Ann McMullan (12 May 1923 9 March 2006), was Director of the

Electrical Association for Women The Electrical Association for Women (EAW) was a feminist and educational organisation founded in Great Britain in 1924 to promote the benefits of electricity in the home. History The Electrical Association for Women developed in 1924 from a p ...

as well as an officer of the

Women's Auxiliary Air Force The Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF), whose members were referred to as WAAFs (), was the female auxiliary of the British Royal Air Force during the World War II, Second World War. Established in 1939, WAAF numbers exceeded 181,000 at its peak ...

Biography

Ann McMullan was born in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

on 12 May 1923 to Garth Glendenning and Madelaine Greener. Her grandparents were George Hammerton Glendenning and Alice Glendenning. As a result she was a cousin of

Graham Laidler Graham Laidler (4 July 1908 – 23 November 1940) was a British cartoonist, noted for his work in Punch (magazine), ''Punch'' magazine in the 1930s. He signed his name as "pont", short for a nickname, ''Pontifex Maximus''. Life Laidler was ...

Education

She got her education from Church High School before going on to Abbey College at Malvern Wells. She graduated from a course in domestic science before joining the WAAF during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Career

McMullan served as a Code and Cypher Officer at

Fighter Command RAF Fighter Command was one of the commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It operated throughout the Second World War, winning fame during the Battle of Britain in 1940. The ...

Headquarters. After the end of the war McMullan went to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

to work with

displaced persons Forced displacement (also forced migration or forced relocation) is an involuntary or coerced movement of a person or people away from their home or home region. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR defines 'forced displaceme ...

for a local community organisation. She moved on to

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

for a time before going to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

to work with the ''African Children's Feeding Scheme'' in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

. McMullan went on to get a diploma in Public Relations from the Communications, Advertising and Marketing foundation. Continuing to work in charities, McMullan was the head of education for the British Epilepsy Association which was founded in 1950. On 1 March 1976 she became the director of the

. She was central to the association's involvement with the Nuclear industry in Britain. They arranged the program ''Get into Lane'' (Learning about Nuclear Energy). She edited "Essential Electricity, A User's Guide" in 1983. She wrote a biography of her cousin

, better known as the cartoonist Pont, which was published posthumously on Kindle in 2022.

Personal life

McMullan also flew with the

Thames Valley The Thames Valley is an area in South East England that extends along the River Thames west of London towards Oxford. The area is a major tourist destination and economic hub on the M4 corridor, with a high concentration of technology companies ...

Gliding Club. She married Peter Greville Kay Williamson on 4 November 1944. They had three daughters and one son. She later married Robert McMullan in 1955, and had two more sons. She was also awarded an MBE in 1985. She died in 2006 and is buried in Warkworth, Northumberland.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McMullan, Ann 1923 births 2006 deaths Women's Auxiliary Air Force officers Members of the Order of the British Empire People from Newcastle upon Tyne