Lilian Bader
Lilian Bader (18 February 1918 – 13 March 2015) was one of the first Black women to join the British armed forces.[1][2][3][4]
Lilian Bader | |
|---|---|
| Born | Lilian Bailey 18 February 1918 |
| Died | 13 March 2015 (aged 97) |
| Education | BA University of London |
Early life
Lilian Bader was born at 19 Stanhope Street in the Toxteth Park area of Liverpool to Marcus Bailey, a merchant seaman from Barbados who served in the First World War, and a British-born mother of Irish parentage.[3]
In 1927, Bader and her two brothers were orphaned when their father died. At the age of 9 she was separated from her brothers and placed in a convent, where she remained until she was 20.[5]:176 Bader has explained that it was difficult to find employment 'because of her father's origins: "My casting out from the convent walls was delayed. I was half West Indian, and nobody, not even the priests, dare risk ridicule by employing me."'[6]:79
World War II
In 1939, at the onset of the Second World War, Bader enlisted in the Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes (NAAFI) at Catterick Camp, Yorkshire.[1] She was dismissed after seven weeks when it was discovered that her father was not born in the United Kingdom.[5]:177 On 28 March 1941 she enlisted in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF),[2] after she heard that the Royal Air Force (RAF) were taking citizens of West Indian descent.[5]:177 She trained in instrument repair, which was a trade newly opened to women.[2] She then became a Leading Aircraft Woman and was eventually promoted to the rank of corporal.[5]:177
In 1943 she married Ramsay Bader, a tank driver who served in the 147th (Essex Yeomanry) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery.[2] She was given compassionate discharge from her position in February 1944, when she became pregnant with her first son.[2],[7]:218 Ultimately, they had two children together, Geoffrey and Adrian.[5]:177
Postwar life
After the war, Bader and her husband moved to Northamptonshire to raise their family.[8] Bader studied at London University where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree.[2] Following this she would have a career as a teacher.[7]:218
Legacy
In 2018, in celebration of the 100th anniversary of women's right to vote, The Voice newspaper listed Bader – alongside Kathleen Wrasama, Olive Morris, Connie Mark, Fanny Eaton, Diane Abbott, Margaret Busby, and Mary Seacole – among eight Black women who have contributed to the development of Britain.[9]
References
- "Black History Month Firsts: Lilian Bader". Black History Month 2018. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
- Stephen Bourne (6 April 2015). "Leading Aircraftwoman in the WAAF and one of the first black women to join the British Armed Forces". The Independent. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
- Stephen Bourne (18 March 2015). "Obituary: War hero Lilian Bader (1918-2015)". voice-online.co.uk. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
- "Lilian Bader". Bgfl.org. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
- Costello, R. (2012). Black salt : seafarers of African descent on British ships. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press. ISBN 978-1-84631-767-5. OCLC 801365216.
- Delap, Lucy. Knowing Their Place : Domestic Service in Twentieth Century Britain. Oxford. ISBN 978-0-19-957294-6. OCLC 697264316.
- Bean, Dalea. Jamaican women and the world wars : on the front lines of hange. Cham, Switzerland. ISBN 978-3-319-68585-4. OCLC 1015215196.
- "Historical figures". Northamptonshire Heritage. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
- Leah Sinclair, "Suffrage 100: The Black Women Who Changed British History", The Voice, 6 February 2018.
Further reading
- Bader, Lilian (1989) Together: Wartime Memoirs of a WAAF 1939–1944. London: Imperial War Museum.