International Women's Day: Two inspirational Southampton women

Freda White, 89, and Hania Banyard, 84, both residents of Netley Court Care Home, worked at British Gas and Liberty’s as a fashion buyer, respectively.

Now, on International Women's Day, the pair have described in detail what their exciting lives and jobs entailed.

Freda White

Freda White

Freda was born in Southampton in 1932 and was evacuated to Ringwood in the Second World War.

She returned to finish her education at St Anne’s Covent grammar school where she passed the “matriculation” exams and the Civil Service exam, enabling her to leave school at 16 and go off to live and work in London.

Quickly bored by life as a junior civil servant, Freda applied to train as a nurse at the Samaritan Free Hospital for Women in Marylebone Road, eventually working there as a theatre nurse.

Between all the scrubbing and bandage winding Freda had a lively social life.

Her Southampton connections led to Freda spending many an evening dog-sitting for Dr Maybray-King, the then recently elected to Westminster as a Southampton MP and later the first Labour Speaker of the House of Commons.

She left the nursing profession and worked at the well-known Foyles Bookshop, before her mother’s illness brought her back to Southampton where she worked as a secretary to the Head of the Bakery School at the Technical College.

Freda said: “To help get the job, I told them at my interview that I knew shorthand.

"This was quite untrue, and I quickly had to develop my own version of shorthand. I continued to use this throughout my working life.

“I met and married my husband Peter and, as was normal in the 1950s, gave up work when I found out I was expecting my first child.”

When Freda’s children were older, she joined the Southern Gas Board (now British Gas) as a part-time Wages Clerk in the late 1960s in a predominantly male workforce.

She went on to work with the company for over 30 years, before and after its privatisation.

Speaking on the role, Freda said: “I proved good in this role and as I had the ability to absorb and process large amounts of data.

“I became part of the team that undertook the ground-breaking exercise to computerise the whole payroll process.

“This was in the days of large, main-frame computers when all computer coding was done using the binary system, with little in the way of “off the shelf” software.

“I was one of a very small group of women in the UK at that time programming computers and writing the system manuals to go with them.

“Ironically, computer coding is now seen as a predominantly male career.”

Freda eventually moved to the company’s HR department thanks to her “extensive” knowledge and experience as a Union Representative.

But Freda was not one for putting all her eggs in one basket as she was also appointed as a Governor at Bitterne Park School.

Following her retirement in 1997, Freda and her husband volunteered as gardeners at the Mountbatten Hospice in West End for over 20 years, eventually receiving a Certificate of Merit from the Mayor of Eastleigh.

For Freda, celebrating International Women’s Day is important.

She said: “It is well-deserved appreciation because women are usually underestimated for their contribution to the wealth of the country.”

Hania Banyard

Hania Banyard

Hania is originally from Rawa Ruska in Poland which is now part of Ukraine.

She was evacuated to Germany with her mum and older sister at the start of the war and came to England by boat in 1947, initially living in Keevil Camp in Wiltshire and not speaking any English at the time.

Hania attended the local grammar school before completing a degree in Drama and French at Bristol University.

Her hard work ethic saw her climb up the fashion ladder and later meet Coco Chanel.

Hania’s daughter Helen Ahern said: “She started at Liberty's in 1962, having previously worked at Simpsons.

“Her official title was 'Buyer of Coats and Suits' and she was paid £1000 per annum and her family still have her original typed contract.

“Her role was to buy coats and suits to sell in Liberty's and she travelled to Paris to do this, which is where she met Coco Chanel.

“Like many women at the time, she left work when she got married so wasn’t at Liberty’s for long.

“She was featured in the Spring 1962 copy of Bride Magazine with details of her dress.”

When her children were young, Hania was the District Commissioner for the Girl Guides and a Tourist Guide for the South of England.

She also volunteered at Winchester Cathedral for over 20 years.

On International Women’s Day, Hania said: “It is a day to celebrate women’s achievements from around the world and is really important.”

She has lived at Netley Court since 2018.

Netley Court

Lindsey Groenewald, General Manager at Netley Court said: “We love hearing the interesting and inspiring stories about our residents’ lives and it is great to be celebrating International Women’s Day by sharing Freda and Hania’s stories.

“International Women’s Day is important – it’s a chance to celebrate the achievements of women of all ages, inspire younger generations of women and also show our support for other women in our community."