Black History Month - Lilian Bader

Black History Month: 15 October 2020 

 

Lilian Bader was one of the first ever Black women to join the British army. When World War II began in 1939, she enlisted in the Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes, NAAFI, in Yorkshire. She was dismissed after seven weeks, however, when she found out that her father was not born in the United Kingdom. She instead enlisted in the Women's Auxiliary Air Forces in March 1941, after she heard that the Royal Airforce were accepting citizens of West Indian descent.  

 

Bader trained in instrument repair, which was a trade newly opened to women. Afterwards, she became a Leading Aircraft Woman and was promoted eventually to the rank of corporal. After World War II had ended, Lilian began to study for a degree at London University and became a teacher once she graduated. In 2018, in celebration of the 100th anniversary of women's right to vote, 'The Voice' newspaper listed Bader, along with Kathleen Wrasama, Olive Morris, Connie Mark, Fanny Eaton, Diane Abbott, Margaret Busby, and Mary Seacole, among eight Black women who have contributed significantly Britain's development and progression. 

 

Want to find out more about Lilian Bader? Click here for more information, or here for more about the African community in the army in World War II.