From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Winifred Collins
Winifred Collins
Winifred Collins sonnel Administration. In 1938, she was one of five who
graduated from the first course.[3]
Born November 26, 1911(1911-11-26)
Great Falls, Montana
Died May 5, 1999(1999-05-05) (aged 87)
Military career
Hospice of Northern Virginia Dr. Ada Comstock, the President of Radcliffe College
Place of burial Arlington National Cemetery when Collins was educated there, sat on a committee that
was looking into the idea of recruiting women into the
Allegiance United States of America US Navy. She contacted Collins in June 1942 with a sug-
Service/branch United States Navy gestion that she might apply for a commission. On August
4 of that year, Collins graduated from the first female
Years of service 1942–1962
commissioning class held at Smith College, Northamp-
Rank Captain ton, Massachusetts and was commissioned with the rank
of Ensign on August 28, 1942.[1]
Battles/wars World War II
After the month long training at Smith College,[2] the
Awards Bronze Star medal Commanding Officer of the Naval Officer School, Captain
Legion of Merit Underwood, requested that she would stay on as the Per-
sonnel Director.[1] Two months later,[2] she was promot-
Winifred ’Quick’ Collins (November 26, 1911 – May 5, ed to Lieutenant (junior grade).[1] Her next assignment
1999) was Chief of Naval Personnel for Women in the was in the summer of 1943;[1] she was sent to the Bureau
United States Navy,[1] and Director of the WAVES of Naval Personnel in Washington DC. She was one of
(Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) twelve Naval officers tasked with the evaluation of the
from 1957 to 1962. jobs the WAVES could do within the Navy as a whole, and
the skills they would require to do them.[2]
Early life In late 1944, the now Lieutenant[1] Collins was the
first female non-medical officer to serve outside the Con-
She was born Winifred Mary Redden, in Great Falls, Mon- tinental United States when she was sent to Hawaii[1] as
tana, United States. She was the third child of four of the District Personnel Officer. She organised accommo-
Daniel A. Redden and Mary Winifred Redden (maiden dation for 5,000 WAVES who were going to be posted
name Farrell).[2] When Collins was 10 years old, her fami- there[2] in January 1945.[1] At the end of World War II,
ly moved to Missoula, Montana to run a hotel. A year lat- Collins was tasked with the demobilization of the WAVES
er her parents divorced. When she was 11, she contract- and their reintroduction into civilian life. For this, she
ed a mild case of polio, but fully recovered without suf- was promoted to Lieutenant Commander, and was
fering a lasting disability.[1][2] Soon after this her mother awarded the Bronze Star Medal.[2]
abandoned her, and she spent the next few years living In 1946, Collins returned to Washington DC and
with relatives in various locations. After attending High helped plan the eventual inclusion of females into the
School in four different states, Collins graduated in Navy;[2] this led to the 1948 Women’s Armed Forces Integra-
1929[2] while living Seattle with one of her brothers.[1] tion Act.[1] On October 15, 1948,[4] the first female Com-
In 1930 she received a scholarship from the Brunswig missioned Officers of the United States Navy were sworn
Drug Corporation to attend the University of Southern in; Collins was one of them. In 1951, she was then sent
California.[2] She graduated with a Major in business, in to Stanford University by the Navy for post graduate ed-
1935.[1][2] It was in 1935 that she married her first hus- ucation and graduated in 1952 with a Master of Educa-
band Roy Quick. Also in that year, Collins got a job as the tion. She then became the Assistant Director of Naval
Personnel manager of Brunswig Drug Corporation.[2] She Personnel[2] for the 12th Naval District;[1] the area of the
recommended a number of changes to the President of US comprising Nevada, Utah, and Northern California.
the company; she suggested that the employees should In 1953 she was promoted to Commander; one of only
be paid according to their performance and job type, re- two female Commanders in the entire US Navy. Between
gardless of gender. Because of the subsequent improve- 1953 and 1956, Collins was Personnel Director of the 12th
ment in productivity Collins was financed, in 1937, to Naval District, and commanded 350 Navy personnel. This
attend the Harvard-Radcliffe[1] Training Course in Per-
1
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Winifred Collins
was the highest post ever held by a female Officer in the brought them recognition and reflected credit on
Navy.[2] women in the naval service.[7]
Her next post was to London, United Kingdom as Se-
nior Assistant to the Commander in Chief of Naval Forces
(Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean). Returning to the
See also
United States in the summer of 1957 she was appointed • List of individuals buried at Arlington National
Chief of Naval Personnel for Women and promoted to the Cemetery
rank of Captain. She was the only female Captain, making
her the most senior women in the Navy,[2] until she re-
tired from service on August 31, 1962.[1]
References
[1] ^ "Winifred Quick Collins". Arlington National
Cemetery website.
Later life and death http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/wcollins.htm.
Upon retirement of from the navy, Collins became the Retrieved 14 March 2010.
first female director of the Military Officers Association [2] ^ "Collins, Winifred Quick, 1911-. Papers,
of America in 1964, and the first female National Vice ca.1913-2000 (inclusive), 1937-1999 (bulk)".
President of the Navy League of the United States in Harvard University Library. March 2007.
1965,[1] and was later the Director.[5] The Navy League http://oasis.lib.harvard.edu/oasis/deliver/
have an award named after her; the Captain Winifred Quick ~sch00379. Retrieved 20 March 2010.
Collins Award. In 1977, she was elected as the first female [3] "GUIDE TO ARCHIVAL COLLECTIONS". Harvard -
director of Corn Products International, a global con- Baker library. http://www.library.hbs.edu/hc/
sumer food products operation.[1] Further Navy related daring/research_links/. Retrieved 22 March 2010.
roles she filled include; the first female trustee of the [4] C. Peter Chen. "WAVES: Women in the WW2 US
United States Naval Academy Foundation, in 1977; the Navy". http://ww2db.com/other.php?other_id=24.
first women named in the Navy League’s Hall of Fame in Retrieved 27 March 2010.
1990.[2] [5] Captain Barbara A. Wilson, USAF (Ret).
Collins died at the Hospice of Northern Virginia on "ACCOMPLISHED WOMEN BURIED AT ARLINGTON
May 5, 1999 after suffering from spinal cancer. She was NATIONAL CEMETERY".
buried on May 25, 1999, in section 3 of the Arlington Na- http://userpages.aug.com/captbarb/
tional Cemetery.[1] arlington.html. Retrieved 27 March 2010.
[6] "Howard Lyman Collins". Arlington National
Cemetery Website. 20 August 2006.
Personal life http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/hlcollins.htm.
Collins was married twice. She was married after she Retrieved 29 March 2010.
graduated from college to Roy T. Quick.[1] Their marriage [7] ^ "NAVY LEAGUE OF THE UNITED STATES Awards
lasted from 1937 to 1941 when they divorced.[2] In Manual". NAVY LEAGUE OF THE UNITED STATES.
1961,[1] she married Rear Admiral Howard Lyman Collins. http://www.navyleague.org/councils/
From her second marriage she had two step-sons; awards_manual.pdf. Retrieved 22 March 2010.
Howard Lyman Collins, Jr., and John Collins.[2] Her sec-
ond husband died in 1984 and is buried in Arlington
Cemetery.[6]
Further reading
• Collins, Winifred Quick, Captain, U.S. Navy (Retired)
with Herbert M. Levine (1997). More Than A Uniform: A
The Captain Winifred Quick Navy Woman in a Navy Man’s World. Denton, TX:
Collins award University of North Texas Press. ISBN 1-57441-022-9.
Persondata
This award is awarded by the Navy League in honour of
Collins. It has been presented since 1973 to one female Name Collins, Winifred
officer and one female enlisted member of the United Alternative names Redden, Winifred Mary
States Navy, per year.[7] The Captain Winifred Quick Short description
Collins Award:
Date of birth November 26, 1911
is awarded to a woman officer and an enlisted Place of birth Great Falls, Montana
woman whose exceptional leadership and perfor- Date of death May 5, 1999
mance in their military duties have been accom-
Place of death Hospice of Northern Virginia
plished by outstanding contributions that have
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Winifred Collins
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Winifred_Collins&oldid=438149214"
Categories:
• United States Navy officers
• Women in the United States Navy
• Women in World War II
• Recipients of the Bronze Star Medal
• Recipients of the Legion of Merit
• 1911 births
• 1999 deaths
• University of Southern California alumni
• Radcliffe College alumni
• Burials at Arlington National Cemetery
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