Margaret Isobel Cooper

Margaret Isobel Cooper (12 October 1915 – 7 December 2015), later known as Peggy Skipwith, was a British military officer who was Chief Officer and deputy director of the Women's Royal Indian Naval Service (WRINS) during the Second World War.

Cooper was born in Shillong, British India, and sent to England at the age of five years, returning to India in 1934. In 1941, based in Quetta, she served the Women's Auxiliary Corps (India) (WAC(I). In 1943 she was appointed Lieutenant Colonel, the regional commander responsible for recruiting women in Indian naval offices. The role led to becoming the Chief Officer and Deputy Director of WRINS, appointed by Admiral John Henry Godfrey, then flag officer commanding the Royal Indian Navy (RIN). Together they planned an active campaign to recruit women from across British India for service in the RIN. She was also responsible for the welfare, training and housing of WRINS. In 1946, she returned to England and worked recruiting for MI6 until 1948.

Following the death of her second husband in 1981, she remained in Javea, Spain, and later made two return journeys to India in 2005 and 2013. She died in 2015 almost two months after her 100th birthday.

Early life

Margaret Cooper (née Perkin), affectionately known as Peggy, was born in Shillong to Sir Athol Owen Perkin, Inspector-general of police at Odissa, and his wife, Lady Marion. She had three younger siblings; one brother became squadron leader No. 9 Squadron RAF, another led the 19th Punjab regiment at the Battle of Wadi Akarit, and her sister Beryl joined the Intelligence Corps. Together they planned an active campaign to recruit women from across British India for service in the RIN. She explained that "as two-thirds of the women who enrolled were Indian, two styles of uniforms were developed, one consisting of a white sari with a blue border, to suit the graceful Indian girls, and, for the British and Anglo-Indians, an attractive uniform based on that of the Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS). For her wartime service she was appointed an OBE in 1946.

Later life

In 1946, Cooper left the naval service and rejoined her husband in England and worked recruiting for MI6 until 1948, when she moved to Austria.

Death

Cooper, then Peggy Skipwith, died on 7 December 2015, almost two months after her 100th birthday, and was survived by her sister, daughter, one daughter-in-law, one grandson, and a great-grandson.