Glasgow shipbuilding hall named after 'pioneering' WWII female electrician Janet Harvey

A new shipbuilding hall which is part of a £300m transformation of the River Clyde will be named after a “pioneering” female shipyard electrician.

The BAE Systems site in Govan is under construction as part of plans to create a facility big enough for two Type 26 anti-submarine warfare warships to be built side-by-side.

The vast shipbuilding hall will be named after Janet Harvey who became an electrician in the shipyards on the Clyde from the age of 18 in 1940.

She was said to have played a “crucial role in the UK’s war effort” and was one of “a handful of women” working as electricians alongside the 100,000 strong male workforce.

The Janet Harvey Hall is currently under construction at BAE Systems’ site in Govan. BAE Systems

At the age of 96, she was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Engineering from Glasgow Caledonian University in recognition of her efforts during the war.

She died on Armistice Day in 2023 at the age of 101.

June Cofflet, Janet’s niece, said: “Janet would have been absolutely delighted to have the ship build hall named after her. She was so very proud of the work she did during the war.

“She had great memories of her time working on the Clyde and felt that the work she did made a difference.

“As a family we are delighted that BAE Systems has chosen our aunt’s name to go on the ship build hall, it is a real honour.”

More than 6,000 tonnes of steel and 20,000m3 of concrete will be used to make the transformation come to life.

BAE said the new hall will enable “efficient and safe shipbuilding for decades to come” with future work unaffected by adverse weather.

It includes 100-tonne cranes and two 20-tonne cranes and can accommodate up to 500 workers per shift.

Jen Blee, business operations director of BAE Systems’ Naval Ships business, said: “It’s fitting that a pioneer such as Janet will remain synonymous with our efforts to re-imagine complex shipbuilding on the upper Clyde.

“Today, women like Janet are much more commonplace in our yards than they once were and their numbers and impact continues to grow.

“We owe so much to generations past and will use the wisdom they gave us to create our own legacy for generations to come.”