Mary Lloyd
| Mary Kathleen Lloyd | |
|---|---|
| Born |
31 May 1902 Eastbourne, East Sussex, England, UK |
| Died | 3 April 1972 (aged 70) |
| Allegiance |
 United Kingdom |
| Service/branch | Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS) |
| Years of service | 1939-1945 |
| Commands held | World War II |
| Awards | DBE (1952) |
| Relations | Geoffrey Cheshire (husband) |
Dame Mary Kathleen Lloyd, Mrs. Cheshire (born 31 May 1902, Eastbourne, East Sussex — died 3 April 1972) was a director of the Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS).
Life
Lloyd was born to Aloysius Joseph Lloyd, a draper, and his wife, Annie (née Grant). She was educated at the Ursuline convent in Wimbledon. She was the first woman to join the Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS) when it was re-formed in 1939. She began her service as a WRNS steward. The following year she was commissioned as an officer.[1] By 1946 she was acting superintendent, for which service she was appointed OBE in the 1946 King's Birthday Honours. The WRNS was not disbanded after the war, and in 1950 Lloyd succeeded Jocelyn Woollcombe as its director.[2] She was named DBE in 1952 and retired two years later.
Personal life
She married Geoffrey Cheshire, father of the war hero and humanitarian Leonard Cheshire, V.C., in 1963.[1] She spent a number of years working with her stepson's eponymous Cheshire Foundation.
Death
Her requiem mass was held at Westminster Cathedral on 28 July 1972, and attended by Queen Elizabeth II.
References
- 1 2 Lesley Thomas, ‘Cheshire , Dame Mary Kathleen (1902–1972)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 2008 accessed 31 July 2015
- ↑ "Admirals of the world: a biographical dictionary, 1500 to the present" by William Stewart