International Women’s Day 2026
Celebrating Surrey’s Incredible Women
Surrey’s history isn’t just written in buildings, landscapes, and collections – it’s shaped by the remarkable women who lived, worked, created, organised, and challenged the world around them.
Today, we shine a light on many of these stories revealing women whose impact stretches from global innovation to deeply local community action. Here are just a few whose lives deserve to be celebrated.
Ada Lovelace – A visionary ahead of her time
Recognised as the world’s first computer scientist, Ada Lovelace (1815–1852) lived in Esher at Sandown House. Her work on Charles Babbage’s Analytical Engine went far beyond translation. She wrote what is widely considered the first computer program, imagining possibilities for machines that didn’t yet exist.
At a time when women were rarely associated with science or mathematics, Ada’s vision was extraordinary. Today, she stands as a powerful reminder that innovation often begins with imagination.
Dame Ethel Locke King – Driving change
Dame Ethel Locke King (1864–1956) was not just a supporter of progress, she helped build it. A keen motorist, she oversaw the completion of the Brooklands Motor Course, the world’s first purpose-built motor racing circuit.
During the First World War, her leadership extended into humanitarian work. As Assistant County Director for the Red Cross, she oversaw more than 12 hospitals, including one in her own home. Her contribution was recognised with a DBE in 1918.
Ethel’s story is one of vision, leadership, and action across both innovation and care.
Hope Sanger – The power of community
Not all impact makes headlines. Some of the most powerful change happens quietly, locally, and consistently.
Hope Sanger (1897–1994) was a force of organisation and compassion in Send during the Second World War. She ran the local WRVS, organised rest centres, helped rehouse bombing survivors, and supported her community through crisis.
Her service didn’t stop there. She went on to become a magistrate, school governor, and Meals on Wheels organiser continuing her work well into her 90s.
Hope’s story is a reminder that leadership isn’t always loud, but it is always vital.
Margaret Robinson – Creativity behind the scenes
Margaret Robinson (1920–2016) brought imagination to life!
An artist, puppeteer, and model-maker, she created detailed models for Hammer Films, including The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Mummy.
After moving to Chertsey, she later became a teacher, helping to nurture a new generation of artists, many of whom formed the Chertsey Artists’ group.
Her legacy lives on not just in film, but in the creative communities she helped build.
A much bigger story
These women are just a glimpse into Surrey’s rich and varied history. Follow this link to a past celebration on the Influential Women of Surrey where you can explore these and more stories. It will take you to our pages on the Exploring Surrey’s Past website where you will find around 20 remarkable women including Gertrude Jekyll, the pioneering garden designer, to Flora Sandes, the only British woman to serve officially as a soldier in the First World War, and Dame Ethel Smyth, composer and suffragette.
Together, their stories span science, art, social action, industry, and activism showing that women in Surrey h always shaped the world around them in powerful and diverse ways.
International Women’s Day is a moment to celebrate and to notice.
Many of these women weren’t always centred in traditional historical narratives. Yet through our work across heritage and with Surrey’s museums, their contributions are being rediscovered, shared, and recognised as essential to our understanding of the county.
Because history isn’t just what happened, it’s who we choose to remember.