Violet Douglas - Pennant Commandant the Honourable Violet Blanche Douglas - Pennant ( 31 January 1869 – 12 October 1945 ) was a British philanthropist and supporter of local government who served as the second commandant of the Women ' s Royal Air Force ( WRAF ) until her dismissal in August 1918 . Born into the aristocracy , Douglas - Pennant became interested in youth clubs for girls which led her to charity work with the unemployed and with disabled children . Working with the Workers ' Educational Association led her to become involved in the establishment and reform of local government , and she eventually became a member of the London County Council Education Committee . After the establishment of the WRAF in 1918 she was suggested as a potential Commandant due to her experience in reform and management . She agreed to spend a month " looking round " the camp , and was so unhappy that she repeatedly tried to resign . Following her dismissal on 28 August 1918 by Lord Weir she wrote to several important political figures such as Winston Churchill asking for a judicial inquiry into her dismissal , claiming that it was part of an attempt by other senior WRAF officers to " cover up rife immorality " at WRAF bases . Lord Stanhope proposed establishing the Select Committee of the House of Lords on the Women ' s Royal Air Force to investigate any immorality . His proposal passed , and the Committee began its work on 14 October 1918 . The Committee found that there was no evidence to back up Douglas - Pennant ' s accusations , and she was later sued for libel by two of the senior WRAF officers for comments she had made before and during the Select Committee ' s hearings . Douglas - Pennant was never again employed by the government , and spent the following decades attempting to clear her name before her death on 12 October 1945 . Early life and work . Violet Douglas - Pennant was the sixth child of George Douglas - Pennant , 2nd Baron Penrhyn and his first wife Penella Blanche , who died five days after Violet ' s birth . After a normal upbringing she became involved in philanthropic work with girls youth club s , which led her into working with the poor , unemployed , uneducated and disabled in London . As a result of her work with the uneducated and unemployed she served on the board of governors for various schools , and eventually became a member of the Borough of Finsbury unemployment committee . Her involvement with the Workers ' Educational Association led her to work on other local government committees and eventually the London County Council Education Committee . She also served as a governor of the University College of South Wales and a member of the Conservative and Unionist Women ' s Franchise Association ( although she was not a suffragette herself ) . In 1911 she was made National Health Insurance Commissioner for South Wales , and became a Lady - in - Waiting to Princess Louise , Duchess of Argyll . As National Insurance Commissioner she was paid £1000 a year ; a massive amount for a woman , and the highest salary of any woman in Britain at the time . In 1914 she helped fund a 500 - bed hospital in Belgium , and as a Lady - in - Waiting accompanied Louise on visits to Red Cross facilities during the First World War . She helped organise the Scottish Women ' s Hospital Unit , although she was not one of the 81 women sent to Russia to assist Serbian soldiers . WRAF . Douglas - Pennant had previously done work for Queen Mary ' s Army Auxiliary Corps and the Women ' s Royal Naval Service ; as such she was a natural choice for Commandant of the WRAF when it was formed in 1918 . She agreed to spend a month " looking round " the WRAF , and her experiences during that month led her to decline the appointment . She found that although she was responsible for 14 , 000 WRAF members in 500 camps there were only 70 officers , and the existing training facilities were only managing to train 25 new officers every three weeks . There were also problems with shortages of various pieces of equipment , including uniforms and medical tools , and many of the WRAF members were living in poor quality accommodation . There were also various small personal problems , which irritated and frustrated her . Her office was a small , dark room on the top floor of the Hotel Cecil next to a men ' s lavatory , and there was so little furniture that she was forced to keep her papers and files on the floor . In addition she was not given an Air Ministry pass , meaning that every time she entered the building she was forced to fill in a form before being escorted to her office " presumably to call on myself " . As a result of these difficulties she officially declined the appointment in a letter to Godfrey Paine on 11 June 1918 , saying that " I am very sorry to be obliged to decline the appointment of Commandant " , Despite this she was convinced to stay on , and her appointment was confirmed on 18 June . The situation did not improve , however ; there were still problems with training and equipment , five of her secretaries resigned , and her deputies all left at once . Despite these problems she attempted to improve the WRAF , recruiting friends to help with the paperwork and using her contacts from her time in local government to " borrow " Eltham Teacher Training College during the summer holiday , where she trained 450 new officers . In protest at the irregularities and problems she tried to resign twice ; both of these resignations were blocked by Godfrey Paine , who assured her that she had his full support . By this point the Air Ministry were getting frustrated with the WRAF , and Sir William Weir commissioned Lady Margaret Rhondda to write a full report on the state of the WRAF . The report was highly critical of Douglas - Pennant ' s performance as Commandant , and Weir ordered Paine ' s replacement , Sefton Brancker , to remove Douglas - Pennant . She was dismissed without prior warning on 28 August 1918 and replaced by Helen Gwynne - Vaughan . Her dismissal was looked upon unfavourably by politicians and trade unionists , and Lord Ampthill , Jimmy Thomas and Mary Reid Macarthur wrote a letter to " The Daily Telegraph " complaining about Weir ' s conduct . Select Committee . Douglas - Pennant claimed she had been dismissed in an attempt by several senior officers , including Colonel Bersey , the commander of the WRAF supplies unit , General Livingston , the deputy head of the personnel department and Mrs Beatty , the Assistant Commandant of the WRAF , to cover up " rife immorality " in WRAF camps by getting rid of the only officer " too straight for them to work with " . She claimed that this immorality had been occurring particularly at a motor training camp called Hurst Park , where the camp commander Colonel Sam Janson had been discovered sleeping with one of the WRAF officers . Following her dismissal , Douglas - Pennant wrote to several important politicians including Winston Churchill asking for a judicial enquiry , and when this request was turned down Lord Stanhope proposed a government enquiry in the House of Lords , saying that the government had turned down Douglas - Pennant ' s request for a judicial enquiry because " His Majesty ' s Government fear the scandals which will come to light when this inquiry is held " , and that her dismissal was contrary to the law . Stanhope ' s proposal passed , and the five - member Select Committee of the House of Lords on the Women ' s Royal Air Force was formed . The Committee was led by Lord Wrenbury , with the other four members being the Earl of Kintore , the Earl of Denbigh , Lord Methuen and Lord Farrer . The Committee began its work on 14 October 1918 , and sat for three weeks . Douglas - Pennant was represented by Anthony Hawke KC and Stewart Bevan KC , while the Air Ministry was represented by the Attorney General , Lord Hewart , and Rigby Swift KC . Colonel Bersey was represented by Patrick Hastings KC and Colonel Janson by Henry Curtis - Bennett KC . Douglas - Pennant was unable to produce any evidence of the " rife immorality " that she had accused several officers of , and after three weeks the committee dismissed all witnesses . The final report was produced in December 1919 , and found that Douglas - Pennant had been completely unable to substantiate her claims and was deserving " of the gravest censure " . Later life . As a result of the Select Committee ' s findings Douglas - Pennant was never again employed by the government , and spent the rest of her life attempting to clear her name . The Committee ' s decision led two of the parties ( Colonels Janson and Bersey ) to sue her for libel , and both cases were successful , forcing her to pay " substantial " damages . She died on 12 October 1945 .