Cicely Elizabeth Mayhew, Baroness Mayhew (''née'' Ludlam; 16 February 1924 – 8 July 2016) was a British diplomat. She was the second woman to work for the British

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * Unit ...

, and its first female diplomat.

Early life

She was born on 16 February 1924. Her father, C.S Ludlam, was a metallurgist and artisanal miner who made his money in copper in

Northern Rhodesia Northern Rhodesia was a British protectorate in southern Africa, south central Africa, now the independent country of Zambia. It was formed in 1911 by Amalgamation (politics), amalgamating the two earlier protectorates of Barotziland-North-West ...

, now

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

. He mined and produced around 1,523 tonnes of

blister copper Copper extraction refers to the methods used to obtain copper from its ores. The conversion of copper consists of a series of physical and electrochemical processes. Methods have evolved and vary with country depending on the ore source, loca ...

containing about 70,000 oz. (2,170 kg) of silver in the

Mumbwa Mumbwa is a town in the Central Province of Zambia, lying on the M9 Road. Its district covers the western part of the Central Province bordering Kaoma and Western Province to the west, Namwala and Southern Province to the south, Lusaka and Lus ...

district. She grew up in Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa. She attended

Loreto Convent School, Pretoria Loreto Convent School is a private high school in Pretoria, South Africa, founded in 1878. Loreto Convent School was founded on 7 June 1878 by Mother Margaret Mary Jolivet, Mother Joseph Colahan and Mother Teresa Colahan, at Loreto Convent, Skinner ...

from 1929 to 1932. Her formal education was interrupted for two years while she and her mother accompanied her father on prospecting expeditions in Tanzania and Uganda, helping him to pan for gold near

Entebbe Entebbe is a city in Central Uganda. Located on a Lake Victoria peninsula, approximately southwest of the Ugandan capital city, Kampala. Entebbe was once the seat of government for the Protectorate of Uganda prior to independence, in 1962. The c ...

. At age 10 she returned to Britain to be educated and did not see her mother again until her twenties. She attended Sheffield High School, living with her aunts. She then won a scholarship to

Cheltenham Ladies College Cheltenham Ladies' College is an independent boarding and day school for girls aged 11 to 18 in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. Consistently ranked as one of the top all-girls' schools nationally, the school was established in 1853 to pr ...

, where one of the teachers was a German Jewish refugee; she went on to read French and German at

Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford Lady Margaret Hall (LMH) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, located on the banks of the River Cherwell at Norham Gardens in north Oxford and adjacent to the University Parks. The college is more formall ...

, graduating after only two years in 1944 with a First.

Career

In 1944, near the end of

World War II 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 was recruited by British naval intelligence and worked at

Bletchley Park Bletchley Park is an English country house and estate in Bletchley, Milton Keynes ( Buckinghamshire) that became the principal centre of Allied code-breaking during the Second World War. The mansion was constructed during the years following ...

, in Hut 8, translating decoded German Navy signals. After the war she was appointed as the UK's first woman diplomat. Her first posting as

3rd Secretary Diplomatic rank is a system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. A diplomat's rank determines many ceremonial details, such as the order of precedence at official processions, table seatings ...

at the

was to

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

, and then to

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

. On her marriage in 1949 she was required to leave the service and her pension was converted to a dowry under rules which the Foreign Office maintained until 1973. Mayhew created a crucial pathway for women by becoming “the kings first female emissary" in 1947. Mayhew came up against previous barriers during her time spent at Bletchley Park decoding crucial messages, encountering issues which women faced during the wartime, which were hard to overcome. One of the main issues Mayhew encountered was in regards to “being paid significantly lower and being ranked beneath men,” who as Mayhew stated “could not boast a First from Oxford.”

Personal life

In 1949 she married

Christopher Mayhew Christopher Paget Mayhew, Baron Mayhew (12 June 1915 – 7 January 1997) was a British politician who was a Labour Member of Parliament (MP) from 1945 to 1950 and from 1951 to 1974, when he left the Labour Party to join the Liberals. In 1981 ...

, the politician, broadcaster and writer, whom she met when they were both in the diplomatic service, and they had two sons and two daughters. He died in 1997. She spent her later years in a care home in

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

, and died on 8 July 2016.

Legacy

In March 2019, the Mayhew Theatre at the

's Diplomatic Academy was opened by

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge William, Prince of Wales, (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982) is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales. Born in London, William was educat ...

. The theatre was named after Mayhew following a vote amongst Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) staff in which she was the runaway winner.

Published works

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayhew, Cicely 1924 births 2016 deaths Alumni of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford British women diplomats British diplomats British baronesses Bletchley Park people People educated at Sheffield High School, South Yorkshire People educated at Cheltenham Ladies' College Bletchley Park women Spouses of life peers