Beryl Catherine Platt, Baroness Platt of Writtle
(1923-2015), Engineer, Politician and Chair of Equal Opportunities CommissionSitter in 1 portrait
Platt was one of the first women to enter aeronautics in Britain and a champion of women in the field during her political career. She switched from studying maths to aeronautical engineering after the government introduced a bursary available to women as well as men, to grow it's number of engineer graduates to support the war effort. She was advised by C. P. Snow to work at Hawker Aircraft Company, where she was instrumental in developing fighter planes. Chairman of the Essex County Council from 1971-1980, she became chair of the Equal Opportunities Commission in 1983. She set up WISE (Women into Science and Engineering) with the Engineering Council to encourage opportunities for women to enter the profession. Appointed CBE in 1978 and made a Life Peer in 1981.
Beryl Catherine Platt, Baroness Platt of Writtle
by Robert Taylor
archival pigment print, August 2008
NPG x133003
Comments back to top
We are currently unable to accept new comments, but any past comments are available to read below.
If you need information from us, please use our Archive enquiry service . Please note that we cannot provide valuations. You can buy a print or greeting card of most illustrated portraits. Select the portrait of interest to you, then look out for a Buy a Print button. Prices start at around £6 for unframed prints, £16 for framed prints. If you wish to license an image, select the portrait of interest to you, then look out for a Use this image button, or contact our Rights and Images service. We digitise over 8,000 portraits a year and we cannot guarantee being able to digitise images that are not already scheduled.