On receiving her Silver Pin, Lady Helly said “The IBF (as it was known) and me were a natural fit. My father had founded New Pro Foundries Ltd after the war in 1946. I grew up with foundry talk at home and the wonder of the process from an early age. Often my sister and I were sat on a moulders bench so we could watch. What sticks in the memory is the ‘fairy dust’ as my father called it, which of course was Feedex!! I saw it sprinkled on the molten metal, and the sight, sounds and especially the smell, will stay with me for ever.

Fast forward some years…

I married Patrick who was already working at New Pro and had two young children when my father asked me to work there too… “Sort out the office, create a computer system that works in a jobbing foundry and a website,” he said.  Apparently, now that both the children were at school, I had time!!

Creating the IT system did give me a great insight into a working foundry. I worked mainly in the office until my father passed away and I took over. Then for six months I worked mornings in the foundry doing core making to fettling, furnace operation and pouring metal into moulds. Then back in the office in the afternoons.

The ICME became a valuable resource to further my knowledge.

My father was a Fellow of the institute and encouraged me to join, we had been attending the Slough section of the London branch when a vacancy came up for social secretary, and I found myself voted in! This was a happy time for me, going to meetings, making friends, and learning all the time.

The foundry industry was evolving, and the Slough section then became the Thames Valley section, where I had the privilege to serve as President. The Thames Valley was subsumed back into the London Branch and this brought me into contact with other knowledgeable members.

I enjoyed working (voluntarily) for the London Branch in the capacity of Social Secretary, Secretary and President of which I was immensely proud. However, becoming a Fellow of the institute was the icing on the cake, and I only wish my father had been alive to see it.

The Institute has been a wonderful resource over the years and is there for all.”