Margaret Weston

Margaret Weston was born in Carmarthen, Wales, on 7 March 1926, and was raised in Oakridge, Gloucestershire, the only child of two headteachers, Margaret ( Bright) and Charles Weston. She was educated at Stroud High School. During the war a German bomber crashed in the village and Margaret's father, who was also in the Home Guard, arrested the airman. Margaret held degrees from both Aston University and the University of London in Electrical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering, respectively. She later acknowledged the support she was given in engineering by a neighbour, Walter Gardiner, who used to let her use his workshop and lathe; they would repair bicycles together on Saturdays. == Career ==

After graduation, she became an electrical engineer at the General Electric Company (GEC), one of only three women amongst 300 apprentices, and specialised in high-voltage insulation, and was eventually appointed to the senior technical staff of the company. In 1954, at the age of 28, she achieved the status of Chartered Electrical Engineer. In 1955, she joined the Science Museum in London, as Assistant Keeper (First Class) of Electrical Engineering and Communications. She was promoted to Deputy Keeper of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Communications; in 1967, she was appointed Keeper of the Department of Museum Services at the Science Museum, the first time a woman was appointed as a Keeper there. She held the position until 1986, during which time she oversaw a significant expansion of what is now known as the Science Museum Group. She also oversaw the acquisition of Concorde 002, the second prototype of the aircraft, for the Science Museum. She described how the Museum acquired Concorde, saying, "I had a telephone call – it was all telephone calls in those earlier days, not e-mails – and the man didn't give his name or his department. But he just said, do you want Concorde 002? It's coming to the end of its test service. And I said, well I want to preserve it but I have no place to put it. But yes I'll take it." In 1976, she oversaw the display of an extensive collection of biomedical objects from Sir Henry Wellcome's Museum Collection, which were loaned to the Science Museum, broadening the museum's scope considerably. In 1980–81, two new galleries opened, "Glimpses of Medical History" and "The Science and Art of Medicine", to display the Wellcome material and other medical displays. Weston was instrumental in establishing the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television (now the National Media Museum) in Bradford, which opened on 16 June 1983 and featured the UK's largest cinema screen and the country's first IMAX cinema. She was also president of the Heritage Railway Association until 2011 and the patron of the Stroudwater Textile Trust. On her retirement in 1986, Weston was presented with a motorbike by the museum staff. Weston died from COVID-19 at a care home in Leonard Stanley, Gloucestershire, on 9 January 2021, at the age of 94. ==Honours and Legacy==

Margaret Weston was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 1979 Birthday Honours. She was also made a Fellow of the Museums Association (FMA) in 1984. She received honorary degrees from the Universities of Salford, Manchester (1984), Aston, Bradford, Leeds, Loughborough and the Open University. In 2018, she was made a Fellow of the Science Museum. The fellowship was presented by Dame Mary Archer at Dame Margaret's home. Weston left a gift for Aston University in her will, this has contributed to the creation of a "Design Factory" with a space named in her honour. ==Bibliography==