“As a child, I played with Meccano. I spent my pocket money on penknives, a spanner, a glue pot, and other simple hand tools” Beatrice Shilling, Women Engineer magazine
Beatrice Shilling, posing for the Norton catalog (1935) – Source
Do you know the woman who enabled England to dominate the skies during World War II? Beatrice Shilling is an iconic figure who left her mark on her era in her own way. Her contributions radically changed the performance of Royal Air Force fighters and allowed her country to achieve crucial victories. She would later be nicknamed “the girl who could fix anything”.
Youth
Beatrice Shilling, nicknamed Tilly, was born on March 8, 1909, in Waterlooville, southern England. Born into a middle-class family, she showed her interest in mechanics at the age of 14 by buying a motorcycle that she tinkered with herself. This experience already assured her of her dream job: engineer.
She started working at a very young age installing cables and generators for an engineering company. Her employer, Margaret Partridge, founder of the Women’s Engineering Society (WES), encouraged her after three years to pursue studies in her field, which she fully funded. Beatrice then enrolled at the University of Manchester, where she obtained a Bachelor’s and then a Master’s degree in mechanical engineering in 1933.
Beatrice Shilling’s student file from the University of Manchester, BBC News Article (2017) – Source
Employment and Royal Aircraft
Following her studies, Beatrice struggled to find employment due to the Great Depression. She started as a research assistant for Professor G. F. Mucklow at the University of Birmingham. In 1936, she was recruited as a scientific officer by the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE), the research agency of the Royal Air Force (RAF), where she remained until her retirement in 1969.
Beatrice worked on numerous projects within the RAE during World War II. She was described by her colleagues as “a flamboyant pioneer”. She later received an honorary doctorate from the University of Surrey in 1969.
Miss Shilling’s Orifice
In 1940, RAF pilots encountered problems with certain fighter planes (the Spitfire and Hurricane), which were equipped with Merlin engines. Beatrice then developed a system in 1941 that prevented the engines from stalling during certain maneuvers by the pilots. Beatrice installed them with a small team in the Merlin engines, which was greatly appreciated by the pilots. The invention later became known as “Miss Shilling’s Orifice”, and allowed Beatrice to gain recognition.
Privacy
Alongside her professional activities, Beatrice was passionate about motorcycle racing. She participated in numerous races, particularly in the 1930s, and received many prizes. She received the Gold Star for her laps on the Brooklands circuit at over 100 mph. This earned her many sexist comments afterwards, including one from a recruiter in an interview who told her “I suppose the men let you win”.
Beatrice married George Naylor in 1938, who was also a colleague at the RAE and passionate about racing. As an anecdote, she allegedly refused to marry him until he also won the Brooklands Gold Star.
Beatrice Shilling accompanied by Professor Lighthill, Farnborough Air Sciences Trust – Source
Retirement and Legacy
Beatrice received the Order of the British Empire in 1949 for her contribution to the “war effort and joined the” Institution of Mechanical Engineers in 1956. She remained very active in engineering research even after her retirement. She died of “cancer in 1990, at 81 years old, and remains today” one of “the icons of” 20th century engineering.
Numerous documentaries about her life are available, notably the one by the BBC (in English). Two books are also popular: Negative Gravity: A Life of Beatrice Shilling by Matthew Freudenberg, and a more accessible one for younger readers, The Girl Who Could Fix Anything by Mara Rockliff. A play was also performed in Southampton in 2022.
Written by Lorena G. and edited by Tiffanie C.
Sources
