Elizabeth Constance Bather (11 October 1904 – 8 January 1988) was a British

Women's Auxiliary Air Force The Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF), whose members were referred to as WAAFs (), was the female auxiliary of the Royal Air Force during World War II. Established in 1939, WAAF numbers exceeded 180,000 at its peak strength in 1943, with over 2 ...

and police officer who served as the second commander of the London

Metropolitan Police The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...

's A4 Branch (Women Police), from 1946 to 1960 and was the first female police officer in the United Kingdom to be promoted to

chief superintendent Chief superintendent is a senior rank in police forces, especially in those organised on the United Kingdom, British model. Rank insignia of chief superintendent File:Sa-police-chief-superintendent.png, South Australia Police File:RCMP Chief Su ...

when the rank was introduced into the Metropolitan Police in 1949.

Family and early life

Bather was born in

Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

, the second of two children born to

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

-born Arthur George Bather and

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

-born mother Lilian Dundas Firth, who had married in August 1895, a steel-manufacturer's daughter, and their only daughter. Arthur was a

housemaster {{refimprove, date=September 2018 In British education, a housemaster is a schoolmaster in charge of a boarding house, normally at a boarding school and especially at a public school. The housemaster is responsible for the supervision and care o ...

Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of the ...

at the time of Elizabeth's birth, hence her birthplace. He was also a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

priest, a cricketer for

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

and an archaeologist of ancient Greece. She was educated at St Swithun's School in the city. On 14 January 1928, she was fined £3 with 30 shillings costs for dangerous driving after a collision with a motorcyclist at West End. From 1937 to 1946 she was a

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

in Winchester, one of the youngest in the country, and also a member of

Hampshire County Council Hampshire County Council (HCC) is an English council that governs eleven of the thirteen districts geographically located within the ceremonial county of Hampshire. As one of twenty-four county councils in England, it acts as the upper tier of ...

WAAF career

On 5 April 1939, she joined the

(WAAF) with the rank of company assistant (equivalent to

pilot officer Pilot officer (Plt Off officially in the RAF; in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly P/O in all services, and still often used in the RAF) is the lowest commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countri ...

in the RAF, the lowest commissioned officer rank) and was already living at

RAF Odiham RAF Odiham is a Royal Air Force station situated a little to the south of the village of Odiham in Hampshire, England. It is the home of the Royal Air Force's heavy lift helicopter, the Chinook, and of the King’s Helicopter Flight (TKHF) . I ...

by the time of the 1939 Register that September. She served in

Bomber Command Bomber Command is an organisational military unit, generally subordinate to the air force of a country. The best known were in Britain and the United States. A Bomber Command is generally used for strategic bombing (although at times, e.g. during t ...

, rising to be senior staff officer in charge of WAAFs, and also went to Canada in 1941 to help set up the

Canadian Women's Auxiliary Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force Women's Division was a non-combatant element of the Royal Canadian Air Force (pre-unification), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) which was active during the Second World War. The Women's Division's original role was to ...

. She was promoted

squadron officer Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF ; SQNLDR in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly sometimes S/L in all services) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also ...

in March 1942 and wing officer in January 1945 and was appointed

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 ...

(OBE) in the

1946 New Year Honours The 1946 New Year Honours were appointments by many of the Commonwealth Realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and to celebrate the passing of 1945 and the beginnin ...

Police career

In 1945, Bather joined the Metropolitan Police with the rank of

chief inspector Chief inspector (Ch Insp) is a rank used in police forces which follow the British model. In countries outside Britain, it is sometimes referred to as chief inspector of police (CIP). Usage by country Australia The rank of chief inspector is use ...

and the following year succeeded Superintendent

Dorothy Peto Dorothy Olivia Georgiana Peto OBE KPFSM (15 December 1886 – 26 February 1974) was a pioneer of women policing in the United Kingdom who served as the first attested woman Superintendent in the London Metropolitan Police, from 1930 to 1946. ...

as head of women police, being promoted to

superintendent Superintendent may refer to: *Superintendent (police), Superintendent of Police (SP), or Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), a police rank *Prison warden or Superintendent, a prison administrator *Superintendent (ecclesiastical), a church exec ...

herself. At 5 feet 4 inches, she only barely met the minimum height standard for the force. As head of A4 (Women's) Branch, her immediate superior was the Assistant Commissioner "A". Bather attempted to "feminise" the female officers, redesigning the uniform in 1946 and allowing policewomen to wear

makeup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often voc ...

on duty. In 1946 she also removed the bar to married women joining and serving policewomen getting married which had been in force since the 1920s. She gave evidence to the

Wolfenden Committee The Report of the Departmental Committee on Homosexual Offences and Prostitution (better known as the Wolfenden report, after Sir John Wolfenden, the chairman of the committee) was published in the United Kingdom on 4 September 1957 after a suc ...

in favour of decriminalising

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

. She died in

Nately Scures Nately Scures is a small village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Newnham in the Basingstoke and Deane district of Hampshire, England. Its nearest large village is Hook, which lies approximately north-east from the village. In 1931 ...

and is buried at

Odiham Odiham () is a large historic village and civil parish in the Hart district of Hampshire, England. It is twinned with Sourdeval in the Manche Department of France. The 2011 population was 4,406. The parish in 1851 had an area of 7,354 acres wi ...

Bibliography

*Biography, ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'' *Biography, ''

Who Was Who ''Who's Who'' is a reference work. It is a book, and also a CD-ROM and a website, giving information on influential people from around the world. Published annually as a book since 1849, it lists people who influence British life, according to i ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bather, Elizabeth 1904 births 1988 deaths People from Winchester People educated at St Swithun's School, Winchester Royal Air Force officers Women Metropolitan Police officers Officers of the Order of the British Empire Metropolitan Police officers