Annette Ashberry facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Annette Ashberry
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| Born |
Hannah Annenberg
9 March 1894 Hackney, London, England
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| Died | 2 September 1990 Chelmsford, Essex, England
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| Nationality | British |
| Other names | Anne Ashberry |
| Occupation | Engineer, gardener and author |
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Annette Ashberry (born March 9, 1894 – died September 2, 1990) was a talented British engineer, gardener, and author. She was also known as Anne Ashberry. She made history as the first woman to be chosen for the important Society of Engineers.
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Early Life and Family
Annette Ashberry was born in Hackney, London, on March 9, 1894. Her parents, Israel and Leah Annenberg, were part of a large Jewish family who had moved from Russia. Annette had many brothers and sisters – six brothers and five sisters! Before the First World War, there were strong feelings against Germany. Because of this, her father changed their family name from Annenberg to Ashberry.
Becoming an Engineer
Like many women during the First World War, Annette worked on making supplies for the war. She started her engineering journey in 1916. Her first job was checking parts for bombs in a factory. Annette loved engineering, and this led her to work for British Thomson-Houston. There, she worked with magnetos, which are parts used in engines.
Annette joined the Galloway Engineering Company. This factory, located near Kirkcudbright, mostly employed women. She became the Secretary of the Tongland Branch of the Women's Engineering Society (WES). This group was formed in 1919 to support women in engineering. Annette and another engineer, Dora Turner, wrote about their ideas for women in engineering. They even wondered if companies could build factories just for women workers.
When the war ended, it became harder to find engineering jobs. So, Annette decided to study more. She began taking classes for a science degree in engineering at Loughborough Technical College.
Starting Atalanta Ltd
The new Women's Engineering Society encouraged Annette to open her own engineering factory. The main goal was to hire women. In 1920, Annette Ashberry started a company called Atalanta Ltd in Loughborough. She partnered with other amazing women like Rachel Parsons and Caroline Haslett. The head of Loughborough Technical College, Herbert Schofield, also helped.
At first, their workshop was very basic. They had to install electricity themselves. The women at Atalanta Ltd made special flat metal plates and oil burners. However, they had trouble getting customers to pay them. Because of this, they had to reduce their staff to just Annette and one other woman. They moved their workshop to London, hoping to find more business there. In 1922, they moved to Brixton, London, and started to do much better.
That same year, Annette won a prize from the Women's Engineering Society. She won it for designing a dishwasher. She also got her first patent for a vegetable peeler. A patent is a special right that means only she could make and sell her invention.
In 1925, Annette Ashberry made history again. She was the first woman ever chosen to join the Society of Engineers. On November 1, 1926, she gave the first speech by a woman to the members of the Society.
A New Path: Gardening
By 1937, Annette Ashberry closed Atalanta Ltd. She decided to try something completely different: miniature gardens! She started a business in Kensington. She created tiny landscapes in ordinary window boxes. She sold these beautiful gardens to older people, those who couldn't move around easily, and people living in apartments.
When the Second World War began, Annette had to return to engineering to help with the war effort. But in 1945, she was able to buy a small house in Chignall Smealy. She then restarted her miniature gardening business. In this new field, she became very famous as Anne Ashberry. Her plant nursery and garden designs were well-known.
She showed her miniature gardens at famous events like the Chelsea Flower Shows and The Festival of Britain Exhibition. She even appeared on television! Annette wrote seven books about gardening. Her first book, Miniature Gardens, came out in 1952. A film about her miniature gardens was also made in 1952. Other popular books she wrote included Bottled Garden and Fern Cases (1964) and Alpine Lawns (1966).
Annette Ashberry passed away in Chelmsford, Essex, on September 2, 1990, when she was 96 years old.
Images for kids
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Annette Ashberry, a pioneering engineer and gardener.
