Lilian Bader

Lilian Bader
Lilian Bader
Born	Lilian Bailey; 18 February 1918
Died	13 March 2015 (aged 97)
Education	BA University of London

Lilian Bader (18 February 1918 – 13 March 2015) was one of the first Black women to join the British armed forces.[1][2][3][4]

Early life

Lilian Bader was born at 19 Stanhope Street in the Toxteth Park 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.[3]

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.[5]^: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."'[6]^:79

World War II

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.[1] She was dismissed after seven weeks when it was discovered that her father was not born in the United Kingdom.[5]^:177 On 28 March 1941 she enlisted in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF),[2] after she heard that the Royal Air Force (RAF) were taking citizens of West Indian descent.[5]^:177 She trained in instrument repair, which was a trade newly opened to women.[2] She then became a Leading Aircraft Woman and was eventually promoted to the rank of corporal.[5]^:177

In 1943 she married Ramsay Bader, a tank driver who served in the 147th (Essex Yeomanry) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery.[2] She was given compassionate discharge from her position in February 1944, when she became pregnant with her first son.[2]^,[7]^:218 Ultimately, they had two children together, Geoffrey and Adrian.[5]^:177

Postwar life

After the war, Bader and her husband moved to Northamptonshire to raise their family.[8] Bader studied at London University where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree.[2] Following this she would have a career as a teacher.[7]^: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.[9]

References

"Black History Month Firsts: Lilian Bader". Black History Month 2018. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
Stephen Bourne (6 April 2015). "Leading Aircraftwoman in the WAAF and one of the first black women to join the British Armed Forces". The Independent. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
Stephen Bourne (18 March 2015). "Obituary: War hero Lilian Bader (1918-2015)". voice-online.co.uk. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
"Lilian Bader". Bgfl.org. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
Costello, R. (2012). Black salt : seafarers of African descent on British ships. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press. ISBN 978-1-84631-767-5. OCLC 801365216.
Delap, Lucy. Knowing Their Place : Domestic Service in Twentieth Century Britain. Oxford. ISBN 978-0-19-957294-6. OCLC 697264316.
Bean, Dalea. Jamaican women and the world wars : on the front lines of hange. Cham, Switzerland. ISBN 978-3-319-68585-4. OCLC 1015215196.
"Historical figures". Northamptonshire Heritage. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
Leah Sinclair, "Suffrage 100: The Black Women Who Changed British History", The Voice, 6 February 2018.