Aircraft Designer And Home-maker

Lake County Mail, Issue 12, 13 August 1947, Page 10

Aircraft Designer And Home-maker

The Remarkable Mrs Miles At the Miles Aircraft factory in Reading, Great Britain, is a woman who has the distinction of being the only woman aircraft designer and the only woman director of a civil aircraft-producing firm in Great Britain. She is Mrs P. G. Miles, who, with her husband and brother-in-law, has built the factory from a jama.ii beginning to a very substantial affair employing hundreds of workers.

Charming and feminine with a true love of her home and family, Mrs Miles is also an experienced pilot and an expert draughtswoman. She is a daughter of the famous actor, Sir Johnston Forbes-Robertson. Far from being a sturdy and aggressive creature, as one might expect, she is a gentle elfin type of woman, who is able to run a factory and yet find time to look after her home and her family. She has two children, Jeremy, aged 14 years, and Mary, aged seven. Wide Social Interests In addition, Mrs Miles attends discussion groups’ meetings at the factory and takes part in as many as possible of the social activities organised by the employees. There are music circles, keep fit movements, a literary society, dances and other affairs to be arranged, welfare to be organised and personnel recruited. Mrs Miles takes an active interest in all of these. Air-minded Boys and Girls At the factory there is also an aeronautical training school where boys and girls are given a first-class general and specialised education to fit them for the aircraft industry. This school is Mrs Miles’ special concern. It offers magnificent opportunities to young people and although it is not quite three years old it has already been widely acclaimed as a successful ex-

periment. The Miles have a comfortable house with a charming garden quite near the factory, Mrs Miles apologetically gives as her hobbies, “ the factory and possibly gardening.”