Monica Maurice facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Helen Monica Maurice
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Helen Maurice
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| Born | 30 June 1908 |
| Died | 20 September 1995 Ashford in the Water
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| Nationality | United Kingdom |
| Other names | Lt. Colonel Maurice |
| Occupation | Production engineer |
| Known for | over 40 years, the only woman in the Association of Mining Electrical Engineers |
Helen Monica Maurice (born June 30, 1908 – died September 20, 1995) was a very important leader in industry. She was the Managing Director and Chairman of the Wolf Safety Lamp Company in Sheffield. For 40 years, she was the only woman in the Association of Mining Electrical Engineers. Because of her work with safety lamps in coal mines, people in Yorkshire coal fields called her "the Lady of the Lamp."
Early Life and Learning
Monica Maurice was born in Hucknall Torkard, near Nottingham. She grew up in the industrial north of England. She was the oldest of three sisters. Her father, William Maurice, started the Wolf Safety Lamp Company in 1910. This company made special safety lamps for miners and quarry workers.
Monica and her sisters went to a unique school called Bedales in Hampshire. She studied there from 1922 to 1927 and was even the head girl in 1926. She was good at languages and design. She continued her studies in Paris at the Sorbonne and in Germany at Hamburg University. Her son said she had a strong will to succeed, even when she was young. She also learned office skills, shorthand, and typing in three languages in London.
Her Amazing Career
Monica Maurice started working for her father's company in February 1930. She began as a secretary but quickly learned about electric mine lamps. She studied how to design them, make their batteries, and keep them working well. In 1931, she went to Germany to train as an engineer with the company that first developed the lamps. She learned in many different departments, like the drawing office and machine shops. She even visited coal mines in Germany to get practical experience.
Monica visited Germany several times in the 1930s. Once, she accidentally saw a secret guidance system. She told British authorities about it when she returned, but they didn't seem interested. However, when World War II started, she was called to London for a three-day meeting. Her knowledge of German and industrial sites was very helpful during the war.
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In 1932, Monica became a director and manager at her family's company. She was in charge of making sure many lamps worked well in coal mines across the UK. This was the start of a career that lasted over 60 years! She retired in 1992. She became the company's Managing Director in 1951 and Chairman in 1951, holding that role until 1988.
Monica was a pioneer for women in engineering. In 1935, she joined the Women's Engineering Society (WES). She helped organize their conference in Sheffield in 1936. She was the second woman to become a Companion of the Institution of Electrical Engineers. In 1938, she became the first woman to join the Association of Mining Electrical Engineers. She was the only woman in this group until 1978!
During World War II, the Wolf factory kept making lamps. Monica helped set standards for mine lamp bulbs and safety gear. In 1947, she went to Germany as a lieutenant-colonel with a British intelligence group. They were checking on how industries were recovering after the war. Her quick thinking helped her group get rooms and supplies when a captain tried to refuse them.
In 1975, Monica Maurice was given the OBE award. This is a special honor from the British government. She lived in Ashford in the Water in her later years and passed away in 1995. Her son, John Jackson, later became Chairman of the company. Her grandsons, Miles and Alex Jackson, also work there today.
Hobbies and Personal Life
Monica Maurice married a Canadian doctor, Arthur Newton Jackson, in 1938. They had two sons, William and John, and one daughter, Willa. At her wedding, she wore a bold red silk dress. This dress is now kept in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
Monica loved cars and planes. She became a pilot in 1935 and was the first woman in Sheffield to get her pilot's license. She was very strict about keeping the lamp rooms clean. She once told a funny story about herself: a lamp worker joked that he used to know when she was around, but now every time he heard a plane, he'd start polishing, thinking she might be inspecting!
She enjoyed advanced aerobatics (fancy flying tricks) on weekends. She was also a good horse rider, swimmer, and dancer. She even raced her friend to the York Aviation Flying Club. Monica was friends with the famous aviator Amy Johnson. She gave a speech to support Amy Johnson becoming President of the Women's Engineering Society in 1936.
An artist named Janet Patterson painted Monica's portrait in the 1980s. The painting shows Monica sitting in her office at the Wolf Lamp Company. It was displayed in London and Sheffield and is now part of the Sheffield Museums Trust collection. You can see it at the Graves Art Gallery in Sheffield. Janet Patterson is married to Monica's son, William.
