Angela Sinclair-Loutit (1921 – 2016) was an English social justice activist, pacifist and nurse.

Early life

She was born in

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

St David's Day Saint David's Day ( or ), or the Feast of Saint David, is the feast day of Saint David, the patron saint of Wales, and falls on 1 March, the date of Saint David's death in 589 AD. Traditional festivities include wearing daffodils and leeks, ...

in 1921, to Winifred de Renzy-Martin (née Hull) and her husband Edward, a lieutenant colonel in the army. She was raised in

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

and attended

Downe House School Downe House School is a private girls' boarding and day school in Cold Ash near Newbury, Berkshire, for girls aged 11–18. Entrance is selective, and the school has an enrollment of 559. The '' Good Schools Guide'' described Downe House ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

. She had a twin brother called David and two older sisters.

Conscientious objection and the Friends Ambulance Unit

In 1940, following the outbreak of 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 ...

, she left her PPE studies at

Somerville College, Oxford Somerville College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It was founded in 1879 as Somerville Hall, one of its first two women's colleges. It began admitting men in 1994. The colle ...

to attend a nursing course run by

Lady Louis Mountbatten Edwina Cynthia Annette Mountbatten, Countess Mountbatten of Burma (' Ashley; 28 November 1901 – 21 February 1960), was an English heiress, socialite, relief worker and the last vicereine of India as the wife of (the then) Rear Admiral The 1st ...

. She was subsequently posted to a hospital in Weston-super-Mare for six months. After leaving Weston-super-Mare, she received a letter from her friend Michael Watson telling her about the

Friends Ambulance Unit The Friends' Ambulance Unit (FAU) was a volunteer ambulance service, founded by individual members of the British Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), in line with their Peace Testimony. The FAU operated from 1914 to 1919, 1939 to 1946 and ...

(FAU), and she began to work with them, becoming one of the unit's first female members. She stayed at the London Hospital Students' Hostel on

Whitechapel Road Whitechapel Road is a major arterial road in Whitechapel, Tower Hamlets, in the East End of London. It is named after a small chapel of ease dedicated to St Mary and connects Whitechapel High Street to the west with Mile End Road to the east ...

with 180 men and only one other woman and worked in the East End throughout

the Blitz The Blitz (English: "flash") was a Nazi Germany, German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom, for eight months, from 7 September 1940 to 11 May 1941, during the Second World War. Towards the end of the Battle of Britain in 1940, a co ...

, distributing first aid, food and drink. She also volunteered to participate in medical experiments, including being bitten by potentially malaria-carrying mosquitos. After hearing about the experiences of both her parents in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, she was anti-military and was tried by a

conscientious objector A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of conscience or religion. The term has also been extended to objecting to working for the military–indu ...

tribunal where she was directed to continue her work with the FAU. Her father attended as a witness to the sincerity of her beliefs. When the Blitz ended in 1941, she became a secretary in the FAU headquarters in London. She then was sent to

Khatatba Khatatba is a town in the Monufia Governorate in Lower Egypt, 43 kilometers north of the Egyptian capital Cairo. It is just above the Khatatba Canal which branches off the Nile River. History Historically, the town served the role of a departure p ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, where she worked in a camp for 6,000 Yugoslavian refugees, distributing clothes and running literacy classes. In order to overcome the language difficulties her team faced she learnt

Serbo-Croatian Serbo-Croatian ( / ), also known as Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS), is a South Slavic language and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro. It is a pluricentric language with four mutually i ...

. After eight months workers from

UNRRA United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA, pronounced ) was an international relief agency founded in November 1943 on the joint initiative of the United States, United Kingdom, USSR, and the Republic of China. Its purpose ...

began to arrive to take over running the camp, including doctor Kenneth Sinclair-Loutit who Sinclair-Loutit later married. Sinclair-Loutit was the only female member of the FAU to work in

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

. She was seconded to the Health Division of UNRRA in Belgrade in 1945 and worked with them for three months before rejoining the FAU in

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enter ...

. After passing her army truck maintenance test she drove medical supplies from American

Liberty ship Liberty ships were a ship class, class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Although British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost cons ...

s to

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

. In 1946 she returned to England and married Kenneth Sinclair-Loutit. She worked for the

British Red Cross The British Red Cross Society () is the United Kingdom body of the worldwide neutral and impartial humanitarian network the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The society was formed in 1870, and is a registered charity with 1 ...

Tracing Service at

St James's Street St James's Street is the principal street in the district of St James's, central London. It runs from Piccadilly downhill to St James's Palace and Pall Mall. The main gatehouse of the Palace is at the southern end of the road; in the 17th centu ...

, trying to unite families who had been split up by the war.

Later life

The Sinclair-Loutits had three children and lived in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

, where Kenneth was stationed working as an adviser to

UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...

, before moving back to London in 1972. Sinclair-Loutit settled in

Islington Islington ( ) is an inner-city area of north London, England, within the wider London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's #Islington High Street, High Street to Highbury Fields ...

, qualified as a psychiatric social worker at the

Polytechnic of North London The University of North London (UNL) was a university in London, England, formed from the Polytechnic of North London (PNL) in 1992 when that institution was granted university status. PNL, in turn, had been formed by the amalgamation of the No ...

and worked in north-London hospitals. After her retirement she wrote for the

Islington Gazette The ''Islington Gazette'' is a weekly paid-for newspaper covering the borough of Islington in north London, England. It was established as the ''Daily Gazette'' in 1856, publishing twice weekly from 1926. It was owned by Independent News & Media ...

and the

Tribune Tribune () was the title of various elected officials in ancient Rome. The two most important were the Tribune of the Plebs, tribunes of the plebs and the military tribunes. For most of Roman history, a college of ten tribunes of the plebs ac ...

, helped found the Islington Pensioners Forum and campaigned against the closure of her local A&E and against the production of nuclear weapons at Aldermaston. She died whilst on holiday in France in 2016.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sinclair-Loutit, Angela 1921 births 2016 deaths English pacifists English women activists 20th-century English women 20th-century English people English anti-war activists English social justice activists People educated at Downe House School Alumni of Somerville College, Oxford People from Kensington Nurses from London