Pearl Marshall: Trini who made history as a black flight attendant
The memory of BWIA International Airways Corporation lives on in a social media group with a membership of over 100 former airline pursers and senior flight attendants.
Adamant that the beloved BWEE is too precious to fade away, the group has committed to spreading news about the dissolved carrier to the world of aviation.
These efforts received a boost when I came across evidence that one of our colleagues, Pearl Lydia Marshall (later Marshall-Beard), had been the world’s first flight attendant of African descent.
Unfortunately, Marshall’s accomplishment is not mentioned in academic journals or aviation history publications. The accolade of “world’s first black flight attendant” goes to a member of Cameroon’s royal family, Princess Leopoldine Emma Doualla Bell Smith, who in 1957 began training with a French/African airline – Union Aeromaritime de Transport/Union de Transports Aeriens. She later transferred to Air Afrique, where she became chief hostess.
Adamant that the beloved BWEE is too precious to fade away, the group has committed to spreading news about the dissolved carrier to the world of aviation.
These efforts received a boost when I came across evidence that one of our colleagues, Pearl Lydia Marshall (later Marshall-Beard), had been the world’s first flight attendant of African descent.
Unfortunately, Marshall’s accomplishment is not mentioned in academic journals or aviation history publications. The accolade of “world’s first black flight attendant” goes to a member of Cameroon’s royal family, Princess Leopoldine Emma Doualla Bell Smith, who in 1957 began training with a French/African airline – Union Aeromaritime de Transport/Union de Transports Aeriens. She later transferred to Air Afrique, where she became chief hostess.
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