This page was last updated on 18 November 2022 Click here to  Print this page Biography finder A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z     Index of first names Violet Blanche Douglas-Pennant                   Violet Blanche Douglas-Pennant (1869-1945) was the sixth daughter of Lord Penrhyn.    Although a Conservative Party member of the London County Council, she developed a reputation as someone with liberal views on social reform. For example, Douglas-Pennant was an active supporter of the Workers' Educational Association and in 1911 the Liberal Government appointed her as National Health Insurance Commissioner for Wales. Douglas-Pennant's salary of £1,000 a year made her the most highly paid woman in Britain. Douglas-Pennant became an important political figure during the First World War. An organiser of the Scottish Women's Hospital Unit she helped form the Women's Army Auxiliary Corp (WAAC) and was involved in the recruiting campaign for the Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS). Douglas-Pennant to become commander of the Women's Royal Air Force. It was not long before Douglas-Pennant got the impression that the Royal Air Force was not fully committed to the WRAF . She was given no secretarial help and had difficulty getting the use of a staff car for official journeys. Douglas-Pennant resigned but agreed to go back after being promised that her complaints would be dealt with. Sir William Weir, Secretary of State for Air, asked Lady Margaret Rhondda, Director of of Women's Department of the Ministry of National Service, to report on the state of the WRAF. Rhondda's report was highly critical of Douglas-Pennant, and Weir decided to dismiss her as Commandant of the WRAF and replace her with Helen Gwynne-Vaughan, Overseas Commander of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC). Politicians and trade union leaders were appalled by the treatment of Douglas-Pennant. Lord Ampthill, Mary Macarthur and Jimmy Thomas sent a letter of complaint to the Daily Telegraph about Weir's behaviour. After the matter was raised in the House of Commons it was decided to set up a House of Lords Committee Inquiry. Douglas-Pennant's case was not helped by making false accusations against several of the witnesses. Douglas-Pennant lost her case and was also successfully sued by two of the libelled witnesses and had to pay substantial damages.>  The report can be read in the National Archives.    See also:  See also: Lord Penhryn The Douglas-Pennant Family                           Any contributions will be gratefully accepted   Errors and Omissions The Forum What's new? We are looking for your help to improve the accuracy of The Douglas Archives. If you spot errors, or omissions, then please do let us know Contributions Many articles are stubs which would benefit from re-writing. Can you help? Copyright You are not authorized to add this page or any images from this page to Ancestry.com (or its subsidiaries) or other fee-paying sites without our express permission and then, if given, only by including our copyright and a URL link to the web site.   If you have met a brick wall with your research, then posting a notice in the Douglas Archives Forum may be the answer. Or, it may help you find the answer! You may also be able to help others answer their queries. Visit the Douglas Archives Forum.   2 Minute Survey To provide feedback on the website, please take a couple of minutes to complete our survey.   We try to keep everyone up to date with new entries, via our What's New section on the home page. We also use the Community Network to keep researchers abreast of developments in the Douglas Archives. Help with costs Maintaining the three sections of the site has its costs.  Any contribution the defray them is very welcome Donate   Newsletter If you would like to receive a very occasional newsletter - Sign up!

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Last modified: Monday, 25 March 2024