Blair Thisbe Bowden, ( Williams; 7 June 1916 – 30 September 1981) was an Australian naval officer who served as director of the

Women's Royal Australian Naval Service The Women's Royal Australian Naval Service (WRANS) was the women's branch of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). In 1941, fourteen members of the civilian Women's Emergency Signalling Corps (WESC) were recruited for wireless telegraphy work at ...

(WRANS). Born in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

, New Zealand, Bowden attended Christchurch Girls High School and received an arts degree from

Canterbury University College The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was f ...

before moving to Australia and enlisting in 1943. She was a member of the first training course for potential female officers, receiving the rank of third officer. By the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

she had been promoted to first officer and was "senior serving WRANS officer in the New South Wales command". The WRANS was disbanded in the immediate post-war period, but on its reformation in 1950 Bowden was appointed as its director, a position she held until 1954. She then moved to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and worked at the Australian High Commission, receiving the

British Empire Medal The British Empire Medal (BEM; formerly British Empire Medal for Meritorious Service) is a British and Commonwealth award for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the Crown. The current honour was created in 1922 to ...

in 1970.

References

, - 1916 births 1981 deaths Royal Australian Navy personnel of World War II Australian recipients of the British Empire Medal Royal Australian Navy officers University of Canterbury alumni People educated at Christchurch Girls' High School Women in the Australian military 20th-century Australian women New Zealand emigrants to Australia Australian emigrants to the United Kingdom {{Australia-mil-bio-stub