Dame Alison Munro | |
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| Born | 12 February 1914 Liskeard, Cornwall, England |
| Died | 2 September 2008(2008-09-02) (aged 94) West Wittering, England |
| Known for | Headmistress ofSt Paul's Girls' School |
Dame Alison MunroDBE (12 February 1914 – 2 September 2008) was anEnglish civil servant and school headmistress.
Munro was born inLiskeard, 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 physicianIan Donald, a pioneer of medical and obstetric ultrasound. In England, she went toSt Hilda's College, Oxford,[when?] initially to study mathematics, but she switched subjects and graduated with a first degree inPhilosophy, Politics and Economics.[2]In 1939, she married a pilot in theRoyal Air Force, Ian Munro, but he was killed in 1943 while serving in266 Squadron[3] and she was left a widow with a child. She went on to work in theAir Ministry, first working forRobert Watson-Watt, who helped developradar. She rose through the ranks until she was an under-secretary.[4]
In 1964 she left her civil service career to serve atSt Paul's Girls' School asHigh 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 washead 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 inWest Wittering in 2008; she was survived by her son Alan.[2]
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