Dame Alison Munro DBE (12 February 1914 – 2 September 2008) was an English civil servant and school headmistress.
Dame Alison Munro | |
|---|---|
| Born | 12 February 1914 Liskeard, Cornwall, England |
| Died | 2 September 2008 (aged 94) West Wittering, England |
| Known for | Headmistress of St Paul's Girls' School |
Life and work edit
Munro was born in Liskeard, Cornwall, and brought up in South Africa by her father, John Donald, a doctor, and her mother, a concert pianist. The family moved to South Africa for her father's health, but he died 7 October 1927, shortly after his wife, Helen Barrow Donald (nee Wilson) who died 7 December 1926.
The four surviving children were left money and trustees to look after them.[1] The children used the money to pay for their education and to manage their trustees.[clarification needed] Munro's brother was physician Ian Donald, a pioneer of medical and obstetric ultrasound. In England, she went to St Hilda's College, Oxford,[when?] initially to study mathematics, but she switched subjects and graduated with a first degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics.[2] In 1939, she married a pilot in the Royal Air Force, Ian Munro, but he was killed in 1943 while serving in 266 Squadron[3] and she was left a widow with a child. She went on to work in the Air Ministry, first working for Robert Watson-Watt, who helped develop radar. She rose through the ranks until she was an under-secretary.[4]
In 1964 she left her civil service career to serve at St Paul's Girls' School as High Mistress, the school that she attended when she first returned to England as a child.[5][clarification needed] The governors decided to take a risk on Munro, given reassurance by her predecessor.[2]
Munro was a formidable woman, and it has been said she never corrected the rumour that she was head hunted.[2] Other sources[who?] say that she was indeed head hunted.[citation needed] Munro abolished the school uniform at the school, feeling that the girls were devoting too much energy to defying school uniform requirements; however, the girls then redirected their energy to appearing in fashionable clothes.[4]
Following her departure from the school in 1974, she left education and spent many years[clarification needed] leading two health authorities and government enquiries.[2]
Munro died in West Wittering in 2008; she was survived by her son Alan.[2]
References edit
- ^ "Ian Donald (1910–1987) | Embryo Project Encyclopedia". embryo.asu.edu. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
- ^ a b c d e "Munro [née Donald], Dame Alison (1914–2008), civil servant and headmistress". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/99742. ISBN 978-0-19-861411-1. Retrieved 15 November 2023. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- ^ "Flight Lieutenant I M MUNRO (80359), Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve) [Royal Air Force WW2 Casualty ]". RAFCommands. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
- ^ a b "Dame Alison Munro". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
- ^ Hudson, Valerie (21 September 2008). "Dame Alison Munro". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 15 November 2023.