Nancy Robertson (WRNS officer)

Commandant Dame Nancy Margaret Robertson, (1 March 1909 – 26 December 2000) was a senior British Royal Navy officer. From 1954 to 1958, she served as Director of the Women's Royal Naval Service.

Early life
Robertson was born on 1 March 1909 to The Revd William Cowper Robertson and his wife Jessie Katharine Robertson (née McGregor). She was educated at Esdaile School in Edinburgh. From 1928 to 1939, having left school, she worked as a secretary in Paris and London.

Military career
In 1939, Robertson joined the Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS). During the Second World War, she served as a chief officer (equivalent in rank to commander) at the headquarters of the Commander-in-Chief, Western Approaches in Liverpool, England, and also on the staff of the Flag Officer Ceylon.

After the war, she served as the senior WRNS officer at Royal Naval Dockyard Rosyth, and the Assistant Director of WRNS with responsibility for welfare. Having been promoted to superintendent (equivalent to captain), she served as Superintendent (Air) and Superintendent (Training). In 1954, she was appointed Director of the Women's Royal Naval Service and promoted to commandant (equivalent to commodore). She retired from the military in 1958.

Honours
In the 1946 King's Birthday Honours, Robertson was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). In the 1953 Coronation Honours, she was promoted to Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). In the 1957 New Year Honours, she was promoted to Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) and therefore granted the title dame.