Isabella Elder was the remarkable wife of Glaswegian shipbuilder and marine engineer John Elder, the owner of the vast Fairfields shipyards in Govan.
Isabella is often overshadowed by her husband’s achievements and the Fairfields name, she was clearly involved in the running of the company, taking the reins for 9 months after her husband’s death in 1869, a spectacular coup in a period when women were to be seen and not heard, never mind running huge international businesses!

Now a widow, and with no bairns to look after, Isabella really came into her own as a feminist powerhouse, and became one of our personal heroes.