Rosina Winslade (22 July 1919 – 16 December 1981) was a British engineering manager who became President of the

Women's Engineering Society The Women's Engineering Society 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, pred ...

and a governor of University College, Nairobi.

Early life

Winslade was born in London in 1919 to Alice Margaret (née Harris) and Charles James Winslade. She left school at fourteen, starting work in a factory.

Career

She became fascinated by the engineering processes she saw in the factory and decided to make engineering her career. Winslade joined the Women's Engineering Society in 1946. She was a keen member and became the chair of the London Branch.The Engineer, 12 December 1966
/ref> Winslade came to notice in 1960 when she was one of two engineers funded by the

Caroline Haslett Dame Caroline Harriet Haslett DBE, JP (17 August 1895 – 4 January 1957) was an English electrical engineer, electricity industry administrator and champion of women's rights. She was the first secretary of the Women's Engineering Society an ...

Memorial Trust founded by the

British Electricity Authority The British Electricity Authority (BEA) was established as the central British electricity authority in 1948 under the nationalisation of Great Britain's electricity supply industry enacted by the Electricity Act 1947. The BEA was responsible for ...

. They were to investigate the role of female engineers in the USSR. At the time she was a senior sales engineer at Research and Control Instruments Ltd and she was accompanied by Lesley S. Souter who was employed in Harlow by the AEI Research Laboratory. She continued to work for Research and Control Instruments Ltd becoming an assistant manager in 1960 and between 1962 and 1965 she held a higher managerial position as Joint Manager (Technical) of their electronics division. It was noted that this was unusually high for a woman. She worked as an Assistant Secretary the

Council of Engineering Institutions The Engineering Council (formerly Engineering Council UK; colloquially known as EngC) is the UK's regulatory authority for registration of Chartered and Incorporated engineers and engineering technician, holding a register of these and providing ...

looking after their overseas links including the British link to the European Federation of National Association of Engineers. In 1969 she was appointed for two years as a Governor of University College, Nairobi. Her first meeting there was held during a three-week visit in April where she also visited other colleges.

Women's Engineering Society

Winslade was employed by the Council of Engineering Institutions in 1966 when she was serving as President of the

to which position she was elected on 4 September 1965. At that time the BBC reported that there were 400 women engineers in the UK. Winslade appeared on the BBC as she reported on a week long second

International Conference of Women Engineers and Scientists ICWES (International Conference of Women Engineers and Scientists) is an international conference for engineers and scientists. Established in 1964, it takes place every 3–4 years in countries around the world. Since 1999, the conference has bee ...

conference in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

in 1967. The BBC also interviewed

Elizabeth Laverick Elizabeth Laverick (25 November 1925 – 12 January 2010) was a British engineer who became technical director of Elliott Automation Radar Systems. Laverick was the first female deputy secretary of the Institution of Electrical Engineers (now ...

who was to take over from her as WES President. At the conference, she was photographed being taught how to wear a sari by Indian engineer K. K. Khubchandani alongside fellow WES members and engineers

Cicely Thompson Cicely Thompson M.B.E. (9 June 1919 – 3 February 2008) was a nuclear engineer. Early life She was born Jane Cecily Thompson on 9 June 1919 in Great Ouseburn, England, to James Osbert Thompson and Jane Harrision Highmoor. Her father was an ...

, Hettie Bussell and US delegates Louise Davies and

Betty Lou Bailey Betty Lou Bailey (1929 – 2007) was a General Electric Company mechanical engineer from the United States. She held a patent for an aircraft variable exhaust nozzle. The invention operated so that one would vary both the throat and the exit diam ...

. Winslade was appointed an OBE for services to women in engineering in 1969.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Winslade, Rose 1919 births 1981 deaths Officers of the Order of the British Empire British women engineers British electronics engineers Presidents of the Women's Engineering Society Women's Engineering Society