Jean Cameron

Jean Cameron (b. 1920 and in the Kirriemuir town community art project, Signs of Change.

Background During World War II, women took on roles previously dominated by men, in the United Kingdom. This included serving what was then called the General Post Office, now Royal Mail. Jean Cameron, the postwoman who served in Glen Clova, a rural area, had asked to wear trousers. In 1941 she had persuaded the management that the official uniform be changed for the first time, to allow postwomen to wear a skirt or trousers. Within two months of the option being available, 500 pairs were ordered, by November 1943, 14,000 pairs of what had become known as 'Camerons' had been issued, then all 16,000 postwomen were sent a pair of the trousers.

A war-time newsreel titled 'Mail and the Female. A Highland Postie Starts a Fashion ' showed postbags of trousers being delivered to all 16,000 female posties. It includes scenes of Cameron travelling through snow by bicycle, and then crossing a river on foot, in her trouser uniform. It also showed the postwomen in their 'Camerons', starting their mail round in bomb-damaged London. It included a re-enactment of a phone-call between Cameron and the District Postmaster, when he asks what skirt size she needs for her uniform, Cameron replies that she would 'prefer trousers', in Scots 'breeks'. and highlighted the importance of post in wartime, including a minister whose son was a prisoner of war, or remote farmers relying on the 'postie' for newspaper & shopping. and were quickly popular with female staff.

Commemoration In 2016-17, Cameron was celebrated as one of the Scots who 'helped shape the 500-year history of the Royal Mail'.

As part of a community art project in Kirriemuir, Cameron was chosen as one of the 'trailblazers' to be commemorated.