Angela Helen Clayton MBE (1959 – 8 January 2014) was an internationally known

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate caus ...

working in the fields of

Nuclear Criticality Safety Nuclear criticality safety is a field of nuclear engineering dedicated to the prevention of nuclear and radiation accidents resulting from an inadvertent, self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction. Nuclear criticality safety is concerned with mit ...

and

Health Physics Health physics, also referred to as the science of radiation protection, is the profession devoted to protecting people and their environment from potential radiation hazards, while making it possible to enjoy the beneficial uses of radiation. He ...

. She was also a campaigner for the rights of

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...

people.

Professional career

Her professional accomplishments included: *Head of Criticality Safety at the

Atomic Weapons Establishment The Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) is a United Kingdom Ministry of Defence research facility responsible for the design, manufacture and support of warheads for the UK's nuclear weapons. It is the successor to the Atomic Weapons Research ...

for some years; *Chairperson of the UK Working Party on Criticality; *Member of the Working Group for American National Standard 8.15 - Nuclear Criticality Control of Special Actinide Elements coordinated by the

American Nuclear Society The American Nuclear Society (ANS) is an international, not-for-profit organization of scientists, engineers, and industry professionals that promote the field of nuclear engineering and related disciplines. ANS is composed of three communities ...

; *Participant in the International Criticality Safety Benchmark Evaluation Project; *Member of Advisory Programme Committees and Technical Programme Committees for several International Conferences on

(e.g. International Conference on Nuclear Criticality Safety (ICNC) 1991 - UK, ICNC 2003 - Japan, ICNC 2007 - Russia); *Authored or co-authored several published papers on various aspects of criticality safety. She held various roles in Safety Committees and the Reactor Safety Panel at the

(now AWE, plc). She was interested in the subjects of criticality safety and Radiological Protection -

. Clayton was also active in national and local Prospect trade union activities, including serving on the pension

National Executive Committee National Executive Committee is the name of a leadership body in several organizations, mostly political parties: * National Executive Committee of the African National Congress, in South Africa * Australian Labor Party National Executive * Nationa ...

(NEC) Advisory Sub Committee and was an elected trustee of the AWE Pension Scheme from 1 February 2009 - 1 February 2011. After her early retirement in March 2011 on medical grounds due to complications from an old automobile accident in 1996, she pursued various artistic and intellectual activities including acquiring a large telescope with which she could engage in a lifelong love of astronomy. Her most recent degree was in Law from the

Open University The Open University (OU) is a British public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off- ...

. She graduated with a first in April 2009.

Personal life

Her early interactions with medical practitioners were described as traumatic, leading her to transition without medical support. After living several years as a woman, she reengaged with medical practitioners to obtain

surgery Surgery ''cheirourgikē'' (composed of χείρ, "hand", and ἔργον, "work"), via la, chirurgiae, meaning "hand work". is a medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a person to investigate or treat a pat ...

.Angela Clayton - PFC campaigner , Press For Change
She worked as a campaigner with

Press for Change Press for Change (PFC) is a UK-based campaign group focusing on the rights and treatment of trans people. Its stated aim is "seeking respect and equality for all trans people in the UK". The group led the campaign for full legal recognition for ...

beginning in 1999 and later served as their vice-president. Her interest in the role of trade unions in promoting equality for trans people led her to become the first “trans observer” to the UK

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre A national trade union center (or national center or central) is a federation or confederation of trade unions in a country. Nearly every country in the world has a national tra ...

(TUC) LGBT Committee. She was also involved in the development and implementation of the

Gender Recognition Act 2004 The Gender Recognition Act 2004 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that allows people who have gender dysphoria to change their legal gender. It came into effect on 4 April 2005. Operation of the law The Gender Recognition Act ...

. She was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) in June 2005 "for services to gender issues". Clayton was a speaker at the Greater London LGBT Organising Day in February 2008. She contributed to the "Trans Data Position Paper" for the National Statistics: UK Statistics Authority in 2009.

Professional career

Personal life

References

Further reading