Pery, Angela Olivia (1897–1981)
Pery, Angela Olivia (1897–1981)
Countess of Limerick and leader of the British and International Red Cross movements. Born Angela Olivia Trotter in 1897; died in 1981; daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Henry Trotter; attended North Foreland Lodge, Broadstairs; awarded diploma in social science and administration from London School of Economics; married Edmund Colquhoun Pery ("Mark"), 5th earl of Limerick, in 1926.
Angela Olivia Pery began her long career with the Red Cross during the First World War, serving as an ambulance driver from 1914 to 1918. In 1928, married and having completed her education, she began serving in the London branch of the British Red Cross Society, working her way up its president in 1939. She was deputy chair of the Joint War Organization, Red Cross, and St. John from 1941 to 1947, and vice-chair of the executive committee of the British Red Cross Society from 1946 to 1963. She also served variously as vice chair of the League of Red Cross Societies (1957–73) and chair of the supreme coordinating committee of the International Red Cross (1965–73). Pery was active in a number of other welfare organizations. In addition to honorary degrees from Manchester and Leeds universities, she was awarded a CBE (1942), DBE (1946), GBE (1954), and CH (1974).