Year 6 Artwork Features in the Heroes of the Commonwealth Exhibition

During their Art lessons with Mr Willison, Year 6 pupils have had the privilege to focus on and discover the life of Lilian Bader, and in doing so, contribute to the recent Heroes of the Commonwealth exhibition at 44AD Artspace, in Bath, which celebrated extraordinary service people.  After speaking with her family and researching her life, the children learnt, amongst other things, that Lilian Bader had a lust for life, was always smiling and never gave up. Creating portraits of her was a joy, especially as the intention was to turn them into paper airplanes which not only gives a nod to her commitment to the RAF, but also her ability to use her hands to make and repair. 
 
The work is set in a black painted female symbol which plays tribute to her as a woman and a person of mixed race. The aim of the piece was to acknowledge Lillian as a woman who had strength, determination and was more than one dimensional. It also acknowledges her commitment to the commonwealth, her family and the RAF.

The exhibition was a collaborative initiative of Remembrance between The Royal Commonwealth Society, Bath and District branch, 44AD Artspace, the University of Bath and 11 other local schools.

Mr Willison, Art teacher

About Lilian Bader

Lilian Bader (née Bailey) was born in Liverpool on 18 February 1917. Her father was a Barbadian who had served in the Royal Navy and her mother was Irish. Orphaned at the age of nine, Lilian was brought up in a convent. With the outbreak of war in 1939, she worked briefly in a Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes (NAAFI) canteen, but was forced to leave because she was black.

On 28 March 1941, Lilian Bader volunteered to join the WAAF and chose to train as an Instrument Repairer. During her training, she received the news that her brother Jim, who was serving in the Merchant Navy, had been killed at sea. She nevertheless passed her course ‘First Class’, becoming one of the first women in the air force to qualify in that trade. Posted to RAF Shawbury, Lilian worked long hours checking for faults in the instruments of the aircraft based there. She was good at her job and was promoted to Acting Corporal.

In 1943, Lilian met and married Ramsay Bader, a Black tank driver. She fell pregnant and was discharged from the WAAF in February 1944. After the war, Lilian studied for a degree at London University and became a teacher. Her younger son flew helicopters in the Royal Navy and later became an airline pilot.