Lady Ruth Bromfield by Gordon Smith
Ruth was a small child and was able to escape the tyranny of Nazi Germany through her mother’s selfishness. Her father was a German soldier who abandoned her mother because of her Jewish faith.
Ruth’s mother then feared for her child’s immediate safety, so she arranged for Ruth to be sent to England on the “kinder transport.“
Her mother is brutally murdered at the station just as the Kinder Transport train departs.
John Bromfield, a Church of England priest, raised her in the Christian faith, and with help, he also raised her in the Jewish faith.
As a child, her dual faiths enabled her to build bridges between diverse groups, even at an early age.
After the war, Ruth goes to university and becomes a qualified engineer.Her dual faiths enabled her to build bridges between diverse groups as a child.
She gains experience working in faraway Australia on the Snowy Mountain Hydro-Electric Project. Her early interaction with those from all diverse backgrounds and religions paved the way for her later leadership within an international company.
Ruth falls in love and returns to England.
After a disastrous marriage, she returns to Australia and works on several engineering projects.
Eventually, she met her future husband and was promoted to a senior position within her company.
Shortly after her marriage to Clive, she is asked to supervise the planning for the recovery of a small Pacific Island nation following a devastating cyclone. Clive, to her delight, is also tasked to supervise the medical relief program following the cyclone.
Her leadership brings high praise, and on her return to Australia, she is elevated to the board of the company (which is being merged with her family’s company.)
She is exposed for the first time, to many economic and ethical issues facing companies tendering for Government projects. She works through these issues and improves the process.
With her husband’s encouragement, Ruth embarks on a massive engineering solution that would help in raising the living standards of several African nations. Although a massive financial injection is initially needed, the whole project eventually becomes self-financing.
During the early stages of the project, she develops what becomes known as The Respect Program. For her efforts, Ruth is honoured with a Nobel Prize and she is elevated to Dame Commander of The Most Honourable Order of the Bath.
