 2 3 Hill, Richard. "McBride, (Sara) Vonla Adair". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/92841. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- 1 2 3 McBride, Commandant (Sara) Vonla (Adair). ukwhoswho.com. Who Was Who (December 2007 online ed.). A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Vat, Dan van der (13 August 2003). "Commandant Vonla McBride". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
- 1 2 3 4 "Commandant Vonla McBride". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Mary Talbot |
Director of the Women's Royal Naval Service 1976 to 1979 |
Succeeded by Elizabeth Craig-McFeely |