Attracta Genevieve Rewcastle (née Candon, 1897 – 18 February 1951) was a doctor, politician, and the first female Commissioned Officer in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

. Born in

County Roscommon "Steadfast Irish heart" , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Roscommon.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Connacht , subdi ...

, Ireland, Rewcastle attended

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

where she studied medicine. After working as an Assistant Schools Medical Officer in Sheffield, she went on to a position at

Great Ormond Street Hospital Great Ormond Street Hospital (informally GOSH or Great Ormond Street, formerly the Hospital for Sick Children) is a children's hospital located in the Bloomsbury area of the London Borough of Camden, and a part of Great Ormond Street Hospi ...

, as well as working in Private Practice. She joined the WRNS in 1940, and took up a position at the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Tra ...

as the Medical Superintendent of the WRNS. As a Doctor in the WRNS, she was paid less than her male counterparts in the Royal Navy; the Medical Women's Federation objected to this, on the grounds that male and female Doctors were paid equally elsewhere. As a result, Rewcastle was appointed to the Relative Rank of Surgeon-Lieutenant in the

Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, ...

in the summer of 1940, and on 5 December 1941, she was made Temporary Acting Surgeon Lieutenant. She was promoted to Temporary Acting Surgeon Lieutenant-Commander in 1943, and Temporary Surgeon Lieutenant-Commander in 1945. She was released (Class A) in 1946. After the war, Rewcastle served as a

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

Councillor on Westminster Borough Council, and ran unsuccessfully as the Conservative candidate for St Pancras North at the

1949 London County Council election An election to the County Council of London took place on 7 April 1949. The council was elected by First Past the Post with each elector having three votes in the three-member seats. The Conservative Party made substantial gains, achieving the ...

, and

Willesden West Willesden West was a constituency in Middlesex adjoining the County of London and forming part of the London conurbation, in London itself from 1965. It returned one member to the House of Commons of the UK Parliament 1918–1974. The outco ...

at the 1950 United Kingdom general election. In 1926, she married

Cuthbert Snowball Rewcastle Cuthbert Snowball Rewcastle (21 February 1888 – 8 June 1962), was a British judge and Liberal Party politician. Background He was born the son of Cuthbert Rewcastle JP. He was educated at Rugby School and Trinity College, Cambridge. In 1918 h ...

, a barrister and former Liberal politician, later to become a QC and judge. They had three children. Her son, Sub-Lieutenant Anthony Giles Candon Rewcastle, was lost with the submarine

HMS Affray HMS ''Affray'' was a British ''Amphion''-class submarine. It was the last Royal Navy submarine to be lost at sea, on 16 April 1951, with the loss of 75 lives. ''Affray'' was built in the closing stages of the Second World War. She was one o ...

in 1951, the last Royal Navy submarine to be lost at sea. Her daughter,

Rosalind Maskell Rosalind Mary Maskell (née Rewcastle; 12 June 1928 – 7 September 2016) was an English microbiologist known for her work on urinary tract infections. Biography Maskell was born in London in 1928 to Cuthbert Snowball Rewcastle, a judge, and Attra ...

, was a prominent

microbiologist A microbiologist (from Greek ) is a scientist who studies microscopic life forms and processes. This includes study of the growth, interactions and characteristics of microscopic organisms such as bacteria, algae, fungi, and some types of par ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rewcastle, Attracta 1897 births 1951 deaths 20th-century British medical doctors Women councillors in England Royal Navy officers Conservative Party (UK) councillors People from County Roscommon Alumni of University College Dublin Conservative Party (UK) parliamentary candidates 20th-century Irish medical doctors 20th-century British women politicians