Lilian Bader
British Women's Auxiliary Air Force member (1918–2015)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lilian Bader (née Bailey; 18 February 1918 – 14 March 2015[1]) was one of the first mixed-race women to join the British armed forces.[2][3][4][5]
18 February 1918
Lilian Bader | |
|---|---|
| |
| Born | Lilian Bailey 18 February 1918 Liverpool, England |
| Died | 13 March 2015 (aged 97) |
| Education | BA University of London |
| Spouse | Ramsay Bader (m. 1943) |
| Children | 2 |
Early life
Lilian Bader was born at 19 Upper Stanhope Street in the Toxteth area of Liverpool to Marcus Bailey, a merchant seaman from Barbados who served in the First World War, and a British-born mother of Irish parentage.[4]
In 1927, Bader and her two brothers were orphaned when their father died. At the age of 9 she was separated from her brothers and placed in a convent, where she remained until she was 20.[6]:176 Bader has explained that it was difficult to find employment 'because of her father's origins: "My casting out from the convent walls was delayed. I was half West Indian, and nobody, not even the priests, dare risk ridicule by employing me."'[7]:79
Second World War
In 1939, at the onset of the Second World War, Bader enlisted in the Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes (NAAFI) at Catterick Camp, Yorkshire.[2] She was dismissed after seven weeks when it was discovered that her father was not born in the United Kingdom.[6]:177
On 28 March 1941, she enlisted in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF),[3] after she heard that the Royal Air Force (RAF) were taking citizens of West Indian descent.[6]:177 She trained in instrument repair, which was a trade newly opened to women.[3] She then became a leading aircraft woman and was eventually promoted to the rank of corporal.[6]:177
In 1943, she married Ramsay Bader, a tank driver who served in the 147th (Essex Yeomanry) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery.[3] She was given compassionate discharge from her position in February 1944, when she became pregnant with her first child.[3],[8]:218 Ultimately, they had two sons together, Geoffrey and Adrian.[6]:177
Postwar life
After the war, Bader and her husband moved to Northamptonshire to raise their family.[9] Bader studied for O-Levels and A-levels in evening classes in the 1960s, then studied at London University where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree.[3][10] Following this she had a career as a teacher.[8]:218
Legacy
In 2018, in celebration of the 100th anniversary of women's right to vote, The Voice newspaper listed Bader – alongside Kathleen Wrasama, Olive Morris, Connie Mark, Fanny Eaton, Diane Abbott, Margaret Busby, and Mary Seacole – among eight Black women who have contributed to the development of Britain.[11] In October 2020, Bader was commemorated by the publication of an entry in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.[10] Cathy Tyson directed and acted in a short film, Lilian (2022).[12]