Joan Bartlett

Dame Joan Bartlett, S.S.I., O.B.E., D.S.G., (1 August 1911, Lancashire – 9 September 2002) was a prominent British convert to the Roman Catholic Church and the foundress of the Servite Secular Institute.

During World War II Bartlett worked in the European Broadcasting division of the BBC, and at night was a Commandant of the Red Cross.

In 1941, Bartlett converted to the Roman Catholic Church and became a tertiary of the Order of Servants of Mary. She opened a residential home for the elderly homeless, having been inspired by hearing Violet Markham speak at Caxton Hall about the plight of many elderly people who had been bombed out during The Blitz. Having already been accepted as a candidate to the Servite religious sisters, she was persuaded to delay her entry for this work by her spiritual director, a Servite friar.

The Servite Order lent Bartlett £8000 and the Air Raid Distress Fund of London another £3600 to help this project.