Violet Douglas-Pennant
Violet Douglas-Pennant | |
---|---|
Born | 31 January 1869 Belgrave Square, London |
Died | 12 October 1945 | (aged 76)
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Service/ | Women's Royal Air Force |
Years of service | 1918 |
Rank | Commandant |
Commands held | Women's Royal Air Force |
Relations | George Douglas-Pennant, 2nd Baron Penrhyn |
Commandant Violet Blanche Douglas-Pennant (31 January 1869 – 12 October 1945) was a British
Born into the aristocracy, Douglas-Pennant became interested in youth clubs for girls which led her to charity work with the unemployed and with disabled children. Working with the Workers' Educational Association led her to become involved in the establishment and reform of local government, and she eventually became a member of the London County Council Education Committee.
After the establishment of the WRAF in 1918 she was suggested as a potential Commandant due to her experience in reform and management. She agreed to spend a month "looking round" the camp, and was so unhappy that she repeatedly tried to resign. Following her dismissal on 28 August 1918 by Lord Weir she wrote to several important political figures such as Winston Churchill asking for a judicial inquiry into her dismissal, claiming that it was part of an attempt by other senior WRAF officers to "cover up rife immorality"[1] at WRAF bases. Lord Stanhope proposed establishing the Select Committee of the House of Lords on the Women's Royal Air Force to investigate any immorality. His proposal passed, and the committee began its work on 14 October 1918.
The Committee found that there was no evidence to back up Douglas-Pennant's accusations, and she was later sued for libel by two of the senior WRAF officers for comments she had made before and during the Select Committee's hearings. Douglas-Pennant was never again employed by the government, and spent the following decades attempting to clear her name before her death on 12 October 1945.
Early life and work
Violet Douglas-Pennant was the sixth child of
She also served as a governor of the
WRAF
Douglas-Pennant had previously done work for Queen Mary's Army Auxiliary Corps and the Women's Royal Naval Service; as such she was a natural choice for Commandant of the Women's Royal Air Force when it was formed in 1918.[2] She agreed to spend a month "looking round" the WRAF, and her experiences during that month led her to decline the appointment.[2] She found that although she was responsible for 14,000 WRAF members in 500 camps there were only 70 officers, and the existing training facilities were only managing to train 25 new officers every three weeks.[2] There were also problems with shortages of various pieces of equipment, including uniforms and medical tools, and many of the WRAF members were living in poor quality accommodation.[1]
There were also various small personal problems, which irritated and frustrated her.
The situation did not improve, however; there were still problems with training and equipment, five of her secretaries resigned, and her deputies all left at once.[2] Despite these problems she attempted to improve the WRAF, recruiting friends to help with the paperwork and using her contacts from her time in local government to "borrow" Eltham Teacher Training College during the summer holiday, where she trained 450 new officers.[2] In protest at the irregularities and problems she tried to resign twice; both of these resignations were blocked by Godfrey Paine, who assured her that she had his full support.[5]
By this point the
Select Committee
Douglas-Pennant claimed she had been dismissed in an attempt by several senior officers, including Colonel Bersey, the commander of the WRAF supplies unit, General Livingston, the deputy head of the personnel department, and Mrs Beatty, the Assistant Commandant of the WRAF, to cover up "rife immorality" in WRAF camps by getting rid of the only officer "too straight for them to work with".[7] She claimed that this immorality had been occurring particularly at a motor training camp called Hurst Park, where the camp commander Colonel Sam Janson had been discovered sleeping with one of the WRAF officers.[7] Following her dismissal, Douglas-Pennant wrote to several important politicians including Winston Churchill asking for a judicial enquiry, and when this request was turned down Lord Stanhope proposed a government enquiry in the House of Lords, saying that the government had turned down Douglas-Pennant's request for a judicial enquiry because "His Majesty's Government fear the scandals which will come to light when this inquiry is held", and that her dismissal was contrary to the law.[7][8]
Stanhope's proposal passed, and the five-member
The committee began its work on 14 October 1918, and sat for three weeks. Douglas-Pennant was represented by Anthony Hawke KC and Stewart Bevan KC, while the Air Ministry was represented by the Attorney General, Lord Hewart, and Rigby Swift KC.[7] Colonel Bersey was represented by Patrick Hastings KC and Colonel Janson by Henry Curtis-Bennett KC.[7]
Douglas-Pennant was unable to produce any evidence of the "rife immorality" that she had accused several officers of, and after three weeks the committee dismissed all witnesses. The final report was produced in December 1919, and found that Douglas-Pennant had been completely unable to substantiate her claims and was deserving "of the gravest censure".[10]
Later life
As a result of the Select Committee's findings Douglas-Pennant was never again employed by the government,[10] and spent the rest of her life attempting to clear her name. The committee's decision led two of the parties (Colonels Janson and Bersey) to sue her for libel, and both cases were successful,[10] forcing her to pay "substantial" damages.[4] She died on 12 October 1945.
References
- ^ a b c d Hyde (1960), p. 70.
- ^ Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 15 April 2009.
- ^ Bourne (2001), p. 75.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Violet Douglas-Pennant". Spartacus Educational. Archived from the original on 24 October 2008. Retrieved 21 April 2009.
- ^ a b c d e Hyde (1960), p. 71.
- ^ Mitchell (1965), p. 231.
- ^ a b c d e Hyde (1960), p. 72.
- ^ "LORDS TO HEAR CASE OF WOMEN IN ARMY; Vote to Hold an Inquiry on the Dismissal of Miss Douglas-Pennant. OVERRULE CABINET'S STANDEarl Stanhope, Demanding the Inquiry; Says Government Fears Scandals to be Aired" (PDF). The New York Times. 1 August 1919. Retrieved 15 April 2009.
- ^ a b Ockham (1922), p. 32.
- ^ a b c Hyde (1960), p. 74.
Bibliography
- Hyde, H. Montgomery (1960). Sir Patrick Hastings, his life and cases. London: Heinemann. OCLC 498180.
- Ockham, David (1922). The English Dreyfus case. David Ockham. OCLC 15287738.
- Mitchell, D (1965). Women on the Warpath: the story of the women of the First World War. London: Jonathan Cape.
- Bourne, J. M. (2001). Who's who in World War One. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-14179-6.