27-420: Rachel Parsons may refer to: Rachel Mary Parsons (1885–1956), British engineer Rachel Parsons (figure skater) (born 1997), American ice dancer [REDACTED] Topics referred to by the same term This disambiguation page lists articles about people with the same name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to
54-503: A lifelong member of the Royal Institute of International Affairs . She also held a Master Mariner's Certificate. In 1920 Rachel Parsons was one of a group of eight women who founded the engineering company Atalanta Ltd , with her mother Katharine Parsons as chairman and one of the principal shareholders. All the employees were women and the director was Annette Ashberry . The company produced surface plates and machine models. It
81-462: A member of The Royal Institution of Great Britain in 1918, continuing to be a member until she died. She and her mother, Katharine, Lady Parsons , were among the founders of the Women's Engineering Society alongside Eleanor, Lady Shelley-Rolls ; Margaret, Lady Moir ; Laura Annie Willson ; Margaret Rowbotham and Janetta Mary Ornsby . The organisation promoted the retention of women engineers after
108-434: A professional society with membership grades based on qualification and experience, the society promotes the study and practice of engineering and allied sciences among women. WES is represented by groups. The work of the groups focuses on: The society produces the journal The Woman Engineer which was edited by Caroline Haslett in its early years. The journal contained technical articles in its early years but now gives
135-545: A society hostess. She put herself forward for selection as the Conservative candidate for Newcastle in 1940, but was not successful. In 1940 she moved into the countryside at Sunningdale , Berkshire, purchasing Little Court, a Georgian-style house with twenty-five acres of land. However, she also maintained a London residence, living successively in two houses in Belgrave Square . Her interest in horse racing led her to buy
162-462: A view of work in engineering disciplines and women's involvement in them. The digital archive of the journal is held by the Institution of Engineering and Technology . The Women's Engineering Society holds an annual conference, a student conference and regional workshops and networking events. In 1969, President Verena Holmes left a legacy to fund an annual lecture to inspire school girls. Run by
189-545: Is a United Kingdom professional learned society and networking body for women engineers, scientists and technologists. It was the first professional body set up for women working in all areas of engineering, predating the Society of Women Engineers by around 30 years. The society was formed on 23 June 1919, after the First World War , during which many women had taken up roles in engineering to replace men who were involved in
216-594: Is a mentoring scheme for engineers, inspired by the WES President Petra Gratton (née Godwin) in 2000. The scheme was a collaborative project with national network of women scientists (AWISE). It was a mentoring scheme to help women in their career and to support them back into engineering after a career break. MentorSET has been funded by DTI, the UK Resource Centre for Women in SET, and BAE Systems . In 2015
243-674: The 1920s and 1930s included Verena Holmes , Hilda Lyon and Margaret Partridge . Pilot and engineer, Amy Johnson , who was the first woman to fly solo from the United Kingdom to Australia, was a member of WES and served as president between 1935 and 1937. A registry of members from 1935 shows there were members from across the world, such as the United States of America, including sociologist and industrial engineer Lillian Gilbreth , and Germany, including Asta Hampe and Ilse Knot-ter Meer . The Society celebrated its 95th year in 2014 with
270-609: The 2600-acre Branches Park estate at Cowlinge near Newmarket, Suffolk , in the 1940s where she built up a large stud farm, as well as in 1954 purchasing the Lansdowne House racing stable in Falmouth Avenue, Newmarket. She had several notable successes from her stables. These included wins in 1953 with Cavalleria, Golden God and Fraise Melba (trained by Geoffrey Brooke ) followed by success with Le Dieu D'Or, Golden God and Fraise Melba under trainer Sam Armstrong. Rachel Parsons
297-584: The First World War by opposing the Restoration of Pre-War Practices Act 1919 , as well as supporting engineering as a career for women. Rachel Parsons became the first president of the Women's Engineering Society (1919–1921). On 9 April 1919, with Blanche Thornycroft and Eily Keary , she was one of the first three women admitted to the Royal Institution of Naval Architects and from 1921 she became
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#1732858422381324-501: The MentorSET programme was relaunched with funding from DECC, now BEIS and Women in Nuclear and is now relevant to women working in science and technology as well as engineering. Members are drawn from women who have entered the profession through routes varying from traditional apprenticeship to higher education leading to graduate and further degrees. The participation of male engineers in
351-664: The Verena Holmes Trust, the first lecture tour was in 1969 during the first UK Women in Engineering Year. It was delivered at various venues to children aged nine to eleven to encourage their interest in engineering, The lectures were given by leading engineers with Mary Kendrick giving the lecture in 1981. Members provided the 'technical women power' for the Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) buses that were launched following
378-560: The WISE Year in 1984, an initiative that continued into the 1990s. In 2014 WES set up an outreach programme called Magnificent Women (and their flying machines) which replicates the work that women did during the First World War in making aircraft wings, and this was aimed at secondary school girls. The programme was discontinued in 2018 as the Society refocused its campaigns on supporting the engineering industry to be more inclusive. MentorSET
405-624: The elite of London society. That year she became one of the few female members of the London County Council , representing Finsbury for the Municipal Reform Party , and sat on the Electricity and Highways Committee. She stood for Parliament in the 1923 election as the Conservative candidate in the constituency of Ince, Lancashire , but was not elected. She moved to the larger property of 5 Grosvenor Square in 1926 and continued as
432-459: The intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rachel_Parsons&oldid=1033342434 " Category : Human name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Rachel Mary Parsons Rachel Mary Parsons (1885–1956), was an English engineer and advocate for women's employment rights,
459-586: The launch of International Women in Engineering Day (INWED) on 23 June 2014. To this day the Society continues to organise INWED and set the annual theme. The Society celebrated its centenary in 2019 with the launch of the WES Centenary Trail, a project to highlight the historic stories of women engineers. Society members have advised the UK government on evolving employment practices for women. Constituted as
486-541: The men who had left to join the armed forces. She became a leading member of the National Council of Women , and campaigned for equal access for all to technical schools and colleges, regardless of gender. Following her brother's death, Rachel Parsons did not resume her role as a director of the Heaton Works, possibly because of a rift with her father. As evidence of her continued aspirations in engineering she became
513-452: The military effort. While it had been seen as necessary to bring women into engineering to fill the gap left by men joining the armed forces, the government, employers, and trades unions were against the continuing employment of women after the war. The Restoration of Pre-War Practices Act 1919 gave soldiers returning from World War I their pre-war jobs back and meant many women could no longer work in roles they were employed to fill during
540-607: The practical skills she had already obtained at her father's factory. She left in 1912 having taken the preliminary examination for Part I of the Tripos and a qualifying examination in Mechanical Sciences in 1911. When the First World War broke out, she replaced her brother as a director at the Heaton Works of C. A. Parsons and Company in Newcastle upon Tyne. In particular, she oversaw the recruitment and training of women to replace
567-440: The war. This led a group of seven women, including Lady Katharine Parsons , her daughter Rachel Parsons , Lady Margaret Moir , Laura Annie Willson , Eleanor Shelley-Rolls , Janetta Mary Ornsby , and Margaret Rowbotham to form the Women's Engineering Society, with the aim of enabling women to gain training, jobs and acceptance in engineering fields. The Society's first Secretary was Caroline Haslett . Early members in
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#1732858422381594-425: Was educated at Newcastle High, Wycombe Abbey, Clarence House (May 1899 – April 1900) and finally Roedean from 1900 to 1903. In 1910 she entered Newnham College, Cambridge , and was one of the first three women to study Mechanical Sciences there although, like all women until 1948, she could not graduate with a degree or become a full member of the university. Nevertheless, she was able to add theoretical knowledge to
621-466: Was fostered from a young age by the engineering tradition in her family including her grandmother Mary Rosse and grandfather William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse . Her father invented the steam turbine and developed successful international engineering businesses. The family lived on Tyneside (Elvaston Hall, Ryton, and Holeyn Hall, Wylam) and later in Northumberland (Ray Demesne, Kirkwhelpington). She
648-596: Was found dead on 2 July 1956. Stableman Dennis James Pratt, a former employee, was charged with her murder. Defended by Michael Havers , a future attorney-general, Pratt was convicted of manslaughter on the grounds of provocation. Her cousin, Canon R. E. Parsons, officiated at her funeral which was held on 6 July at St Mary's church, Newmarket, and attended by, among others, her cousin Michael Parsons, 6th Earl of Rosse . In 2017, one of six tunnel boring machines for London's Thames Tideway Tunnel 'Super Sewer' project
675-642: Was initially based in Loughborough , where it was intended that the employees could receive further education at the Loughborough College of Technology . Atalanta moved to London, with premises initially in Fulham Road in 1922 and then Brixton Road in 1925. It was voluntarily wound up in 1928. In 1922 Rachel Parsons bought 5 Portman Square , a large house in London, and began to host social events attended by
702-505: Was named after Rachel Parsons and began tunnelling from Fulham in 2018. The names were chosen from a shortlist by a public vote. A blue plaque was unveiled in her honour in October 2023 at 6 Windsor Terrace, where Parsons lived during the First World War. The building is part of Newcastle University's halls of residence and was proposed by The Common Room organisation. Women%27s Engineering Society The Women's Engineering Society
729-563: Was the founding President of the Women's Engineering Society in Britain on 23 June 1919. Rachel Mary Parsons was born in 1885, to Sir Charles Algernon Parsons and his wife Katharine , the daughter of William Froggatt Bethell of Rise Park, East Riding of Yorkshire. Her brother, Algernon George (Tommy) (b.1886), was killed on 28 April 1918 while a Major in the Royal Field Artillery. Her interest and aptitude for engineering and science
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