Annette Ashberry (9 March 1894 – 2 September 1990), also known as Anne Ashberry, was a British engineer, gardener and author, and the first woman elected to the Society of Engineers.

Early life

Annette Ashberry was born in Hackney on 9 March 1894 to Israel and Leah Annenberg, part of a large Jewish immigrant family from Russia. She had six brothers and five sisters. Her father changed their surname from Annenberg to Ashberry in response to the anti-German sentiment which built ahead of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Engineering career

Like many women, Ashberry worked on

munitions Ammunition, also known as ammo, is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. The term includes both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines), and the component parts of ...

during the First World War. She began her career in engineering in 1916, inspecting fuses in a factory. She had a keen interest in engineering which led to her working for

British Thomson-Houston British Thomson-Houston (BTH) was a British engineering and heavy industry, heavy industrial company, based at Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Originally founded to sell products from the Thomson-Houston Electric Company, it soon became a manufac ...

dealing with

magneto A magneto is an electrical generator that uses permanent magnets to produce periodic pulses of alternating current. Unlike a dynamo, a magneto does not contain a commutator to produce direct current. It is categorized as a form of alternator, ...

s. Ashberry joined the Galloway Engineering Company's (mainly female staffed)

Tongland Tongland, also spelt Tongueland () is a small village about north of Kirkcudbright, in the historic county of Kirkcudbrightshire in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It lies on the west bank of the River Dee, Galloway, Dee near its confluence ...

factory near

Kirkcudbright Kirkcudbright ( ; ) is a town at the mouth of the River Dee, Galloway, River Dee in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, southwest of Castle Douglas and Dalbeattie. A former royal burgh, it is the traditional county town of Kirkcudbrightshire. His ...

and became the Secretary of the Tongland Branch 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 ...

(WES), which was formed in 1919 following a visit of the first WES secretary

Caroline Haslett Dame Caroline Harriet Haslett Order of the British Empire, DBE, Justice of the peace, JP (17 August 1895 – 4 January 1957) was an English electrical engineer, electricity industry administrator and champion of women's rights. She was the fir ...

. Ashberry and fellow

Galloway Galloway ( ; ; ) is a region in southwestern Scotland comprising the counties of Scotland, historic counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire. It is administered as part of the council areas of Scotland, council area of Dumfries and Gallow ...

Engineering Company engineer Dora Turner wrote about their views of the future of women in engineering, including the question "Would it not be possible for other firms to build and equip factories especially for women labour?". The end of hostilities brought a slowdown in her career opportunities, and Ashberry began studying for a BSc in engineering at Loughborough Technical College. The newly formed

then encouraged her to open an engineering factory which focused on employing women. In 1920, Ashberry founded Atalanta Ltd in

Loughborough Loughborough ( ) is a market town in the Charnwood (borough), Charnwood Borough of Leicestershire, England; it is the administrative centre of Charnwood Borough Council. At the United Kingdom 2021 census, the town's built-up area had a popula ...

, along with Rachel Parsons,

, Lady Eleanor Shelley-Rolls, Dora Turner, and Herbert Schofield, the head of Loughborough Technical College. After installing power to their basic premises, the women produced hand scraped surface plates and oil burners. After facing problems securing payments from customers, they reduced staff to just Annette and one other woman, and moved premises to London in hope of establishing business contacts there. In 1922, they moved to

Brixton Brixton is an area of South London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th century ...

, London, and started to see successes. The same year Ashberry won a prize from the

for the design of a dishwasher and obtained her first patent for a vegetable peeler. In 1925, Ashberry was the first woman to be elected to the Society of Engineers and delivered the first address by a woman to the Society's members on 1 November 1926.

Gardening career

By 1937, Ashberry had closed Atalanta Ltd. for business and moved into an entirely different field of work: miniature gardens. She started a business in

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

producing landscapes in ordinary window boxes which she sold to elderly and disabled gardeners and those living in flats. The

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

brought a necessary return to engineering for Ashberry, but in 1945 she was able to purchase a cottage in

Chignall Smealy Chignal Smealy is a small village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Chignall, on the north-western outskirts of Chelmsford, in the Chelmsford district, in the county of Essex, England. The local church (St. Nicholas) is a red brick ...

and resume her miniature gardening business. In this field she was better known as Anne Ashberry and became famous for her nursery and designs. She exhibited at Chelsea Flower Shows, The Festival of Britain Exhibition and on television. She published 7 books, starting with ''Miniature Gardens'' in 1951. A film about miniature gardens featuring Ashberry was made by British Pathé in 1952. Other notable books included ''Bottled Garden and Fern Cases'' (1964) and ''Alpine Lawns'' (1966). Ashberry died in Chelmsford, Essex on 2 September 1990, aged 96.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashberry, Annette 1894 births 1990 deaths 20th-century British women engineers 20th-century British engineers 20th-century British women writers British horticulturists Women's Engineering Society Jewish engineers 20th-century British women scientists