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Dame Hilda Louisa Bynoe, DBE (''
née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...
'' Gibbs; 18 November 1921 – 6 April 2013) was the Governor of Grenada between 1968 and 1974. A doctor and hospital administrator, Bynoe was, so far, the only woman to have been a governor of one of the British Dependencies, Hilda Bynoe was the first woman Governor of a
Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the British Commonwealth or simply the Commonwealth, is an International organization, international association of member states of the Commonwealth of Nations, 56 member states, the vast majo ...
country, becoming Governor of Grenada, Cariacou and Petit Martinique. She spent most of her adult life as a teacher and doctor of medicine in
Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...
.


Early life and career

Born in Crochu,
Grenada Grenada is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean Sea. The southernmost of the Windward Islands, Grenada is directly south of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and about north of Trinidad and Tobago, Trinidad and the So ...
,
West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...
, Bynoe was educated at the village school, where her father, Thomas Joseph Gibbs, was headmaster and where her mother, sister and aunts had at one time or the other been teachers, and at St. Joseph's Convent, the island's only Roman Catholic Secondary School for girls. The first few years of adulthood were spent as a teacher at the Convent of St. Joseph in
San Fernando, Trinidad San Fernando, officially the City of San Fernando, is the most populous city and second most populous municipality in Trinidad and Tobago, after Chaguanas. Sando, as it is known to many local Trinidadians, occupies 19 km2 and is located in t ...
, and later at Bishop Anstey High School in
Port of Spain, Trinidad Port of Spain ( ; Trinidadian English: ''Port ah Spain'' ) is the capital and chief port of Trinidad and Tobago. With a municipal population of 49,867 (2017), an urban population of 81,142 and a transient daily population of 250,000, it is Trini ...
, as a science student. In 1944 she left for Europe to study Medicine and graduated from the
University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...
's
Royal Free Hospital The Royal Free Hospital (also known as the Royal Free) is a major teaching hospital in the Hampstead area of the London Borough of Camden. The hospital is part of the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, which also runs services at Barnet Ho ...
, then the
London School of Medicine for Women The London School of Medicine for Women (LSMW) established in 1874 was the first medical school in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Britain to train women as doctors. The patrons, vice-presidents, and members of the committee that supp ...
, in 1951.


Governor of Grenada

In June 1968, she was appointed Governor of Grenada, the first woman governor in the British Commonwealth and the first Grenada native to occupy the post. She was appointed a
Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
by
Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
in 1969. In January 1974, following demonstrations calling for her resignation, Bynoe made a speech over the radio calling for public support. The Prime Minister,
Eric Gairy Sir Eric Matthew Gairy PC (18 February 192223 August 1997) was the first Prime Minister of Grenada, serving from his country's independence in 1974 until his overthrow in a coup by Maurice Bishop in 1979. Gairy also served as head of governmen ...
, advised the Queen to dismiss Bynoe, accusing Bynoe of attempting to undermine the Premier's authority to recommend the appointment and dismissal of governors. Bynoe then requested permission to retire from the Queen, which was granted.


Personal life

Hilda Bynoe met and married Peter Cecil Alexander Bynoe, a Trinidadian RAF Officer; they had two sons, Roland and Michael. The Bynoe family returned to the West Indies in 1953 and Hilda Bynoe served in
Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...
and Trinidad for the next fifteen years. In 1990, she retired to continue her writing and to assist in the care of her granddaughters Olukemi and Nandi. She continued as Patroness of several organizations, including the Caribbean College of Family Physicians, the John Hayes Memorial Kidney Foundation and the Caribbean Women’s Association. She died, aged 91, in Trinidad.


References


Further reading

* * Merle Collins
''The Governor's Story: The authorised biography of Dame Hilda Bynoe''
Peepal Tree Press, 2013.


External links




Biodata
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bynoe, Hilda 1921 births 2013 deaths Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Grenadian medical doctors Governors of British Grenada Grenadian Roman Catholics Alumni of the University of London British women medical doctors Alumni of the London School of Medicine for Women Caribbean women physicians 20th-century Grenadian women politicians 20th-century Grenadian politicians 20th-century women physicians People from Saint Andrew Parish, Grenada Grenadian expatriates in Trinidad and Tobago Grenadian expatriates in the United Kingdom People educated at St. Joseph's Convent, Port of Spain