from Commander to Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE). In 1947 she was promoted from director to President of the British Red Cross Society in London. In January 1953 she was appointed a Dame of The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem and in the same year, Pathe News reported on her visit to the Red Cross in Malaya. In 1954, she was elevated to Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE). In 1974 she was given the Order of the Companions of Honour. After the war and until 1963, Pery ran the international part of the British Red Cross' operation. She visited 26 other Red Cross societies and this base assisted her in becoming vice chair of the League of Red Cross Societies from 1957 to 1973. In 1965 she became chair of the International Red Cross which she served for two four-year terms. She stood down in 1976. Meanwhile, in 1974 she became Chairman of the Council of the British Red Cross Society, succeeding the Duke of Edinburgh. She was subsequently made a vice-president of the Society on her retirement in 1976, becoming non-royal to serve in that capacity; her appointment was cleared with Queen Elizabeth. Her GBE in 1954 & her CH in 1974 were matched by her husband Lord Limerick's GBE in 1954 & his CH in 1960. They are the only married couple in British history both awarded these two top honours, and even to both hold the GBE. Also - until Lady Antonia Fraser's 2017 CH matched her Nobel Literature Laureate husband Harold Pinter's 2008 CH - the only married couple both awarded the CH. Angela, Countess of Limerick, died in 1981. Family Pery had three children: Lady Anne Patricia Pery was born in 1928. She would later marry the physics lecturer Sir Peter Francis Thorne. Patrick Edmund, Viscount Glentworth was born in 1930. Hon. Michael Henry Colquhoun Pery was born in 1937. The 5th Earl of Limerick Lord Limerick died by his own hand in 1967, having braved excruciating & then incurable arthritis for many years. His titles were inherited by his elder son, Patrick, who died in 2003. References 1897 births 1981 deaths People from Folkestone Deputy Lieutenants of West Sussex Limerick Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Dames Grand Cross of the Order of the