Mary Lloyd

Who is Mary Lloyd?

Dame Mary Kathleen Lloyd, Mrs. Cheshire was a director of the Women's Royal Naval Service.

Born to Aloysius Joseph Lloyd, a draper, and his wife, Annie, she was educated at the Ursuline convent, Wimbledon. She was the first woman to join the Women's Royal Naval Service when it was re-formed in 1939. She began her service as a WRNS steward. The following year she was commissioned as an officer. 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. She was named DBE in 1952 and retired two years later.