Victoria Drummond

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Victoria Alexandrina Drummond MBE (14 October 1894–25 December 1980), was the first woman marine engineer in Britain and first woman member of Institute of Marine Engineers. She was born at Errol, the daughter of Capt. Malcolm Drummond, JP and Geraldine Margaret Tyssen-Amherst, and a goddaughter of Queen Victoria. She went to sea in the 1920s, initiating a career then thought unsuitable for a lady.

After completing her apprenticeship at the Caledon Shipyard, she joined the Blue Funnel Line's SS Anchises in 1922 as Tenth Engineer. In the ensuing 40 years she sailed on 49 voyages, which took her from her home in Megginch Castle in Scotland, to all around the world. She continued her career through hardship and discrimination, carrying out the physically gruelling work of the engine room as well as supervising a sometimes reluctant and prejudiced work force.

Her courage during the Second World War was recognised when she was awarded the MBE and the Lloyd's Medal for bravery at sea for single-handedly keeping the engines of the SS Bonita going during an attack by a German bomber.

She was the first British woman to serve as Chief Engineer, in 1959, and throughout her distinguished career she maintained her conviction that if you were good at something and could be of useful service, than you should be allowed to do your job. She retired in 1962. After her death in 1978, she was buried at Megginch.

Her biography, The Remarkable Life Of Victoria Drummond - Marine Engineer, was written by her niece, Cherry Drummond, 16th Baroness Strange.