Felicity Peake
Encyclopedia
Air Commodore
Dame Felicity Peake DBE
(May 1, 1913, Cheadle Hulme
, Stockport, England
– November 2, 2002) was the founding director of the UK's Women's Royal Air Force
(WRAF).
She only started flying when her first husband took up the hobby in 1935, but fourteen years later would become the first director of the Women's Royal Air Force
(WRAF). On 30 August 1940, aged 27 and serving at Biggin Hill as a section officer in charge of some 250 women, she survived an attack by German bombers. Nine (9) Ju 88s swung north to take "The Bump" (as RAF pilots termed Biggin Hill) in a surprise attack. WAAF quarters were among the buildings hit, and an air raid shelter crammed with airmen was reduced to rubble. In all, 39 died. In 1946 she became director of the WAAF. She assumed her most senior position in 1949, when the decision was taken to establish a permanent role for women in the RAF.
, an Elizabethan house near Crewe
, bought by her father after the First World War. Her father, Col. Humphrey Watts, was a prosperous Manchester
-based industrialist whose family's wealth derived from S & J Watts, a textile business founded in 1798.
She was educated at St. Winifred's, Eastbourne
, but left before taking her school certificate to go on to a finishing school outside Paris. She met Jock Hanbury, a member of the Truman, Hanbury, Buxton & Co brewing family, while on a cruise to the West Indies. They were married at St. Margaret's, Westminster in 1935 and she was known as Felicity Hanbury; that same year she qualified for her pilot's licence after joining her husband in his new hobby.
With war looming, Jock Hanbury joined the auxiliary air force as a fighter pilot, while Felicity, whose lack of solo flying hours prevented her from joining the air transport auxiliary, volunteered for No 9 ATS company of the RAF. Called up on September 1, 1939, she became a company assistant (the equivalent of a pilot officer), just a month before her husband was killed when his plane crashed in Surrey
during a night-flying exercise. After a short spell as a code and cipher officer, in May 1940 she was posted, fatefully, to Biggin Hill
.
In January 1941, she joined the WAAF recruiting staff at the Air Ministry, later moving to public relations duties, where she was adept at persuading senior RAF officers of the importance of expanding the role of women with more opportunities and greater responsibilities. It was here that she met her second husband, Air Commodore Harald Peake (later Sir Harald Peake), then director of RAF public relations and later chairman of Lloyds Bank
and the Steel Company of Wales, whom she married in 1952.
During her time at the Air Ministry, Felicity forged lasting friendships with many of the most senior RAF officers - friendships that she used to great effect in retirement when furthering the interests of the RAF benevolent fund, the RAF church of St Clement Danes
and the Imperial War Museum. In 1943, she became deputy WAAF administration staff officer at Bomber Command. This was followed by promotion to wing officer (wing commander) and command of the WAAF officers' school at Windermere. In 1944, she was appointed senior WAAF staff officer with responsibility for the welfare of women radar operators, and, in 1945, with the rank of group officer (group captain), she became senior WAAF staff officer to the C-in-C Mediterranean and Middle East Command, in Cairo.
for wartime services, she was named a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1949.
Following her retirement in 1950, she joined the board of Truman, Hanbury and Buxton, a job she described in her memoirs, Pure Chance (1993), as "sheer bliss": there was no "buck passing", no red tape, and she could get things done. She and her husband, Harald, bought a farm in Oxfordshire
, where they bred pedigree Ayrshires and Jerseys, and a house in the south of France.
Appointed a trustee of the Imperial War Museum
in 1963, she was its chairman from 1986 to 1988. She founded the Friends of the Imperial War Museum, later becoming its president.
Air Commodore
Air commodore is an air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
Dame Felicity Peake DBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(May 1, 1913, Cheadle Hulme
Cheadle Hulme
Cheadle Hulme is an area of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, in Greater Manchester, England. It is southwest of Stockport and southeast of the city of Manchester. It lies in the Ladybrook Valley on the Cheshire Plain, and the drift consists mostly of boulder clay, sands and gravels...
, Stockport, England
Metropolitan Borough of Stockport
The Metropolitan Borough of Stockport is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in north west England, centred around the town of Stockport. It has a population of about 280,600 and includes the outyling areas of Cheadle and Cheadle Hulme, Marple, Bredbury, Reddish and Romiley...
– November 2, 2002) was the founding director of the UK's Women's Royal Air Force
Women's Royal Air Force
The Women's Royal Air Force was a women's branch of the Royal Air Force which existed in two separate incarnations.The first WRAF was an auxiliary organization of the Royal Air Force which was founded in 1918. The original intent of the WRAF was to provide female mechanics in order to free up men...
(WRAF).
She only started flying when her first husband took up the hobby in 1935, but fourteen years later would become the first director of the Women's Royal Air Force
Women's Royal Air Force
The Women's Royal Air Force was a women's branch of the Royal Air Force which existed in two separate incarnations.The first WRAF was an auxiliary organization of the Royal Air Force which was founded in 1918. The original intent of the WRAF was to provide female mechanics in order to free up men...
(WRAF). On 30 August 1940, aged 27 and serving at Biggin Hill as a section officer in charge of some 250 women, she survived an attack by German bombers. Nine (9) Ju 88s swung north to take "The Bump" (as RAF pilots termed Biggin Hill) in a surprise attack. WAAF quarters were among the buildings hit, and an air raid shelter crammed with airmen was reduced to rubble. In all, 39 died. In 1946 she became director of the WAAF. She assumed her most senior position in 1949, when the decision was taken to establish a permanent role for women in the RAF.
Early years
Felicity Hyde Watts spent much of her youth at Haslington HallHaslington Hall
Haslington Hall is a country house located in open countryside 1 km to the east of the village of Haslington, Cheshire, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building.-Early history:...
, an Elizabethan house near Crewe
Crewe
Crewe is a railway town within the unitary authority area of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 census the urban area had a population of 67,683...
, bought by her father after the First World War. Her father, Col. Humphrey Watts, was a prosperous Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
-based industrialist whose family's wealth derived from S & J Watts, a textile business founded in 1798.
She was educated at St. Winifred's, Eastbourne
Eastbourne
Eastbourne is a large town and borough in East Sussex, on the south coast of England between Brighton and Hastings. The town is situated at the eastern end of the chalk South Downs alongside the high cliff at Beachy Head...
, but left before taking her school certificate to go on to a finishing school outside Paris. She met Jock Hanbury, a member of the Truman, Hanbury, Buxton & Co brewing family, while on a cruise to the West Indies. They were married at St. Margaret's, Westminster in 1935 and she was known as Felicity Hanbury; that same year she qualified for her pilot's licence after joining her husband in his new hobby.
With war looming, Jock Hanbury joined the auxiliary air force as a fighter pilot, while Felicity, whose lack of solo flying hours prevented her from joining the air transport auxiliary, volunteered for No 9 ATS company of the RAF. Called up on September 1, 1939, she became a company assistant (the equivalent of a pilot officer), just a month before her husband was killed when his plane crashed in Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
during a night-flying exercise. After a short spell as a code and cipher officer, in May 1940 she was posted, fatefully, to Biggin Hill
Biggin Hill
Biggin Hill is an area and electoral ward in the outskirts of the London Borough of Bromley in southeast London, United Kingdom.-History:Historically the settlement was known as Aperfield and formed part of the parish of Cudham...
.
In January 1941, she joined the WAAF recruiting staff at the Air Ministry, later moving to public relations duties, where she was adept at persuading senior RAF officers of the importance of expanding the role of women with more opportunities and greater responsibilities. It was here that she met her second husband, Air Commodore Harald Peake (later Sir Harald Peake), then director of RAF public relations and later chairman of Lloyds Bank
Lloyds Bank
Lloyds Bank Plc was a British retail bank which operated in England and Wales from 1765 until its merger into Lloyds TSB in 1995; it remains a registered company but is currently dormant. It expanded during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and took over a number of smaller banking companies...
and the Steel Company of Wales, whom she married in 1952.
During her time at the Air Ministry, Felicity forged lasting friendships with many of the most senior RAF officers - friendships that she used to great effect in retirement when furthering the interests of the RAF benevolent fund, the RAF church of St Clement Danes
St Clement Danes
St Clement Danes is a church in the City of Westminster, London. It is situated outside the Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand. The current building was completed in 1682 by Sir Christopher Wren and it now functions as the central church of the Royal Air Force.The church is sometimes claimed to...
and the Imperial War Museum. In 1943, she became deputy WAAF administration staff officer at Bomber Command. This was followed by promotion to wing officer (wing commander) and command of the WAAF officers' school at Windermere. In 1944, she was appointed senior WAAF staff officer with responsibility for the welfare of women radar operators, and, in 1945, with the rank of group officer (group captain), she became senior WAAF staff officer to the C-in-C Mediterranean and Middle East Command, in Cairo.
Post-WAAF
As the last director of the WAAF, and the first director of the WRAF, Felicity steered the service through the difficult transition to its peacetime role. Having received the MBEMBE
MBE can stand for:* Mail Boxes Etc.* Management by exception* Master of Bioethics* Master of Bioscience Enterprise* Master of Business Engineering* Master of Business Economics* Mean Biased Error...
for wartime services, she was named a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1949.
Following her retirement in 1950, she joined the board of Truman, Hanbury and Buxton, a job she described in her memoirs, Pure Chance (1993), as "sheer bliss": there was no "buck passing", no red tape, and she could get things done. She and her husband, Harald, bought a farm in Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
, where they bred pedigree Ayrshires and Jerseys, and a house in the south of France.
Appointed a trustee of the Imperial War Museum
Imperial War Museum
Imperial War Museum is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. The museum was founded during the First World War in 1917 and intended as a record of the war effort and sacrifice of Britain and her Empire...
in 1963, she was its chairman from 1986 to 1988. She founded the Friends of the Imperial War Museum, later becoming its president.