Commandant Commandant ( or ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ran ...

Anne Christine "Annie" Spencer,

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(15 December 1938 – 15 July 2012) was the last Director of the

Women's Royal Naval Service The Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS; popularly and officially known as the Wrens) was the women's branch of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. First formed in 1917 for the First World War, it was disbanded in 1919, then revived in 1939 at the ...

, serving in that post from 1991 to 1993.

Early life

Spencer was born in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

in 1938 and educated at

Newland School for Girls Newland School For Girls is a secondary school for girls aged 11– 16, situated in the Newland area of Kingston upon Hull, England. History Newland School was founded in 1907 to meet the growing demand for girls' education. It opened on the ...

and the Yorkshire College of Housecraft. Upon graduation in 1959, she was involved in the management of school dinner services in the county. She learned Italian and applied to

BOAC British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) was the British state-owned airline created in 1939 by the merger of Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd. It continued operating overseas services throughout World War II. After the passi ...

to become a

stewardess A flight attendant, also known as steward/stewardess or air host/air hostess, is a member of the aircrew aboard commercial flights, many business jets and some government aircraft. Collectively called cabin crew, flight attendants are primar ...

. However, she did not pass the interview stage.

Military career

She was promoted to superintendent (equivalent to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

) on 1 October 1986. She served as Director of

NAAFI The Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes (NAAFI ) is a company created by the British government on 9 December 1920 to run recreational establishments needed by the British Armed Forces, and to sell goods to servicemen and their families. It runs c ...

from 1986 to 1989 and Director of the

from 1991 to 1993. She retired from the Royal Navy on 15 December 1993.

Personal life

Spencer never married nor did she have any children. She died in 2012, aged 73.

Honours and decorations

In the 1994

New Year Honours The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...

, Spencer was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(CBE). She was appointed Aide-de-Camp to

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

on 13 March 1991.

References

External links

Obituary - The TelegraphObituary - The Times
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spencer, Anne 1938 births 2012 deaths Women's Royal Naval Service officers Military personnel from Yorkshire Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes personnel