We’re celebrating this International Women’s Day by taking a look back at historical influential women in Lighting. Specifically, Monica Maurice and Gwendolen Sergant.
Helen Monica Maurice
Image Source: Monica Maurice in 1939 © Wolf Safety Lamp Company
Helen Monica Maurice was an industrialist and Managing Director and Chairman of the Wolf Safety Lamp Company, Sheffield, which began as a mining and safety lamp manufacturer. After working for British intelligence in the aftermath of World War Two, Maurice rebuilt the company and its markets in the post-war years and over the decades diversified the business from old-fashioned mining lamps to targeting industrial markets with a safety lighting range.
In 1938, Maurice became the first, and for 40 years the only, woman member of the Association of Mining Electrical Engineers and was known as “the Lady of the Lamp” in the coal fields of Yorkshire.
Maurice also had a passion for cars and planes, and qualified as a pilot in early 1935, becoming the first woman in Sheffield to obtain the 'A' certificate of the Air Ministry.
Maurice was known for her high level of cleanliness in the lamp rooms - so much so that one staff member commented that whenever he heard an aeroplane above, he started polishing!
Maurice was awarded an OBE by HM The Queen in 1975, retired in 1992 and today Wolf Safety Lamp Co. is chaired by her son, with her grandsons also working at the company.
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monica_Maurice
https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/business/firm-thats-been-shining-light-100-years-1910138
Monica Maurice: Mine Lighting Engineer. The Woman Engineer. IV: 66–67. December 1935.
Gwendolen ‘Bunty’ Sergant
Image Source: https://www.magnificentwomen.co.uk/engineer-of-the-week/22-gwendolen-bunty-sergant
Gwendolen ‘Bunty’ Sergant was involved with her father’s agricultural works from an early age and immersed in various other engineering and related fields.
In 1948 she moved to the industrial design unit of Thorn Electrical Industries, to design fluorescent lighting, later taking a commission as an engineer in the Women’s Royal Army Corps and becoming President of the Women’s Engineering Society.
The Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) was formed in 1942 and has the responsibility for repairing and maintaining the British Army’s equipment. Joining the Army as part of an indispensable team such as REME enabled women like Sergant to qualify as Chartered Engineers, paving the way for women within the field in civilian roles.
Sources:
https://www.magnificentwomen.co.uk/engineer-of-the-week/22-gwendolen-bunty-sergant
https://www.yourwiltshire.com/blog/women-of-reme-until-5th-october-2019/
At Northgate Lighting, we are proud to have our fantastic team of Women in various roles from Sales to Product Development to Warehousing, and continue to support those new to the industry to ensure a fair and insightful beginning to long-standing careers.
Happy International Women’s Day to our own team and yours!
