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 ...

Dame Jean Lancaster, ( Davies; 11 August 1909 – 29 August 1996) was a senior British naval officer who served as 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 ...

(WRNS) from 1961 to 1964.

Early life

Davies was born on 11 August 1909 to Richard C. Davies. She was educated at

Merchant Taylors' Girls' School Merchant Taylors' Girls' School is a selective independent girls' school in Great Crosby, Merseyside, England. History Merchant Taylors' Girls' School was established in 1888, having inherited the buildings from the boys' school that had move ...

, an all-girls selective

private school Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

Great Crosby Great Crosby is an area of the town of Crosby, Merseyside, Crosby, in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England and is Historic counties of England, historically, part of Lancashire. Location In 1907, the Victoria County History d ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

(now

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan county, metropolitan and ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of List of ceremonial counties of England, 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Merse ...

). After leaving school, Davies worked as a secretary to the headmaster of Merchant Taylors' Boys' School in Crosby.

Naval career

Second World War

In December 1939, with 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 ...

having broken out, Davies joined the

(WRNS). In May 1940, she was granted the rank of third officer (equivalent to

sub-lieutenant Sub-lieutenant is usually a junior officer rank, used in armies, navies and air forces. In most armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank. However, in Brazil, it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain, it is the second high ...

) with seniority from 6 December 1939. From 1940 to 1942, Davies was a member of the staff of

Flag Officer A flag officer is a commissioned officer in a nation's armed forces senior enough to be entitled to fly a flag to mark the position from which the officer exercises command. The term is used differently in different countries: *In many countr ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

; her tasked included encoding and decoding messages concerning the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

's fight against the German

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...

s. In February 1941, she was promoted to second officer (equivalent to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

) with seniority from 2 December 1940. In 1942, Davies was selected for signals officer training; this was usually reserved for men and she was one of the first six WRNS officers to qualify. She then worked at the headquarters of the

Commander-in-Chief, Western Approaches Commander-in-Chief, Western Approaches was the commander of a major operational command of the Royal Navy during World War II. The admiral commanding, and his forces, sometimes informally known as 'Western Approaches Command,' were responsibl ...

in Liverpool. In August 1943, Davies was selected to be part of the delegation accompanying

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

, the then

British Prime Minister The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern p ...

, to the Quebec Conference. She worked in the cypher room aboard the

ocean liner An ocean liner is a passenger ship primarily used as a form of transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships). Ca ...

during the voyage to Canada. After the conference, she was posted to Washington D.C., where she undertook signal work for the

British Embassy This is a list of diplomatic missions of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, excluding honorary consulates. The UK has one of the largest global networks of diplomatic missions. UK diplomatic missions to capitals of other Com ...

; the results of the conference had overloaded the permanent staff there. She returned to the United Kingdom with the rest of the British delegation aboard ; unusually for a woman, she was "actually established as a member of the ship's company" during the voyage. Davies was made an

acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor or actress who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a broad r ...

first officer (equivalent to

lieutenant commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...

) in November 1943, with seniority from 26 October. She was then part of the Churchill's entourage to the

Cairo Conference The Cairo Conference (codenamed Sextant) also known as the First Cairo Conference, was one of the 14 summit meetings during World War II that occurred on November 22–26, 1943. The Conference was held in Cairo, Egypt, between the United Kingdo ...

(22–26 November) and the

Tehran Conference The Tehran Conference (codenamed Eureka) was a strategy meeting of Joseph Stalin, Franklin Roosevelt, and Winston Churchill from 28 November to 1 December 1943, after the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran. It was held in the Soviet Union's embassy i ...

(28 November – 1 December). Churchill's 69th birthday occurred during the latter conference, and she attended his birthday party which was held at the

British Embassy in Tehran The Embassy of the United Kingdom in Tehran is the United Kingdom's diplomatic mission to the Islamic Republic of Iran. It is located at 172 Ferdowsi Avenue in Tehran. Following the 2011 attack on the Embassy and the expulsion of the British ...

. It was also attended by U.S. President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

and

Soviet Marshal Marshal of the Soviet Union (russian: Маршал Советского Союза, Marshal sovetskogo soyuza, ) was the highest military rank of the Soviet Union. The rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union was created in 1935 and abolished in 19 ...

Josef Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...

. Davies then returned to the headquarters of the Commander-in-Chief, Western Approaches, where she worked until the end of the war. In May 1944, her promotion to first officer was confirmed and she was granted seniority in that rank from 26 October 1943. Davies was appointed a

Member 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 ...

in the 1944 King's Birthday Honours.

Later career

After the end of the Second World War, Davies remained in the military but transferred to the Administrative Branch. She then worked in a number of staff posts and also in personnel management. In 1958, she was advanced to

Officer 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 ...

, 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 ...

) and appointed

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...

of the WRNS personnel serving in the

Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wil ...

. In October 1960, Davies was announced as the next Director of the Women's Royal Naval Service, in succession to Dame Elizabeth Hoyer-Millar. On 17 May 1961, she took up the appointment on 17 May 1961, was promoted to commandant (equivalent to

commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore, a ...

) and appointed Honorary 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 ...

. She was appointed a

Dame 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 ...

in the

1963 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours 1963 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The appointments were made "on the occ ...

, and retired from the military in 1964.

Later life

Davies married Roy Cavander Lancaster at the Chapel of

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

on 28 March 1967. He died in 1981, predeceasing her. In her final years, Davies lived at Warren Park

Nursing Home A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of elderly or disabled people. Nursing homes may also be referred to as skilled nursing facility (SNF) or long-term care facilities. Often, these terms have slightly different meanings to in ...

Blundellsands Blundellsands is an area of Crosby in the ceremonial county of Merseyside, England and in the historic county of Lancashire. It is part of the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, and a Sefton council electoral ward. At the 2001 Census the populati ...

, Merseyside. She died on 29 August 1996, aged 87.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, Jean 1909 births 1996 deaths Women's Royal Naval Service officers Secretaries Royal Navy officers of World War II Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Merchant Taylors' Girls' School