Mary Colvin
Encyclopedia
Brigadier
Dame Mary Colvin, DBE
, TD
(1907–1988) was a director of the British Army
Women's Royal Army Corps
(WRAC) and president of the British Horse Society
.
veteran Lt. Col. Forrester Farnell Colvin (CBE, OBE, MC, DL; died 16 February 1936) and Isabella Katherine McClintock-Bunbury (b. 28 December 1874 — d. 30 March 1963), who married on 26 July 1894. They lived at Morleys, Shermanbury Grange, Horsham
, Sussex
. She was a cousin of Michael Colvin
, a Conservative M.P.
and India
. She joined the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry
in 1938, transferring to the Auxiliary Territorial Service when World War II commenced. She spent most of the war as a driver, then commanded a Central Ordnance Depot Auxiliary Territorial Service
(ATS) Group at Weedon, Northamptonshire (1943–44). Immediately after the end of hostilities with Germany, she was posted to Hamburg
to help oversee its transition to democracy and build up the local council and basic services such as housing. After two years of throwing herself into this work, she was awarded an OBE
, but had to return to Britain to be nearer to her ailing and elderly relatives.
She supervised the transition of the ATS into the Women's Royal Army Corps
(WRAC), including moving its officer training school to Hindhead
and bringing the training closer to that of male recruits. Female recruitment was low by 1954, so she was appointed to reverse the trend; designing a popular uniform for officers was part of her strategy. After more postings to Scotland and Eastern Command, in 1957 she was appointed WRAC director, still not yet 50, and two years later was given DBE
. In 1961 she went to Copenhagen as Britain's main delegate to the inaugural NATO meeting of the women's services; her international peers elected her their spokeswoman. That year she retired, after 23 years' service.
She devoted much of the next 25 years to the British Horse Society
, working her way up from dressage
judge to president. She hunted
with the Blackmore Vale
and lent her indoor riding school to the Rutland club (which did not have its own premises).
She was lady in waiting
to Mary
, the Princess Royal
, the Controller Commandant of the WRAC, and accompanied her to Canada in 1962.
. She never married. Her personal papers are at the National Archives, along with those of other British military women, such as Dame Katharine Furse
, Dame Rachel Crowdy
, and Brigadier Dame Mary Coulshed
.
was named Colvin House in her honour. It was situated within Victoria Barracks, which was alongside the Wanchai district on the harbour side of the island. Those barracks were demolished in the late 1970s or early 1980s when the new building at HMS Tamar was completed.
Brigadier
Brigadier is a senior military rank, the meaning of which is somewhat different in different military services. The brigadier rank is generally superior to the rank of colonel, and subordinate to major general....
Dame Mary Colvin, DBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, TD
Territorial Decoration
The Territorial Decoration was a medal of the United Kingdom awarded for long service in the Territorial Force and its successor, the Territorial Army...
(1907–1988) was a director of the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
Women's Royal Army Corps
Women's Royal Army Corps
The Women's Royal Army Corps was the corps to which all women in the British Army except medical, dental and veterinary officers and chaplains and nurses belonged from 1949 to 1992.-History:The...
(WRAC) and president of the British Horse Society
British Horse Society
The British Horse Society is a membership-based equine charity, with a stated vision of "a society which provides a strong voice for horses and people and which spreads awareness through support, training and education"...
.
Family
Mary Katherine Rosamund Colvin was born into a military family, one of four children and the only daughter of the Boer WarBoer War
The Boer Wars were two wars fought between the British Empire and the two independent Boer republics, the Oranje Vrijstaat and the Republiek van Transvaal ....
veteran Lt. Col. Forrester Farnell Colvin (CBE, OBE, MC, DL; died 16 February 1936) and Isabella Katherine McClintock-Bunbury (b. 28 December 1874 — d. 30 March 1963), who married on 26 July 1894. They lived at Morleys, Shermanbury Grange, Horsham
Horsham
Horsham is a market town with a population of 55,657 on the upper reaches of the River Arun in the centre of the Weald, West Sussex, in the historic County of Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester...
, Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
. She was a cousin of Michael Colvin
Michael Colvin
Michael Keith Beale Colvin was a politician in the United Kingdom. He was first elected as a Conservative Party Member of Parliament for Bristol North West in 1979...
, a Conservative M.P.
Career
Colvin travelled widely as a young woman, to South AfricaSouth Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
and India
Raj
Raj and Rajya mean "royalty" or "kingdom" in many Sanskrit and Hindu languages, and may refer to:- Indian history :*British Raj, the British Empire in India...
. She joined the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry
First Aid Nursing Yeomanry
The First Aid Nursing Yeomanry is a British independent all-female unit and registered charity affiliated to, but not part of, the Territorial Army, formed in 1907 and active in both nursing and intelligence work during the World Wars.-Formation:It was formed as the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry in...
in 1938, transferring to the Auxiliary Territorial Service when World War II commenced. She spent most of the war as a driver, then commanded a Central Ordnance Depot Auxiliary Territorial Service
Auxiliary Territorial Service
The Auxiliary Territorial Service was the women's branch of the British Army during the Second World War...
(ATS) Group at Weedon, Northamptonshire (1943–44). Immediately after the end of hostilities with Germany, she was posted to Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
to help oversee its transition to democracy and build up the local council and basic services such as housing. After two years of throwing herself into this work, she was awarded an OBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, but had to return to Britain to be nearer to her ailing and elderly relatives.
She supervised the transition of the ATS into the Women's Royal Army Corps
Women's Royal Army Corps
The Women's Royal Army Corps was the corps to which all women in the British Army except medical, dental and veterinary officers and chaplains and nurses belonged from 1949 to 1992.-History:The...
(WRAC), including moving its officer training school to Hindhead
Hindhead
Hindhead is a village in Surrey, England, about 11 miles south-west of Guildford. Neighbouring settlements include Haslemere, Grayshott and Beacon Hill. Hindhead is the highest village in Surrey...
and bringing the training closer to that of male recruits. Female recruitment was low by 1954, so she was appointed to reverse the trend; designing a popular uniform for officers was part of her strategy. After more postings to Scotland and Eastern Command, in 1957 she was appointed WRAC director, still not yet 50, and two years later was given DBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
. In 1961 she went to Copenhagen as Britain's main delegate to the inaugural NATO meeting of the women's services; her international peers elected her their spokeswoman. That year she retired, after 23 years' service.
She devoted much of the next 25 years to the British Horse Society
British Horse Society
The British Horse Society is a membership-based equine charity, with a stated vision of "a society which provides a strong voice for horses and people and which spreads awareness through support, training and education"...
, working her way up from dressage
Dressage
Dressage is a competitive equestrian sport, defined by the International Equestrian Federation as "the highest expression of horse training." Competitions are held at all levels from amateur to the World Equestrian Games...
judge to president. She hunted
Fox hunting
Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking, chase, and sometimes killing of a fox, traditionally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds, and a group of followers led by a master of foxhounds, who follow the hounds on foot or on horseback.Fox hunting originated in its current...
with the Blackmore Vale
Blackmore Vale
The Blackmore Vale is a vale, or wide valley, in north Dorset, and to a lesser extent south Somerset and southwest Wiltshire in southern England. The vale is part of the Stour valley...
and lent her indoor riding school to the Rutland club (which did not have its own premises).
She was lady in waiting
Lady in Waiting
Lady in Waiting is the 2nd album by American southern rock band Outlaws, released in 1976. -Track listing:#"Breaker-Breaker" – 2:59#"South Carolina" – 3:05#"Ain't So Bad" – 3:48...
to Mary
Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood
The Princess Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood was a member of the British Royal Family; she was the third child and only daughter of King George V and Queen Mary. She was the sixth holder of the title of Princess Royal...
, the Princess Royal
Princess Royal
Princess Royal is a style customarily awarded by a British monarch to his or her eldest daughter. The style is held for life, so a princess cannot be given the style during the lifetime of another Princess Royal...
, the Controller Commandant of the WRAC, and accompanied her to Canada in 1962.
Death
Dame Mary Colvin died in 1988, having lived out her latter decades in RutlandRutland
Rutland is a landlocked county in central England, bounded on the west and north by Leicestershire, northeast by Lincolnshire and southeast by Peterborough and Northamptonshire....
. She never married. Her personal papers are at the National Archives, along with those of other British military women, such as Dame Katharine Furse
Katharine Furse
Dame Katharine Furse, GBE, RRC , founder of the English Voluntary Aid Detachment force, was born Katharine Symonds, daughter of the poet and critic John Addington Symonds and Janet Catherine North...
, Dame Rachel Crowdy
Rachel Crowdy
Dame Rachel Eleanor Crowdy, DBE was an English nurse and social reformer. She was Principal Commandant of Voluntary Aid Detachments in France and Belgium from 1914 to 1919 and Chief of the Department of Opium Traffic and Social Issues Section of the League of Nations from 1919 to 1931...
, and Brigadier Dame Mary Coulshed
Mary Coulshed
Brigadier Dame Mary Frances Coulshed, DBE was a British Army officer who served as Director of the Women's Royal Army Corps ....
.
Legacy
The WRAC accommodation block in Hong KongHong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
was named Colvin House in her honour. It was situated within Victoria Barracks, which was alongside the Wanchai district on the harbour side of the island. Those barracks were demolished in the late 1970s or early 1980s when the new building at HMS Tamar was completed.