Sibyl Mary Hathaway

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Dame Sibyl Mary Hathaway, DBE (13 January 1884 - 14 July 1974) was the 21st Dame of Sark from 1927 to 1940, and again from 1945 to 1974 (Dame is the title of a female holder of a Seigneurie). She was appointed DBE in 1965.

She inherited the title when her father died on 14 June 1927, and acquired the name Hathaway upon her second marriage, to the American-born Robert Hathaway, in 1929. Her tenure as Seigneur was interrupted by the German occupation of the Channel Islands in World War II from 3 July 1940 until 8 May 1945. Hathaway did not evacuate during the German occupation, and prevailed upon all 471 Sark inhabitants to remain on the island as well. She was much respected by the islanders for the leadership she gave during this period, and the British Home Secretary observed that she remained 'almost wholly mistress of the situation' throughout the occupation. For the week of 10–17 May 1945, following liberation, she was left in command of the German garrison on her island.^[1]

Hathaway commissioned the design of the flag of Sark in 1938.^{[citation needed]} It was also her decision that no cars be allowed on Sark, a rule that continues to the present.

Her autobiography, Dame of Sark, was published in 1961, and she is the subject of the play The Dame of Sark, written by William Douglas-Home, which was based on the experience of the German occupation. Upon her death, aged 90, the Seigneurship passed to her grandson, John Michael Beaumont.

[edit] References

1. ^ Cruickshank, Charles (1975). The German Occupation of the Channel Islands. 

Preceded by William Frederick Collings	Dame of Sark 1927–1940	Succeeded by German occupation
Preceded by German occupation	Dame of Sark 1945–1974	Succeeded by John Michael Beaumont