Caribbean Women in the ATS from mid-1943 onwards

By Audrey Dewjee                                                                                     31^st  January 2025

This article aims to bring together published information abosut the groups of women from the Caribbean region who came to Britain to serve in the ATS in World War 2, after the removal of colour restrictions in 1943. It will list the names of the women in each group, give details of the routes by which they came, and provide images of some of them.

There has long been uncertainty about how many women were involved, who they were, and exactly when they arrived. This is hardly surprising as so few records from those times appear to have survived. In order to try and clarify some of these points, I have drawn on four sources of information:

1. Passenger lists, where available.

2. Information from issues of the West India Committee Circular (abbreviated by me to WICC). By mid-1943, this was a monthly newsletter, issued by the West India Committee in London and circulated throughout the West Indies. It contained two regular columns, ‘West Indians on Service’, and ‘West Indian Service Visitors’. The first listed the names, rank and country of servicemen and women the Committee was aware of, and the second listed everyone who visited the Committee’s rooms at 40 Norfolk Street and signed the Service Visitor’s Book.^[1]Copies of the West India Committee Circular have been digitised and can be found online at https://westindiacommittee.org/historyheritageculture/archive/west-india-committee-circulars/ Throughout the war, the West India Committee acted as a point of contact for Caribbean volunteers, where they could meet their friends, store their belongings and collect mail from home.

3. Evidence from group photographs.

4. Published recollections from ATS members themselves.

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Prior to the announcement in the Caribbean that women were being sought for enrolment in the Auxiliary Territorial Service (the women’s branch of the British army), a battle had taken place between the War Office and the Colonial Office in London. More women were needed for service in the ATS, especially by the British Mission in Washington DC, and the Caribbean area was seen as a source of new recruits. The War Office wanted to exclude all women of colour, and the Colonial Office was adamant that women of all races should be eligible for service – not for ethical reasons, but because they were afraid that exclusion of women of colour would lead to unrest in the colonies.

Ben Bousquet and Colin Douglas did a great deal of research at the National Archives and published a comprehensive account of what took place between the War and Colonial Offices in their book, West Indian Women at War.^[2]Ben Bousquet and Colin Douglas, West Indian Women at War: British Racism in World War II, Lawrence & Wishart, 1991. I recommend anyone interested in the subject to read it. It is still in print, so it is easy to get hold of a copy either by purchase or through a local library.

In April 1943, while the battle between the War and Colonial Offices was raging, ATS Commander Doreen Venn was on her way to the Caribbean to see if there were sufficient suitable candidates for recruitment to posts at the British military mission in Washington DC. The War Office insisted that all these candidates had to be White but, by the time Commander Venn arrived, it had been decided that a limited number of women of all racial backgrounds could also be recruited for service in Britain. Commander Venn was ordered to give greater urgency to filling the Washington vacancies, as extra ATS help was desperately needed there. She was instructed to choose only the most highly qualified women, and to ensure that those chosen were well-educated and of ‘the right sort’. These instructions, in effect, limited the choice to mainly middle-class and upper-class women. It should be noted that, in 1943, class was as much a limitation on women’s ambitions as was race.

In Britain, the ATS was considered the least prestigious of the three women’s military services. Middle-class women often preferred to join the WRNS and the WAAF. The ATS contained women from all sections of the population, including a large working-class contingent. Therefore, the women from the Caribbean who joined the ATS in Britain tended to be of a higher social class than many of their fellow servicewomen. The Caribbean women who were recruited from the middle of 1943 came from many different backgrounds, including a few women who had all-White ancestry.

Examining the information in the sources mentioned above, I have compiled the following lists of names and details about the groups.

The First Group – arrived 14^th October 1943

The first group of 24 women came from Jamaica. Most of these women were born on the island; one, and possibly a second, was born in England and the birthplace of one is as yet unknown. Their ages are as recorded on the passenger list, but some may be incorrect.

NAME	AGE
Marjorie Austin	19
Lucille May Barnett	28
Ruby Delphine Barnett	30
Ethel L. Bartlett	24
Winifred Elaine Beare	18
Inez Monica Bent	22
Dorothy Bonnier	29
Patricia Maud Coke-Kerr	20
Ena Joyce Collymore	26
Olga Ione Crawford	23
Laura Dutton	23
Mavis Dyball	21
Myrtle Eves	30
Mary Dorothy Fielding	22
Helen Elizabeth Fielding	21
Nellie Barbara Forrester	24
Phyllis Marguerite Gaynor	23
Carmen Dorothy Gill	19
Marguerite Forbes Irving	21   Born Christchurch, Hampshire, England
Audrey Lewis	28
Norma Dorothea Marsh	22
Avis Maria Marzink	27
Emily Joyce Robinson	22
Marjorie Lucille Scott	25

The group left Kingston on the SS Rimutaka on 14^th September, arriving in New York on 23^rd September. According to Nellie Forrester, the women enjoyed ‘three glorious days in New York visiting friends and relatives’ before leaving on the same ship to cross the Atlantic in convoy HX 259. They arrived at Avonmouth (Bristol) on 14^th October 1943.

The November issue of the West India Committee Circular reported:

Twenty-four girls who were recently enlisted into the A.T.S. in Jamaica arrived safely in London in the middle of October. A number of West Indians who have travelled independently are already serving in the A.T.S., but this is the first organized party to arrive.

The girls were recruited by Senior Commander Doreen Venn during her recent visit to Jamaica and were chosen from a large number of volunteers.

Shortly after their arrival in London they reported…at the offices of the West India Committee, where they were welcomed [by senior members of the Committee]….

As they entered Norfolk Street from the Strand, they were met by a camera-man of the Colonial Film Unit, who made a film of their entry and reception at No. 40. After leaving the West India Committee they visited St. Paul’s and were filmed on the steps of the Cathedral….^[3]Has this film survived?

The arrival of this party in London received a good “Press,” and a general write-up, with interviews and photographs, appeared in the Evening Standard, Evening News, Star and other newspapers.

After a brief stay in London, the girls left for their training depot. They were given special leave on October 28^th to attend a tea party at the Colonial Office….The party was honoured by the presence of the Princess Royal, Controller Commandant of the A.T.S….

After inspecting the contingent, and shaking hands with each member, Her Royal Highness made a short speech of welcome which was replied to by Private M.F. Irving.

A letter from the Princess Royal, ‘written from Harewood House, Leeds,’ was printed in the December issue of WICC. It included a reference to the recruits.

‘At a recent meeting in the Colonial Office I had the pleasure of seeing and talking to a contingent of Jamaica girls who had volunteered for the A.T.S., of which I am Controller-Commandant, and I was very proud to welcome them into that fine service, and to congratulate them on the way in which they had come forward to devote themselves to the common cause.’

The Second Group – arrived 8^th November 1943

The second group consisting of 30 women left Trinidad on SS Maaskerk on 6^th October 1943 arriving in New York 19^th October. They departed New York on 24^th October, travelling in convoy HX 263, and arrived at Liverpool on 8^th November.

This group included women from several parts of the Caribbean and British Guiana (now Guyana). Their names and countries of birth were as follows:

NAME	COUNTRY OF BIRTH	AGE
Gloria Thelma Archer	Barbados	18
Hazel Louraine Blake	Jamaica	24
Rita Adeline Butler	Trinidad	33
Elaine Chee-A-Tow	Br. Guiana	25
Margaret Alleyne Rudder Clairmonte	Barbados	21
Emily Mary Greenhalgh	Barbados	22
Helen Clinton Grieg	France	18
Hazeline Odessa Gittens	Barbados	32
Vivien Iris Huchoy	Trinidad	20
Cynthia J. S. Baber Isaacs	St. Vincent	30
Muriel Elaine Jackman	Barbados	20
Leonine Ellanora Joseph	Trinidad	29
Hilda Elizabeth Kent	England	30
Mary Rita Catherine Duncan Kerr	Grenada	24
Muriel Carmen Kerr	Br. Guiana	35
Ethel Joan Kysh	Barbados	33
Muriel Kimmy Lee	Trinidad	26
Cynthia Enid Malone	Nevis	23
Doreen Marcano	England	20
Georgina Margery Masson	England	19
Sheila Joyce McCracken	Trinidad	19
Brenda Harrington Nurse	Barbados	22
Audrey Patricia Pearce	England	20
Patricia Kirkpatrick Pile	England	19
Sybil Irma Robinson	Trinidad	20
Agnes Albertha Scott	Trinidad	23
Marjorie Elizabeth McGann Smith	Trinidad	21
Sheila Catherine Sadler	Br. Guiana	23
Sheila Ida Thornhill	Trinidad	20
Kathleen Elaine Williams	St. Vincent	29

The press took many photographs of this group of women and a feature article about them appeared in the popular British weekly magazine, Picture Post, on 4^th December. The article noted that there were ‘some white girls in the party’ and quoted Patricia Pearce as an example. Photographs of Doreen Marcano and Georgina Masson, recorded as born in England on the passenger list, show that they were women of colour. Conversely, at least one White woman in the group had been born in the Caribbean.

The Third Group – arrived 24^th July 1944

Shipping shortages delayed the departure of the third group of ATS volunteers for eight months. Every available space on ships was required for the build-up to D-Day which took place on 6^th June 1944. The third group which left Trinidad on SS Maaskerk on 1^st June, arrived in New York on the 14^th. For some reason, Maaskerk did not sail as originally planned and arrived in Liverpool on the 24^th July.  It seems likely that these women changed ships in New York, because they were reported in WICC as being entertained by the Duke of Devonshire at a reception at the Colonial Office on 21^st July.^[4]WICC, August 1944, p.148

The names of the latest arrivals were listed in the August issue of WICC 1944. Again the women had been resident in a variety of places in the Americas, prior to their enlistment.

NAME	COUNTRY OF BIRTH	AGE
Elsie Helena Affonso	Br. Guiana	20
Joan Gordon Aitken	Scotland	34
Edith Lorna Alleyne	Grenada	25
Mabel Barbara Armstrong	Barbados	22
Eileen C. Barratt	Trinidad	21
Leah M.M. Bascus	Grenada	19
Cynthia B.W. Boyd	Dominica	20
Doris Ciceley Berkeley	Trinidad	31
Camilla E. Cadet	Panama Canal Zone / St. Lucia	22
Lilias De Freitas	Br. Guiana	30
Flores Eusabia Deterville	St. Lucia	22
Camille M.T. Du Boulay	St. Lucia	18
Beryl Marjorie Dummett	Br. Guiana	21
Marie Grace Evelyn	St. Kitts	20
Carmen V. Faria	Br. Guiana	24
Rosalind Hyacinth Gibson	St. Vincent	26
Alma Elsie H. Greaves	Barbados	19
Blanche C. Hackett	Trinidad	32
Katherine M. Hinds	Barbados	22
Ellice Lorna Honeychurch	Dominica	22
Margaret J. Munro	Grenada	19
Ena Clarisa Nicholas	Trinidad	29
Dolly E. Pereira	St. Kitts	25
Marjorie E. Ritchie	Barbados	26
Lorna M. Roberts	Trinidad	23
Agnes E. Smith	Barbados	27
Margaret F. Smith	Tobago	21
Florence M. St. Prix	St. Lucia	27
Monica Louie Urich	Trinidad	30
Daisy Iris Whyte	Br. Guiana	31

 

Another group photograph, taken with Sir john Jarvis Bt., MP for Guildford, in his garden,  was featured in the Trinidad Guardian of 27^th January 1945. Five days earlier, the same paper had published another photograph of this event under the heading ‘Three from Trinidad’, which identified Blanche Hackett from Port-of-Spain (extreme left), Ena Nicholas (third from left) and Flores Deterville (fourth from left). Private Hackett was said to be engaged in mess-room duty following a domestic science course, while privates Nicholas and Deterville were following their previous occupations from back home, as telephone operators.

Small Group of six women – arrived July 1944

Shortly after the third main group set off from Trinidad, a small party of six women from British Honduras began their journey to Britain. They had been training in Jamaica for some considerable time, awaiting transport. Unlike the women before them, they began their journey by air. Flying by Pan American Airways, their route took them from Kingston, Jamaica, via Cuba to Miami, Florida. Four of the women arrived in Miami on 8^th July and the other two on 10^th July, From Miami they went by train to New York. Nadia Cattouse’s description of their eventful journey through the USA appears in an earlier article. https://www.historycalroots.com/nadia-cattouse/

Their journey from New York to Britain was also different from those of previous groups. They sailed on the Queen Mary.

During the war the two massive Cunard liners, the Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary, had been requisitioned for war service. They were able to ferry 10,000 troops a week across the Atlantic (and sometimes many more). They didn’t sail in a convoy because they were faster than other ships and also faster than enemy submarines. If they had slowed down to the speed of ships in a convoy, they would have been prime targets for submarine attack. Therefore, the two ships always sailed alone, relying on their speed, continual zig-zag manoeuvres and signal intercepts to keep them out of range of U-boats. Neither the British nor US navies had sufficient escort vessels that were able to accompany the ships at their operating speed in bad weather, so they were only escorted in home waters near Britain, where the risks of U-boats and Luftwaffe patrol aircraft were too high.^[5]See ‘The “Queens” as WWII Troopships’: https://www.theqe2story.com/forum/index.php?topic=1939.0  [accessed 23/11/2024]

Given that they sailed in a faster ship which could cross the Atlantic in less than six days, the six women – all from British Honduras (now Belize) – probably arrived before the third main party. They were soon on their way to Guildford for their initial training.

NAME	COUNTRY OF BIRTH	AGE
Vida H.E. Anderson	British Honduras	33
Phyllis Joan Bradley	British Honduras	22
Nadia Evadne Cattouse	British Honduras	19
Rosita Marie Codd	British Honduras	24
Grace Hermenia Jeffery	British Honduras	23
Joan Dunnachie Murphy	British Honduras	19

Nadia Cattouse recorded that her group was entertained to tea by the Duchess of Devonshire and that they also had a group photograph taken with the Duchess, ‘at the entrance to a club round the corner from Piccadilly’. Nadia searched for a copy of this photo for years, but unfortunately she never found it.

The Fourth Group – arrived August 1944

Those who arrived in this group came mostly from Jamaica, with five from British Honduras, and possibly one from the Bahamas, Pearl Grant, although she may have travelled separately. Their names were listed in the September edition of the WICC.

NAME	COUNTRY OF BIRTH	AGE (IF KNOWN)
Eva M. Black	Jamaica
Ursula Maud Burnett	Jamaica	22
Louise Loraine Canton	British Honduras	18
Olga Marie Canton	British Honduras	20
Panzie Monica Lynch Clarke	Jamaica	26
Mobrie Agatha Clarke	Jamaica	21
Dora Mitchell Edwards	Jamaica	24
Joyce Mary Edwards	Jamaica	22
Ivy Mercedes Fisher	Jamaica	18
Ann Matilda Gabourel	British Honduras	21
Joyce Mae Gentles	Jamaica	24
Lillian Ulrica Gongora	British Honduras	21
Pearl Eugenie Grant	Bahamas	22
Myrtle A. Heron	Jamaica	24
Shenneth Jaritza Hinkson	Jamaica	19
Lorriema Melba (Norma) Leacock	British Honduras	20
Aileen Mercedes Lynch	Jamaica	25
Joyce M. McLaughlin	Jamaica	19
Esther C. McMorris	Jamaica	23
Ariel Linda (Ditta) Murray	Jamaica	31
Anne T. Oswin	Jamaica	27
Brigid Moira O’Toole	Jamaica	17
Maureen Denise O’Toole	Jamaica	22
Corinne Jacqueline Owen	Jamaica	24
Helen Laura Parkinson	Jamaica	19
Amy Clair Reynolds	Jamaica	20
Ruby C. Riley	Jamaica
Nina Berneta (Christobel) Ritch	Jamaica	25
Inez L. Salmon	Jamaica	19
Evelyn M. Smith	Jamaica
Ruby L. Smith	Jamaica
Hazel L. Taylor	Jamaica
Hyacinth May Thame	Jamaica	32
Linnette Thompson	Jamaica

The WICC reported that a photograph of the ‘party of girls from Jamaica and British Honduras…was specially taken for the CIRCULAR on their arrival at their receiving depot in London. The girls had previously visited the West India Committee Rooms, and later the same day left London for their training centre.’

A second picture in the same issue of WICC showed ‘some of these girls, and some earlier arrivals from the same two Colonies.’ This had been taken on 31^st August, ‘after the girls had been entertained to tea by the Duke of Devonshire in his room at the Colonial Office’. The Duke had given a brief speech in which he assured the recruits that their presence in Britain to serve the common cause was greatly appreciated. Private Joyce Edwards, from Jamaica, replied that they were very grateful for the welcome given to them and, in concluding, said that ‘We like the food here and we are even getting used to the English weather.’

The Fifth Group – arrived 25^th September 1944

Exact travel dates and details for the fifth and final group are sparse. As recorded by Louise Osbourne when interviewed by Ben Bousquet and Colin Douglas, they travelled to New York where they spent a few days. The fifth group also crossed the Atlantic on the Queen Mary – at the same time as Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill who was returning from the Octagon Conference, held in Quebec. The ship arrived at Greenock on 25^th September.^[6]https://winstonchurchill.hillsdale.edu/day-book-1944/

NAME	COUNTRY OF BIRTH	AGE (IF KNOWN)
Eileen Burton	St. Lucia	21
Barbara Carrington	Tobado
Jeanne Carter	Br. Guiana
Joyce Chu-Cheong	Trinidad	21
Joyce Croney	Trinidad
Theresa De Freitas	Trinidad	26
Margaret De Nobriga	Br. Guiana	21
Gwendoline Henrietta Eytle	Br. Guiana	20
Ernestine Ferreira	Barbados
Ira Josephine Fongenie	Trinidad	31
Sarah Margaret Goddard	Barbados	22
Eunice Gomes	Br. Guiana
Dorothy Green	Br. Guiana
Sheilah Green	Br. Guiana
Phyllis Gregory	Barbados
Marjorie Griffith	Barbados
Doreen Hatt	Trinidad
Natalie Johnson	Br. Guiana
Olga McWatt	Br. Guiana
Neola Sonia Massiah	Trinidad
Gladys Mathew	Trinidad
Louise Osbourne	St. Lucia
Molly Ouckama	Br. Guiana
Sheila Phillips	Br. Guiana
Maisie Roberts	Br. Guiana
Leonora Rosemin	Trinidad
Elsie Seale	Barbados
Margot Sinson	Br. Guiana
Cecile St. Mois	Jamaica
Grace Tyson	Jamaica
Margorie Valere	Trinidad
Zena Webber	Trinidad
Myra Woodroffe	Grenada

On 6^th October, the fifth group was entertained to tea by the Duke of Devonshire at the Colonial Office, when the customary group photograph was taken.

This final group merited little mention in the WICC except for the photograph, although their names were listed in the regular ‘West Indians On Service’ column.

Statistics

 From the details listed above, it looks as though the total number of women who came to join the ATS in and after July 1943 amounted to 157.

For those who are interested in such statistics, identifying how many of the Caribbean women who served were women of colour and how many were White is difficult. British records do not contain details of ‘race’. However, US authorities did collect such records. Passenger lists for women who passed through the USA on their way to Britain contain this information, though it has to be noted that sometimes the authorities seemed ‘confused’ when recording people of mixed heritage.

Louise Osborne, in her interview with Ben Bousquet and Colin Douglass, gave a useful description of the women in the fifth group. ‘Among us there were only two white girls – real white. The others, some of them were fair, and three of us were the darkest.’^[7]West Indian Women at War, p.55.

Conclusion

Several of these women settled in Britain, some returned home, while some emigrated elsewhere. Like every aspect of Black British History, more research needs to be undertaken to find additional information about their experiences in Britain, and also to discover their stories after the war.

If anyone has any information to add to our knowledge, please let us know.

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Thanks are due to Bill Hern for his help in researching genealogical details for several of the women.