Verena Holmes

Who was Verena Holmes?

Verena Winifred Holmes was an English mechanical engineer and inventor, the first woman member elected to the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, and a strong supporter of women in engineering. She was one of the founding members of the Women's Engineering Society in 1919.

She was born at Highworth, Ashford, Kent, the daughter of Edmond Gore Alexander Holmes and Florence Mary Holmes. Having wanted to be an engineer since childhood, Holmes gained employment building wooden propellers at the Integral Propeller Company, Hendon, after graduation from Oxford High School for Girls. She took night classes at the Shoreditch Technical Institute and attended a technical college in Lincoln; she served as an apprentice form-fitter and drafter before graduation from Loughborough Engineering College in 1922 with a BSc degree. Her technical specialties included marine and locomotive engines, diesel engines, and internal combustion engines. She became an associate member of the Institution of Marine Engineers in 1924, and was admitted to the Institution of Locomotive Engineers in 1931.

She was employed by Research Engineers Ltd from 1932 to 1939, during which time she developed and patented many inventions, including the Holmes and Wingfield pneumo-thorax apparatus for treating patients with tuberculosis, a surgeon's headlamp, a poppet valve for steam locomotives, and rotary valves for internal combustion engines. She held patents for 12 inventions for medical devices as well as engine components.