Hermione Ruth Herrick (19 January 1889 – 21 January 1983) was the Chief Commissioner for the New Zealand Girl Guides and the first director of the

Women's Royal New Zealand Naval Service The Women's Royal New Zealand Naval Service (WRNZNS) was the female auxiliary of the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN). Raised during the Second World War, most of its personnel, known as Wrens, served as signallers and operators of naval equipment o ...

Biography

Herrick was born in Ruataniwha,

Central Hawke's Bay Central Hawke's Bay District is part of the Hawke's Bay Region in the North Island of New Zealand. Formed in 1989, it has an area of 3,333 square kilometres with a population of It had a population of 12,717 people as of the 2013 census. This is ...

, New Zealand, on 19 January 1889. She attended Queen's College in London along with

Katherine Mansfield Kathleen Mansfield Murry (née Beauchamp; 14 October 1888 – 9 January 1923) was a New Zealand writer, essayist and journalist, widely considered one of the most influential and important authors of the modernist movement. Her works are celebra ...

. During World War I she was secretary to the Nursing Division at Walton-on-Thames Hospital, England. Following the war she briefly returned to New Zealand where she became Provincial Commissioner for the girl guides in Hawkes Bay. This led to a growing interest and in 1931 she returned to England to pursue it further. She became close with

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

and

Olave Baden-Powell Olave St Clair Baden-Powell, Baroness Baden-Powell (''née'' Soames; 22 February 1889 – 25 June 1977) was the first Chief Guide for Britain and the wife of Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, the founder of Scouting and co-founder o ...

and attended the seventh conference of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

along with several smaller conferences in England. With this experience she was appointed deputy Commissioner for the New Zealand Girl Guides in 1932, quickly becoming Chief Commissioner in 1934. This was a position she would hold for 27 years. She was the first director of the

, established in 1942. As the director she was responsible for recruitment and developed a high standard of recruitment. 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 ...

, Herrick was appointed an

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 ...

. She was awarded the

Silver Fish The Silver Fish Award is the highest adult award in Girlguiding. It is awarded for outstanding service to Girlguiding combined with service to world Guiding. The award has changed greatly since it first appeared in 1911, initially being awarded ...

in 1949, and in the 1962 Queen's Birthday Honours she was promoted to

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 ...

, for outstanding service to the girl guide movement in New Zealand for over 30 years.

References

1889 births 1983 deaths People from the Hawke's Bay Region New Zealand military personnel New Zealand Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Silver Fish Award {{scout-bio-stub