A celebration of our residents for International Women’s Day

08 Mar 2023

This year, we identified two inspirational members of our retirement community who shared their stories and advice for younger generations.

For this year’s International Women’s Day, we are recognising our residents, their impressive careers and experiences, and the inspiration this presents for young women today.

We sometimes overlook the fascinating achievements and lives older people have had and how impactful this is for women today, so we canvassed our retirement community and spoke to two residents who take great pride in their former careers, sharing with us the secrets to their success. This serves as a great reminder that the older generation is a fascinating collection of individuals with resilience, talent, and skills that many of us could continue to learn a thing (or two!) from – perhaps one of the reasons the government is currently calling out for retired professionals to re-join the workforce.

The inspirational women we spoke to include a former Senior Personal Secretary for the Ministry of Defence and a former House Maid for the Queen at Windsor Castle.

Valerie Hall, 91, from Godalming, received an MBE from the Queen in 1992 in recognition for spending nearly 40 years in service as a Senior Personal Secretary to a Deputy Controller on nuclear matters for the Ministry of Defence.

After leaving school at 15 and later working at a day nursery, Valerie divorced and decided to become a secretary to earn more money. She eventually became a senior secretary after putting herself through both the civil service and senior secretary examinations, joining the MoD in her early twenties.

Valerie said: “It wasn’t my dream role at the start but the more I got into it, the more I loved it. I really enjoyed the personal nature of the role and being able to work directly with one person.” 

Linda Pouncett, 73, from Dorset, was working for the Queen at Windsor Castle for 10 years as part of her house maid staff, starting in her early 60s. She joined Windsor Castle after working for many years at a printing company and she never looked back. Her only regret was not having the job earlier in her life. Linda’s greatest learning during her role was doing things the traditional way, which was how the Queen liked it.

Linda said: “You don’t get duvets in a castle, so all the beds were made up the old-fashioned way.”

Here is the advice Valerie and Linda offer women starting out in their careers, and what they would tell their younger selves, if they could:

“I would advise having two things to be successful in what you do…common sense and a pleasant manner…” – Valerie Hall

“If you have a dream role, go for it and if you get the chance, do it earlier in your career, rather than later.” – Linda Pouncett

“I wasn’t always computer literate, but this didn’t put me off when interviewing for jobs. Looking back, I have no regrets and my top tip for any woman would be, don’t doubt yourself and get on with it.” – Valerie Hall