Dame Olga Patricia Symmonds, GCM, DBE (18 October 1925 - 27 May 2020), best known as Patricia Symmonds, was a Barbadian politician, member of the

Senate of Barbados The Senate of Barbados is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Barbados. The Senate is accorded legitimacy by Chapter V of the Constitution of Barbados. It is the smaller of the two chambers. The Senate was established in 1964 to repl ...

and a former teacher. The only daughter of Algernon French Symmonds and his wife, Olga (née Harper), she is the elder sister of Barbadian diplomat, Algernon Washington Symmonds. She was educated at Queen's College, Barbados, and travelled to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

to study at the

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 192 ...

and the

Institute of Education IOE, UCL's Faculty of Education and Society (IOE) is the education school of University College London (UCL). It specialises in postgraduate study and research in the field of education and is one of UCL's 11 constituent faculties. Prior to m ...

. As a teacher from 1945 to 1985, she was Deputy Principal of the St. Michael School, Saint Michael, Barbados from 1963 to 1976, then Principal of the school from 1976 to 1985. She was a part-time lecturer and tutor at

Cave Hill Campus Cave Hill, St. Michael, is a suburban area situated in the parish of Saint Michael, Barbados. It is located about 4 km north-west of the capital city Bridgetown, along the west coast of Barbados. The University of the West Indies at Cave Hi ...

from 1963 to 1965. Since 1994, she has been a Senator of Barbados and was a member of the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

of Barbados from 1997 to 2000. She was created 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 2000.

Sources

Burke's Peerage & Gentry, 107th edition Dame Patricia dies
1925 births 2020 deaths Alumni of the University of Reading Members of the Senate of Barbados 20th-century Barbadian women politicians 20th-century Barbadian politicians Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Barbadian educators Queen's College (Barbados) alumni Barbadian expatriates in the United Kingdom {{Barbados-politician-stub