Was Eileen first Lady President?

WHILE reading England’s Hall of Fame listing on World Rugby’s website I came across the entry for Gillian Burns.

Among the items which comprise her impressive career was one stating that as president of Waterloo in 2004 she was the first woman to be so honoured by an English rugby club.

Assuming the date is not a misprint, it is later than the appointment of Mrs Eileen Shepherd who held office at Percy Park RFC from the summer of 2000 until the summer of 2004. Is there a reader who can inform us of an earlier lady president of an English rugby club?