Nancy Salmon
Air Commandant Dame Nancy Marion Salmon DBE (2 May 1906 – 9 October 1999), also known after 1962 by her married name, Dame Nancy Snagge, was a senior British women's air force officer.[1] She was Director of the Women's Royal Air Force (WRAF) from 1950 to 1956.[1]
Early life[edit]
Salmon was born in Hampstead the daughter of a chartered accountant and she was educated at Notting Hill High School.[1] In 1938 she joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service as a driver.[1]
Women's Auxiliary Air Force[edit]
Salmon transferred from the ATS to the Women's Auxiliary Air Force in 1939 when it was formed and her first posting was a barrage balloon unit.[1] She later spent time as officer in charge of personnel at Fighter Command, RAF Stanmore before becoming a staff officer at No 77 Signals Wing in Liverpool.[1] She was later responsible for WAAF radar operators.[1] At the end of the 1940s she helped with drafting regulations and a plan for more integration with the Royal Air Force which led to the formation of the Women's Royal Air Force.[1] Salmon was a staff officer in early 1950 with the British Air Forces of Occupation in Germany before becoming Director of the Women's Royal Air Force in July 1950.[1] Salmon retired from the WRAF in 1956.[1]
Personal life[edit]
Following retirement from the WRAF she cared for her mother before becoming head of personnel in the John Lewis partnership.[1] At her new job she met a company director Geoffrey Snagge, a widower and they married in 1962.[1] She died at Winchester, Hampshire on 9 October 1999.
Honours[edit]
She was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1946, and elevated to Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 1955.[2]