Dame Alison Munro (12 February 1914 – 2 September 2008) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

civil servant and school headmistress.

Life and work

Munro was born in

Liskeard Liskeard ( ; kw, Lyskerrys) is a small ancient stannary and market town in south-east Cornwall, South West England. It is situated approximately 20 miles (32 km) west of Plymouth, west of the Devon border, and 12 miles (20 km) eas ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

, and brought up in South Africa by her father, a doctor, and her mother, a concert pianist. The family moved to South Africa for her father's health, but he died four months after his wife. The four surviving children were left money and trustees to look after them. The children used the money to pay for their education and to manage their trustees. Munro's brother was physician

Ian Donald Ian Donald (27 December 1910 – 19 June 1987) was an English physician who pioneered the diagnostic use of ultrasound in obstetrics, enabling the visual discovery of abnormalities during pregnancy. Donald was born in Cornwall, England, to a ...

, a pioneer of medical and obstetric ultrasound. In England, she went to

St Hilda's College, Oxford St Hilda's College is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. The college is named after the Anglo-Saxon Saint, Hilda of Whitby and was founded in 1893 as a hall for women; it ...

, initially to study mathematics, but she switched subjects and graduated with a first degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics. In 1939, she married a pilot in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

, Ian Munro, but he was killed in 1943 while serving in 266 Squadron and she was left a widow with a child. She went on to work in the

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State ...

, first working for

Robert Watson-Watt Sir Robert Alexander Watson Watt (13 April 1892 – 5 December 1973) was a Scottish pioneer of radio direction finding and radar technology. Watt began his career in radio physics with a job at the Met Office, where he began looking for accura ...

, who helped develop

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...

. She rose the ranks until she was an under-secretary. left, St Paul's Girls' School in Brook Green, London W6 In 1964 she left her civil service career to serve at

St Paul's Girls' School St Paul's Girls' School is an independent day school for girls, aged 11 to 18, located in Brook Green, Hammersmith, in West London, England. History St Paul's Girls' School was founded by the Worshipful Company of Mercers in 1904, using part o ...

as High Mistress, the school that she attended when she first returned to England as a child. The governors decided to take a risk on Munro, given reassurance by her predecessor. Munro was a formidable woman, and it has been said she never corrected the rumour that she was head hunted.Janet Gough
"Munro, Dame Alison (1914–2008)"
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, January 2012; online edn, May 2012; accessed 31 December 2016. Other sources say that she was indeed head hunted. Munro abolished the school uniform at the school, feeling that the girls were devoting too much energy to defying school uniform requirements; however, the girls then redirected their energy to appearing in fashionable clothes. Following her departure from the school in 1974, she left education and spent many years leading two health authorities and government enquiries. Munro died in

West Wittering West Wittering is a village and civil parish situated on the Manhood Peninsula in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England. It lies near the mouth of Chichester Harbour on the B2179 road southwest of Chichester close to the border with Ha ...

in 2008; she was survived by her son Alan.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Munro, Alison 1914 births 2008 deaths People from Liskeard English civil servants Women civil servants Schoolteachers from Cornwall Women educators Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Alumni of Wynberg Girls' High School