Edith Mary Douglas (née Dale) (13 November 1877 – 30 November 1962) was a British engineer, shipyard director and the first woman to fly in an experimental bomber aircraft.

Early life and marriage

Edith Mary Dale was born in

Kanpur Kanpur (Hindustani language, Hindustani: ), originally named Kanhapur and formerly anglicized as Cawnpore, is the second largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Uttar Pradesh after Lucknow. It was the primary ...

, India. Her father was George Desborough Dale, and he worked in the

Indian Civil Service The Indian Civil Service (ICS), officially known as the Imperial Civil Service, was the higher civil service of the British Empire in India during British Raj, British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947. Its members ruled over more than 3 ...

. Douglas was sent home to school in England. She married Major Clifford Hugh Douglas in 1915. She was his second wife and they had one daughter. Douglas was often referred to as Mrs C. H. Douglas, using the convention of adopting the husband's full name.

Entry into engineering circles

Through her husband Edith Douglas learned about engineering and finance. Her husband was one of the founders of the

Social Credit Social credit is a distributive philosophy of political economy developed in the 1920s and 1930s by C. H. Douglas. Douglas attributed economic downturns to discrepancies between the cost of goods and the compensation of the workers who made t ...

movement during the 1920s. He was Assistant Superintendent of the Royal Aircraft Factory Farnborough during 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 ...

. Douglas worked with her husband and got involved with the technical aspect of his work. As a result, Douglas was the first woman to fly in experimental bomber aircraft. She attended the 1926 World Engineering Conference in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

and travelled around the world twice, and was considered a great raconteur about her travels. She became co-director of the Swanwick Shipyard (Hamble River Yacht & Engineering Co.) The shipyard worked on craft powered by sail, steam or motor, generated its own electricity and pumped its own water, and had a slipway for boats up to 250 tons. During 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 ...

the company provided construction for small craft for the Admiralty. Douglas was actively involved in establishing women's organisations.

Women's Engineering Society

She became a member 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 ...

in 1932, was elected vice president to celebrated pilot

Amy Johnson Amy Johnson (born 1 July 1903 – disappeared 5 January 1941) was a pioneering English pilot who was the first woman to fly solo from London to Australia. Flying solo or with her husband, Jim Mollison, she set many long-distance records dur ...

when she held the presidential role, often stepping in when Johnson was unavailable. Edith Douglas became president of the society in 1938. She was succeeded in the role by

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 ...

and her vice president was electrical engineer Gertrude Entwisle. A 1937 article stated that the soon to be WES president “Mrs. Douglas… starts work most days round about 8 a.m. in Southampton ship-building yard which belongs to the company of which she a director. In a blue flannel suit and old yachting cap, this handsome, dark-eyed woman directs gangs of men and organises the business of the yard”. She told the interviewer that “more women should go in for planning yachts. Even though yachts do float, they are potential homes and as such should be planned from the woman’s point of view.” Edith Douglas was a successful competitive sailor and yachtsman and won many prizes in regattas, owning a sloop named 'Enid'. She loved playing sport, particularly tennis and golf, and had a great sense of humour. After the end of the war, she retired and moved to Scotland. Edith Mary Douglas died on 30 November 1962.

References and sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Douglas, Edith Mary 1877 births 1963 deaths People from Kanpur British women engineers 20th-century British women engineers Presidents of the Women's Engineering Society Women's Engineering Society British people in colonial India