An Oakridge-born Dame of the British Empire and the first female director of a national museum passed away last week aged 94.

Margaret Weston, who went to Stroud High School, was appointed director of the Science Museum in London in 1973 and oversaw innovative exhibitions and acquisitions including Concorde, the Apollo 10 module which circled the Moon.

She helped set up the Museum in the Park in Stroud in her retirement, after travelling the world as a museum consultant.

As a student during the war, she took part in fire-watching on the High School roof and witnessed a German pilot parachute from a burning plane and land nearby before being arrested by her father, a Captain of the Home Guard.

Margaret was one of only three girls, alongside 300 men, who were selected for a student apprenticeship at The General Electric Company, where she became a Chartered Electrical Engineer.

She was hired as a curator at the Science Museum’s Electrical Gallery in 1955, where she rose through the ranks.

Margaret earned six honorary degrees from different universities in recognition of her achievements and after becoming a Dame in 1979, she met with the Queen for lunch on several occasions.

Her love of technology made her the perfect patron of the Stroudwater Textile Trust and she was delighted by the progress of the canal restoration, giving her name to a tugboat.