- Transferred from WAAF -

 Eventually, 28 women transferred from the Womens Auxiliary Air Force to the ATA in 1944:

12 starting on  the 21st February:

• W.155  3rd Officer  Rosemary Bonnett
• W.154  3rd Officer Suzanne Palmer Chapman
• W.156  3rd Officer  Yvonne Margaret 'Peggy' Eveleigh
• W.159  3rd Officer  Marjorie 'June' Farquhar
• W.157  3rd Officer  Diana Faunthorpe
• W.152  3rd Officer Joyce Fenwick
• Cadet  Mary Emily King  (Contract Terminated 1 Jul 1944)
• W.160  3rd Officer  Barbara Lankshear
• W.158  3rd Officer  Patricia Mary Provis 
• W.161  3rd Officer Frances Mary Rudge
• W.165  3rd Officer  Ruth Mary Hornsby Russell
• W.153  3rd Officer Winifred 'Pooh' Stokes

and 16 more starting on the 8 May (although only 6 of them were taken on as full-time pilots):

• Cadet Jean Mary Akerman (Contract Terminated 3 Jun 1944)
• W.163  3rd Officer  Susan Mary Aurea Alexander
• W.166  3rd Officer Joan Henrietta Arthur
• Cadet Dorothy Ritson Bell (25 May)
• W.168  3rd Officer  Aimee de Neve
• Cadet  Joan Mary Grinling (10 Jun)
• W.167  3rd Officer  Eleanor 'Betty' Keith-Jopp
• Cadet  Heather Marion Lott (10 Jun)
• W.164  3rd Officer Annette Mahon
• Cadet Rita Mary 'Ray' Neve  (17 Jun)
• Cadet  Sheila Reddicliffe  (21 Jun)
• W.162  3rd Officer Katharine Stanley-Smith
• Cadet Dorothy Margaret Stewart (1 Jul)
• Cadet  Dora Joyce Tildesley (9 Jun)
• Cadet  Sheila Marion Tointon (17 Jun)
• Cadet Sheila Willson (3 Jun)

However, they were not the only ex-WAAFs who found their way to the ATA; there were another 11 women pilots before then, as follows:

• W.9  8 Jul 1940  First Officer  Mabel Glass 
• W.23  31 Jul 1940  First Officer  Dolores Theresa 'Jackie' Sorour
• W.38  1 Apr 1941  Flight Captain  Lucy Agnes Vera Falkiner 
• W.46  1 Aug 1941  First Officer  Jean Lennox Bird
• W.53  3 Sep 1941  First Officer Roy Mary Sharpe
• W.52  8 Sep 1941  First Officer  Dora Lang
• W.---  29 Apr 1942  Cadet  Lucie Margaret James  (Contract Terminated 22 May 1942)
• W.92  17 Jul 1942 First Officer  Anne Walker
• W.124  1 May 1943  3rd Officer  Joan Edwina Francis Mullineaux
• W.115 18 May 1943  3rd Officer Ida Laura Veldhuyzen Van Zanten
• W.132  27 Aug 1943  2nd Officer  Zita Paddon

W.---	Cadet	Jean Mary Akerman
	b. 17 Dec 1922, Camberley	8 May 1944 to 3 Jun 1944

Father: Maj-General William Philip Jopp Akerman CB, DSO, MC, Director of Staff Duties Artillery, Army Headquarters India (Retired 1942, d. 1971); mother: Olga Phyllis [Steevens, d. 27 Dec 1922, i.e. when Jean was 10 days old]

Step-mother: Annie [Alexander] from 1925. Two step-sisters, Rosemary and Susan.

Ed. Bedgebury Park, Goudhurst, Kent

prev. WAAF (WMTS India)

Address in 1944: "Rotherwood", Churt, Farnham, Surrey

[ab initio pilot]

[Contract Terminated by ATA]

m. 25 Apr 1946 in Churt, Flt-Lt Dr David Stewart Crichton MBE, MB, ChB; one daughter Susan (Penny) [Buckley] 1948-2016

d. 13 Jun 2018 - Salisbury

Download ATA Pilot Personal Record (.zip file):

W.163	3rd Officer	Susan Mary Aurea Alexander
	b. 19 or 20 Apr 1920, Horncastle Lincs	8 May 1944 to 30 Sep 1945

Father: Capt William James Alexander (a Company Director, Motor Trade, d. 1947), mother: Mary Jeanette [Rawnsley] (d. Jul 1941) of Raithby Hall, Spilsby:

  Raithby Hall, the home of the Rawnsley family

Ed. Benenden, Kent (School Certificate)

prev: WAAF

Address in 1944: c/o L S Dodds Ltd, Spilsby, Lincs

[Ab initio pilot]

Postings: 4FPP

One accident:

- 31 Jan 1945, in Swordfish II LS215; she failed to keep the aircraft straight on take-off, and it swung, hit a snow ridge and turned over

Gained her Royal Aero Club Pilot's Certificate (No 20753) as part of the ATA's 'Wings' scheme on 22 Nov 1945

d. 9 Jul 2000 - Taunton, Somerset

Download ATA Pilot Personal Record (.zip file):

W.166	3rd Officer	Joan Henrietta Arthur
	b. 5 Aug 1919, Ealing	8 May-44 to Sep-45

Father: George Arthur, a Civil Servant; mother Margaret, a nurse

prev. an insurance clerk

Address in 1945: 51 Hillfield Rd, W Hampstead, London NW6

 [Ab initio pilot]

Gained her Royal Aero Club Pilot's Certificate (No 20488) as part of the ATA's 'Wings' scheme on 3 Aug 1945

m. 1948 in Hampstead, Eric G Barton

 d. 5 Mar 1993 - Hatch End, Middx

W.---	Cadet	Dorothy Ritson Bell
	b. 27 May 1920, Carlisle	8 May 1944 to 25 May 1944

 Father: Alfred Redmayne Bell (an agriculturalist, d. 1925 in Nigeria), mother: Ruth Dorothy [Ritson]

prev: Private secretary; WAAF

Next of Kin: (uncle) Alan Brewis Bell

Address in 1944: Cardrona, Wise Lane, Mill Hill London NW7

Contract Terminated by ATA - unlikely to become an efficient ferry pilot

 m. 1945 in Paddington, John T Tierney (?)

Download ATA Pilot Personal Record (.zip file):

W.46	First Officer	Jean Lennox Bird
	b. 8 Jul 1912, Hong Kong	1 Aug 1941 to 30 Nov 1945

Father: Col. L G Bird DSO, OBE, of The Old Farm, Beech, nr Alton, Hants

Ed. Manor House, Limpsfield

WAAF ASO from 16 May 1940 to 31 Jul 1941

Postings: 5FPP, 15FPP, 4FPP, 6FPP

Class 4+ pilot

6 accidents, 3 her fault:

- 15 May 1942, her Spitfire BR236 ran into an umarked soft patch when landing, and nosed over

- 26 Jun 1942, she stalled Albacore L2174 attempting a forced landing, after the windscreen became obscured with oil

- 18 Nov 1943, after taking off in Anson R9757, she bent down to retrieve a Form 700, inadvertently pushed forward the control column, and wrecked the undercarriage in the subsequent crash.

- 15 Mar 1944, a spectacular-sounding crash in Hudson III T9426; on take-off, due to insufficient speed the port wing dropped and hit the ground, and the aircraft cartwheeled. However, she was held 'not to blame'.

- 17 Jul 1944, she was unable to correct the take-off swing of her Spitfire IX PL162, ran off the runway, ground-looped to avoid some workmen, and nosed over

- 16 Apr 1945, a jeep ran into her Mosquito VI HR136 while she was taxying, and damaged the starboard undercarriage

"An extremely sensible, keen and good pilot on whom one can rely... must guard against giving a wrong impression by her difficult manner" - Margot Gore, her C.O.

Awarded her RAF 'Wings' in Sep 1952, the first of 5 women (all ex-ATA pilots) to do so when serving with the short-lived (1 Feb 1949 - 1954) Women's Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (WRAFVR). The others were Benedetta Willis, Jackie Moggridge, Freydis Leaf and Joan Hughes 

In 1956, Veronica Volkersz wrote that Jean was one of only 7 women flying commercially: -  "Jean Bird flies a Miles Aerovan on aerial survey"  - and concluded that "The tragedy is that for women, commercial aviation is now - except, possibly, in Russia - a closed field."

[The others were Jackie Moggridge, Monique Rendall, Suzanne Ashton, Zita Irwin, Diana Barnato-Walker and Freydis Leaf]

d.  29 Apr 1957 in the crash of Miles Aerovan 4 G-ASIF belonging to Meridian Air Maps. "... evidence was given that the aircraft had been fitted with an incorrect spare part"

https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/28632

 Full biography here: Jean Bird - Wikipedia

 Download ATA Pilot Personal Record (.zip files):

W.155 *	3rd Officer	Mrs Rosemary Leslie [or Lesley] Bonnett
	b. 1 Sep 1918, Bristol	21 Feb-44 to Sep-45

 née Bell

 father: Percy Harrison Bell (2nd Lt in WWI, who gained an RAeC Certificate No 5298, in October 1917) , mother Adele Helene [Gellatly, a midwife, d. 1967 in S. Africa]

Grew up in South Africa (1924 - Jan 1936)

prev. a Secretary, typist

m. early 1942 Flt-Lt Dorian Dick Bonnett DFC

  (39 Sqn RAF, d. 24 Oct 1942 in Lancaster I W4306, which crashed in England on return from a daylight raid on Milan)

 [ab initio trainee]

Postings: 15FPP, 7FPP

2 accidents, both her fault:

- 14 Oct 1944, when taxying on wet grass and in windy conditions, her Argus I EV792 collided with marker flags

- 9 Aug 1945, taxying in Andon I AX319, she struck a motor sweeper and the aircraft was damaged.

 Gained her Royal Aero Club Pilot's Certificate (No 20610) as part of the ATA's 'Wings' scheme on 3 Oct 1945

m. Oct 1946 in Surrey, Flight Captain Phillip Lambert Gibbs

  (also an ex-ATA pilot)

m. 1949 in Kensington, London, Richard C Towers

 Address in 1989: Garden Farm, Tufton, Haverfordwest

d. 25 Jan 1989

W.154	3rd Officer	Suzanne Palmer Chapman
	b. 8 Dec 1918, Swansea	21 Feb 1944 to 30 Sep 1945

mother: [Mills]

Postings: 15FPP

  ATAM

(r) with Flt-Capt Coltman

One accident, not her fault:

- 1 Oct 1944, she ground-looped in Argus I EV809, due to a faulty port wheel casting

Gained her Royal Aero Club Pilot's Certificate (No 20592) as part of the ATA's 'Wings' scheme on 29 Sep 1945

Address in 1945: Fernbank, Murton, Bishopstown, Swansea, S Wales

In 1949, she was a staff pilot at Hereford airfield.

m. 1951 in Hereford, John H Ashton

In 1956, Veronica Volkersz wrote that Suzanne was one of only 7 women flying commercially: -  "Suzanne Ashton flies an Auster 'talking aeroplane' on advertising work"  - and concluded that "The tragedy is that for women, commercial aviation is now - except, possibly, in Russia - a closed field."

[The others were Jackie Moggridge, Monique Rendall, Jean Bird, Zita Irwin, Diana Barnato-Walker and Freydis Leaf]

m. 1961 in Swansea, Richard John Hart

d. 5 Feb 2011 - Swansea

 Download ATA Pilot Personal Record (.zip file):

W.168	3rd Officer	Mrs Aimee (or Aime) de Neve
	b. 19 Aug 1919 Gampola, Ceylon	8 May 1944 to 30 Sep 1945

nee Aime Gholdstein Jonklaas

Father: Ernest Gholdstein Jonklaas, a proctor of Gampola, Mother: Amelia Beatrice Cecile 'May' [Daniel], from Sutton, Surrey

Two brothers, Ernest and Cecil; one sister, Evelyn Ninette

[Ernest attended Brasenose College, Oxford, played tennis at Wimbledon and represented Oxford University in a tournament in Newport, USA in 1925. He m. Alice Cox, from Woodmere, Long Island, USA in 1926]

Ed. convent in South India

She and her mother visited the UK in 1925, and Aimee moved to the UK c.1935

Address in 1939: Hendon, London NW, described as a 'Commercial and Secretarial Student'

prev: WAAF

m. Oct 1940 in Marylebone, Rev. Tom Ryder, from New Chapel, Horwich, Lancs

m. 25 Sep 1943 in London, F/O Gilles Peter Cornelia de Neve  322 (Dutch) Sqn, RAFVR (d. 16 Jan 1944 in Spitfire Vb AD428 in a training accident nr Hawkinge, Kent)

Ab initio pilot:

In 'WAAF with Wings', by Yvonne Eveleigh, Aimee described moving on to the Harvard as "Very exciting! The Harvard felt so powerful after all the light aircraft and Marks (her instructor) liked to give me quite frightening shocks to make sure I was awake!"... "My first Spitfire flight was unbelievable! This beautiful aircraft was actually all mine for a brief time. I was rather worried when I had to do several circuits, as a RAF aircraft had done a belly landing, and I had all the red flares, etc. thrown at me".

Postings: 15FPP, 6FPP

Gained her Royal Aero Club Certificate No 20545 on 11 Sep 1945, as part of the 'ATA Wings' Scheme.

Address in 1945: 56 S. Molton St, London W1

m. Oct 1945 iin London, Jan Mowinckel Helen, a Norwegian naval officer from Bergen (three children, Teeny, Erik and Jan Ernest, b. 1946, 1949 and 1953)

m. 1996 in London, Mark G  Williams, whom she met in Sri Lanka

Lived in Brighton, Sussex

d. Jul 2000 - Spain

Her ashes were interred in 'an English village' on 20 Jul 2000

"Man, woman or child, Aimee made time for them, and if she met a person for the first time her enthusiasm for life left a stranger breathless. Intelligence, bounding energy, beauty and charm were Aime."

see http://www.sundaytimes.lk/000820/plus5.html

W.156	3rd Officer	Mrs Yvonne Margaret 'Peggy' Eveleigh
	b. 18 Aug 1917, London	21 Feb-44 to Sep-45

ATA

RAeC 1945

née Lucas

Father: Lieut. Albert James Lucas, R.F.C., (killed whilst flying in France in May 1917), mother Violet Cordelia [Chauncy] (m. 1932 Douglas G Shrubshall)

m.1939 in Surrey, Derek Ernest Eveleigh, who d. 22 Apr 1940 in the crash of BOAC's Lockheed 14 G-AFKD at Binn Uird, near Loch Lomond, Dunbarton, en route from Perth to Heston

 Postings: 5TFP, 2FPP

exp. in ATA: 178.35 hrs

 3 accidents, one her fault:

- 14 Feb 1945, the starboard tyre of her Spitfire IX MA639 burst while taxying, and the aircraft swung off the perimeter track and nosed over

- 20 Aug 1945, a forced landing in Oxford II T1258 after engine vibration caused by a bent propeller tip

- 3 Sep 1945, she failed to control the landing swing of Spitfire III SP196, damaging the starboard wing tip

Gained her RAeC 'A' Certificate No 20527 as part of the ATA 'Wings' scheme on 31 Aug 1945

 Address in 1945: King's Arms, Tedburn St Mary, nr Exeter, Devon

m. Oct 1946 in Aylesbury, Roger G Grace

m. Oct 1952 in Westminster, Maj. Charles E Kaiser

m. Edouard Stamfer

All three post-war marriages ended in divorce.

Wrote 'WAAF with Wings' in 1992:

"A very good book published in 1992 by Y M Lucas (Peggy) called ’WAAF with Wings’ tells the story of the ATA with contributions from the girls themselves. In it Peggy describes delivering a repaired Martinet to St Eval for target towing and collecting a damaged Spitfire from there to deliver to a Maintenance Unit.

Peggy Lucas continued flying and at age 84 qualified as a helicopter pilot!

 1993

Frankie Horsburgh, a Canadian, located 16 out of the 17 [ex-WAAF ATA pilots] for their first reunion."

- http://www.olivehouserock.co.uk/link/144/index_files/Page549.htm

d. 8 Jan 2008 - buried St Nicholas Church in Remenham, Berkshire.

She reverted to 'Eveleigh' as her surname:

see http://www.oxfordhistory.org.uk/war/stfrideswide/lucas.html

 Download ATA Pilot Personal Record (.zip file):

W.38	Flight Captain	Hon. Mrs Lucy Agnes Vera Falkiner
	b. 1 Jan 1905, Stanford	1 Apr 1941 to 31 Dec 1945

1935 (by Bassano)

RAeC 1938

née Verney Cave

Father: Adrian Verney Verney-Cave, Lord Braye, Mother: Ethel Mary [Bouverie-Pusey], of Stanford Hall, Swinford, Rugby

Ed. Convent, St Leonards on Sea

 1929

"The Hon Lucy Verney Cave as Miss Neville in Goldsmith's comedy 'She Stoops to Conquer' performed by Girl Guides in the Church Hall in Lutterworth. They gave a very entertaining performance of thes delightful old play"

 with her brother, the Hon. Thomas Adrian, at the 'Lincoln Stuff Ball' in 1930

[one of many many balls, dances, society weddings, etc, etc that she attended]

m. 1935 in Bosworth, Lucien Leslie Falkiner "of the 43rd Light Infantry... both families are well-known in the Midlands and they are slightly related"

 Ancestry

 Capt. Falkiner d. 30 May 1940 in France

prev: WAAF from 23 Nov 1940; Assistant Section Officer, based at Wittering, Northants

prev exp: 14 hrs on Avro Cadet, Tiger Moth, Hornet Moth

 Postings: 5FPP, 12FPP, 9FPP, 1FPP

Off sick from 6 Oct 1942 to 30 Mar 1943 with 'nervous overstrain'

7 accidents, 2 her fault:

- 29 Mar 1942, flying Master I N7552, she found it difficult to select 'Flaps Up' and accidentally released the hood

- 14 Apr 1942, she couldn't get the flaps or undercarriage to lock down in a Hurricane

- 7 Jul 1942, the propeller of her Master I N7482 was discovered to be bent after she parked it, cause unknown

- 4 Jul 1943, she landed Master II EM329 with complete engine failure, due to the servicing cock under the port fuel tank being turned off

- 14 Jul 1943, she failed to control the landing swing of Hudson III FH373 and damaged the port wing

- 10 Nov 1943, the hood blew off her Spitfire VIII JG379 on take-off when she tried to close it, damaging the tailplane

 - 15 Jun 1945, forced landing in Mosquito XXX MV527 after a serious oil leak in the port engine

"A good, very steady and extremely careful pilot, who has an excellent influence on the junior pilots"

d. Mar 1980 - Cirencester

 Download ATA Pilot Personal Record (.zip file):

W.159	3rd Officer	Miss Marjorie 'June' Farquhar
	b. 28 Jul 1921, London	21 Feb-44 to Sep-45

RAeC 1945

(r) with Edith Beaumont

Rather: Capt. Arthur Farquhar, of Town Farm, Aldbury, nr Tring, Herts

Ed. "Private and Finishing Schools", Francis Holland (London) and Chateau Mont Choisi, Lausanne

  With the Hertfordshire Hunt in 1940

prev: VAD,; from Oct 1941 WAAF

(c) with Edith Beaumont and Lettice Curtis

One accident: 

- 26 Aug 1944, she was commended for a forced landing in Magister L8054 after engine failure

Gained her RAeC 'A' Certificate No 20491 as part of the ATA 'Wings' scheme on 3 Aug 1945

 Address in 1945: 49 Milverton Rd, London NW1

 Mrs Cole from 1946, as reported by the Bucks Herald on 14 June;

"MARRIAGE OF MAJOR C. B. COLE AND MISS M. J. FARQUHAR

The wedding took place between Major Charles Brian Cole and Miss Marjorie June Farquhar at the Church of St. John the Baptist, Aldbury, on Friday.

The bride, younger daughter of Captain and Mrs Farquhar, of Town Farm, Aldbury, was given away by her father. The reception was held at “Hawkwell”, a Tring residence owned by the bride’s parents, and which is at present largely occupied by farm workers of the H.W.A.C. About 275 guests were present, and refreshments were served under a marquee, set up on the lawns of the house, the sunshine on the day making possible the use of the lovely garden. After the cake was cut, the health of the bride and groom was proposed by Mr. E. J. Gilbert, an old friend of the family. The best man, Capt. Michael Charlesworth, R.A., answered the bridegroom’s toast on behalf of the bridesmaids.

Major and Mrs. Brian Cole later left by car for Marlow, where they spent the week end at the hotel where they first privately celebrated their engagement, five-and-a-half years ago.

On returning from their honeymoon, they will live in London, at least until the bridegroom leaves the War Office, where he is at present employed.

During the war the bride was in the W.A.A.F., doing radar work, but, later, became one of the twelve out of five thousand successful volunteer applicants for A.T.A. [I wonder where they got that from?]

As a ferry pilot she flew all types of fighter and torpedo planes all over the British Isles. Her father and mother, both Canadians, liked and stayed in England after the Great War, in which Capt. Farquhar served in the R.F.C. They first came to Ivinghoe 18 years ago for weekend riding, and it was then that Capt. Farquhar became known as the 'fairy godfather' for the pennies he distributed to the children who presented themselves with clean faces. He came to live in Aldbury about 10 years ago.

The bridegroom, third son of the late Mr. Charles Phillips Cole and Mrs. Cole, of Tring, was studying architecture with his father at the Berkhamsted office of Messrs, W. Brown and Co. when war broke out. He was then embodied with the Hertfordshire Regiment, and in 1941 he went to India, where, after attending Staff College, he served on the staff of an Indian Beach Group. He was mentioned in despatches, and at the cessation of hostilities with Japan was a Lt.-Col. on the Q. Staff of the 14th Army.

It will be remembered that in April, 1945, the elder sister of the bride was married at Tring to the oldest brother of the bridegroom, Mr. Richard Cole."

At an ATA Reunion c.2011

d. 13 Sep 2017

Her son kindly tells me that  "Whilst serving in the WAAF she was engaged then on secret work with radar, directing allied aircraft to targets deep in Germany. She always chuckled about leaving the WAAF to join the ATA. Apparently the only reason to be allowed to opt out was due to pregnancy, but my mother managed to wangle it (without pregnancy!) to join the ATA. I think her father's contacts helped pull strings, as he had been a Royal Naval Air Service Captain in the Great War.

 I have been looking at her Pilot Log Book, and give a summary of her flying service below. For the record it was signed off by EP Lane, Flt?Captain and Adjutant of No 1 Ferry Pool ATA.

 Download ATA Pilot Personal Record (.zip file):

W.157	3rd Officer	Diana Faunthorpe
	b. 2 Mar 1920, Beaminster, Dorset	21 Feb-44 to Sep-45

Mother: Alice Overton [Wills], Father Bertram Platt Faunthorp (d. 1949)

Ed,. Prior's Field School, Guildford; in 1935 she was a member of the choir, the lacrosse team ("Faunthorpe is a useful member of the team as she can play defence or attack, but must try to gain more speed") and the tennis team, and competed in the high jump and the hurdle race.

Address in 1938: Greystones, Enton Green, Godalming, Surrey

Sailed, with her mother, to Montevideo, Uruguay in Aug-Dec 1938

prev. a WAAF plotter, RAF Fighter Command

 "Of the fifteen different aircraft types she ferried for the ATA (the Spitfire was her favourite) she received instruction on only four." The Times, 2010

Address in 1947: Bramshott Cottage, Wilmer Lane, Liphook, Surrey

Sailed to Kenya in September 1947, intending to settle there and giving her profession as a 'Child's Nurse'.

She then met and married Henry James Hamilton 'Jim' Home, a psychoanalyst based in the Sudan, and they returned to the UK together in 1950. (Marriage dissolved), 3 children [1 son, Jennifer, and Jessica].

Retired to Totners, Devon where she "painted and learnt glass engraving".

d. 27 Mar 2010 (age 90)

Download ATA Pilot Personal Record (.zip file):

W.152	3rd Officer	Joyce Ann Fenwick
	b. 3 Mar 1918, Southampton	21 Feb 1944 to Apr 1945

ATA

WwW

 Mother: [Donald], from Edinburgh

Prev. WAAF from Jun 1942, stationed at RAF Ailton

Ab initio pilot

Postings: 7FPP

m. Sep 1944 John de Winton 'Johnnie' Tharp, also of the ATA.

"Flying Romance

There was a wedding in Old Bosham Church on Tuesday, which was the culmination of a war time flying romance, when Third Officer John Tharp, of the A.T.A., married Cadet Joyce Fenwick, also of the A.T.A. They are both pilots and ferry aircraft.

John Tharp is the second son of Mr. Charles Tharp, the well-known portrait painter, who has made his home in Old Bosham since the war, and whose beautiful picutres, portraits and landscapes are hanging in the Anchor Inn. Charles Tharp was at The Slade School of Art with Sir William Orpen and Augustus John, and has had many pictures hung in the Royal Academy. 

John Tharp was in the First Parachute Battalion formed in the early days of the war, but injured his back doing a jump, and was invalided out. Later he joined the A.T.A. 

The bride was given away by Third Officer John Gilbert, A.T.A. pilot, and her sister Marjorie Fenwick, was bridesmaid. The best man was Hugh Stewart, B.B.C. producer. The Rev. A. L. Chatficld officiated. Mrs. Turvey. the bridegroom’s sister, made the wedding cake, and decorated the church with the help of Third Officer (Mrs.) Bannister, another A.T.A. pilot. A delicious tea for 30 people was provided by Mrs. Leather at The Grange. Mr. Graham Tharp, who is a film producer for M.o.I., did a lot of work as M.C., and Mrs. Diana Britton did “billeting officer,” finding bed and accommodation for numerous guests, not an easy thing to do these days. After spending a night in Bosham, the happy couple left for the Scilly Isles to spend their honeymoon. " - Chichester Observer - Saturday 16 September 1944

 2 accidents, one her fault:

- 2 Dec 1944, a heavy landing in Spitfire V X4280, breaking the port undercarriage and wing

- 24 Feb 1945, her Argus I EV803 was hit whilst taxying, by Ida van Zenten in Argus FK337

 "She left ATA in April 1945, owing to a rather unexpected pregnancy that was only discovered when she went to the sick bay complaining of nausea" - WAAF with Wings

They moved to Kenya, but John appears to have died in an air accident in Tanganyika, 20 Jul 1951 - see Accident Avro Anson Mk I VP-KHT, 20 Jul 1951 (aviation-safety.net)

 Joyce and her daughter Gilian Carol, aged 8, sailed from Mozambique back to the UK in September 1954 to visit her mother in Edinburgh, then returned to Kenya, where they lived until they returned to the UK in 1962 before going to Fiji. 

m. c.1956 Maj. Kenneth Spicer Few (a lawyer who had been a PoW of the Japanese after the fall of Singapore, from Feb 1942 to 2 Sep 1945) (d. 1975)

They, together with daughter Sara (b. 21 Jun 1957), sailed to the UK from Kenya in Feb 1959, and back in Jun 1959, for four months. He is listed as a "Resident Magistrate"

d. 20 Dec 1973 - Cambridge

 Download ATA Pilot Personal Record (.jpg):

RAeC 1934

ATA

Father Harry M. Glass, 9, Whitehall, London SW1. 

Educated 'privately'.

A well-known pre-war racing aviator; prev. exp. 523 hrs on Avro Cadet, D.H. Moth, and B.A. Eagle, in "Egypt, Italy, France, Hungary, Germany, and the North African Coast."

Mabel, her sister Sheila and their pet tortoise, at the Tynwald Air Race in 1938 (they were disqualified for making a wrong turn at the start.)

And their pet tortoise's name was George.

Owned 1931 D.H. 60G Moth G-ABOE, then 1934 B.A. Eagle G-ACPU.

prev. a WAAF, A/C/W 2 from 22 Sep 1939

Address in 1940: 'Arnlui', Cranley Rd, Guildford

 She answered the question on her ATA application form "Are you prepared to serve?" with "Very much so!"

Postings: 15FPP, 6FPP, 5FPP, 16FPP, 12FPP

 "F/O Glass is a very good pilot and exceptionally keen. She has worked hard and conscientously but is inclined to lack imagination when flying. Her tendency to push through very bad weather has now been checked."

"A very keen strong pilot. No work is too much for her."

However, she was reprimanded twice for taxying without due care; once when her Anson hit a parked Spitfire after skidding on a wet runway, and then when her Hudson ground-looped and sustained damage to its port rudder, flap and aileron. On the second occasion she was docked 3 days pay. 

Post-WWII, Mabel, Sheila and their mother settled in Kwazulu Natal, South Africa.

 c.1953, holding the President's Cup of the Zululand Flying Club

National Library of Australia

Mabel continued to compete in aviation races until her death.

d. 4th Nov 1967 - Westville, Durban, South Africa.

 Download ATA Pilot Personal Record (.zip file):

W.---	Cadet	Joan Mary Grinling
	b. 23 Sep 1917, Grantham Lincs	8 May 1944 to 10 Jun 1944

Father: Col. Edward Johns Grinling DSO, MC, TD, mother Helen Marie [Cafferata]

Address in 1944: Fairfields, Grantham, Lincs

prev. ATS, WAAF

[ab initio]

[Contract Terminated by ATA]

 m. Apr 1948 in London, Brian Lester Howell

d. Jul 1972 - Colchester

Download ATA Pilot Personal Record (.zip file):

W.---	Cadet	Lucie Margaret James
	b. 1 Jan 1917, London	29 Apr-42 to 22 May-42

prev: Flt Sgt, WAAF

prev exp: (claimed) 200hrs/40hrs solo

[Contract Terminated by ATA]

W.167	3rd Officer	Eleanor 'Betty' Keith-Jopp
	b. 1 Apr 1920, Bristol	8 May 1944 to 17 Aug 1945

Father: Maj. Charles Henry Keith-Jopp MA, ICS (Indian Civil Service) (d. 21 Oct 1939); Mother:  [Evans]

Neice of William Stewart Keith-Jopp, also of the ATA.

Had a brother, Stewart.

Her father Charles was "a brilliant man and a scholar of Winchester and New College, Oxford, and a Boden Sanskrit Scholar. For many years he was a lecturer at Oxford University"

Ed. Royal School for Daughters of Officers of the Army

prev: secretary for BOAC; WAAF

Address in 1944: 4 Rodney Cottages, Clifton, Bristol 8 (Mother's address)

Ab initio pilot

Postings: 4FPP

2 accidents: 1 her fault:

- 29 May 1945; delivering Barracuda MX792, she "persisted too far in bad weather, found herself in cloud, and in turning, lost height. The aircraft struck the sea [between Anstruther Point and the Isle of May] and was lost, but the pilot was rescued."

["She saw the water a second before hitting it, did a good landing ‘all things considered’, but the aircraft started to sink until it settled on the sea bed. When Betty pulled the canopy release lever a giant bubble of air was released – but she had not released her parachute and harness straps.  When she did, ‘it took forever to get to the top.’  It was her lucky day and a little fishing boat chugged past and pulled her out of the water. " - ATA Museum

- 11 Jul 1945, her Argus FK338 was 'blown onto its nose' by one of the Liberators which were running up nearby at the same time. [Airfield Control got the blame].

m. 27 Mar 1948 in Bristol, Maj. Peter Stuart Huggett [ex Royal Artillery] and they lived at 26 Brunswick Sq., Gloucester 

Betty and one-year-old daughter Caroline sailed to South Africa in September 1953 and the family settled in Southern Rhodesia (where Peter was an Insurance Manager - and a member of the Rhodesia (Fire Insurance) Advisory Committee !) then South Africa. A second daughter, Eleanor, was born in 1955.

 d. 5 Jul 2016 - Port Elizabeth, South Africa

Download ATA Pilot Personal Record (.zip file):

W.---	Cadet	Mary Emily King
	b. 4 Mar 1917, Hampstead, London	21 Feb to 1 Jul 1944

Father: Hon. Humphrey Hastings King KC, (b. 1880 in St Petersburg, RN in WWI, Chancellor of the Dioceses of Chester and Sheffield from 1930, of Orchard House, Holywell Hill, St Albans.

Mother: Marjorie Mary [Webb]

Ed. Queen Anne's School, Cavershal, Reading and Bedford College for Women

prev: British Institue of Adult Education;1940-41, Foreign Office; 1942-Feb 1944, WAAF

Address in 1944: 10 Warwick Sq, London SW1

 [ab initio pilot]

Off sick from 11 Apr 1944

[Contract Terminated by ATA]

 poss. m. 1954 William C Poile and d. 1960

Download ATA Pilot Personal Record (.zip file):

W.52	First Officer	Dora Lang
	b. 30 Mar 1914, London	8 Sep 1941 to 2 Mar 1944

RAeC 1939

ATA

 nee Tily

Father: Thomas William Tily, a Garden Contractor, d. 1969; Mother Amelia [Fielding] (m. 1902) of 103 Stanlake Rd, Shepherds Bush

One brother (Thomas William II, b. 1902) and a sister Amelia May (b. 1904, d. 1967 in Cape Town, SA)

m. Oct 1935 Henry Albert Lang, a motor engineer

She joined the government-subsidized Civil Air Guard flying scheme, and got her RAeC Certificate in March 1939. She gave her occupation then as 'fancy goods manufacturer'.

Intriguingly, she referred to herself then as 'Miss Dora Tily'.

Prior to WWII, she had 12 hours solo on Gypsy Moth, B.A. Swallow and Miles Magister (later supplemented by, as she wrote, '26 hours duel with the RAF') - she was a Corporal in the WAAF, stationed at Hornchurch in Essex as a 'plotter'.

She wrote originally to the ATA in March 1941, following an appeal put out on the wireless by Lord Londonderry:

"Dear Sir,

I possess a pilot's 'A' licence and would very much like to qualify as a ferry pilot. I have 25 hours in my log book and have since done some passenger flying in RAF machines (Magisters). I am studying for a navigator's licence. I would be pleased of the opportunity to fly at my own expense to complete the required number of solo hours necessary to qualify for the advanced training provided under your scheme. I will be very eager to hear if any arrangements can be made.

ACW Dora Lang."

She got the standard reply at the time which was a) you need more hours, and b) we have no training facilities so, No.

She didn't give up, though; she wrote back straight away to say "I am informed by the Air Ministry that I may be able to do the training in Southern Ireland. Can you tell me how many hours I need?"

Well, they said, 50, although people may come here for a flight test with 30.

While she was mulling this over, (things changed quite rapidly for the ATA as 1941 wore on), on the 29 July they said, actually, "there are a few vacancies, come to Hatfield for a flight test."

She took her test on the 9th August, it was satisfactory, and she reported for duty on the 6th September as a Second Officer.

Postings: 6FPP, 4bFPP, 15FPP

She flew 17 hrs on Moths, 2 on Harts, 8 on Magisters, and a Swordfish, and was posted to training pool in March 1942. Her instructors' reports were consistently positive: "This pupil came to ATA at practically 'ab initio' stage, but very satisfactory progress made in school has been furthered during stay with T.P. and she should make an excellent ferry pilot. Keen and quietly confident.... very active and attentive".

In May 1942 she went on the conversion course for Hurricanes, and was then posted to Prestwick in July. She was recommended for Class 4 conversion at an early date: "an intelligent and conscientious pilot whose flying is neat and tidy. "

She was promoted to First Officer in March 1943. 

She had an 'incident' in June 1943, for which she was held responsible; when taking off in Spitfire BL991, she attempted to retract the undercarriage too soon after take-off and the throttle slipped back, allowing the aircraft to sink until the propeller tips hit the ground.

Otherwise things progressed well, until the 2nd of March, 1944, when she had two accidents in rapid succession.

She had just been off sick for 2 days, but said she felt better. With her Flight Engineer Janice Harrington (q.v.), she ferried a Hudson VI FK458 to RAF Cosford, but then ground looped on the icy runway, causing slight damage to the port wing, which she did not report. She and Janice had examined the undercarriage but couldn't see any damage; she then had lunch at RAF Cosford, and "both she and her flight engineer appeared very calm and cheerful, and neither showed any sign whatever of tiredness or strain."

 Janice Harrington

Marion Wilberforce wrote that "F/O Lang was a most straightforward officer, and I feel convinced that she would have reported the possibility of damage to the wing had she suspected that such might have occurred. If such damage had been revealed her Pool C.O. would have been contacted before she was allowed to leave the Pool."

They were allowed to leave, however, and she and Janice were then killed in Mosquito VI HP932, which crashed on approach to Lasham.

The official report says "Whilst approaching to land the aircraft appeared to undershoot slightly, the throttles were opened gently and then fully, whereupon the aircraft climbed sharply 100 feet, stalled, crashed and was destroyed.

Insufficient evidence to determine the cause, but it is clear that upon the application of full power the pilot failed to get the stick forward quickly enough to prevent the nose of the aircraft rising.

Insufficient evidence to determine responsibility."

Buried Maidenhead Cemetery - Sec. D. Row W. Grave 18

Janice was buried alongside her - Sec. D. Row W. Grave 19.

On the 10th, her husband wrote: "during her service with the ATA my wife always received the greatest kindness, and she was very proud to be serving in your organisation."

On the 3rd May, her mother added this: "I know my daughter was very happy in her work & with her many kind friends in the ATA & wish to thank them for all their sympathy in our great loss."

 It looks like Henry remarried almost immediately - in October 1944 - to Margaret C Cowper, and died in 1950.

The location of her log books (which may have been given to Henry, or Dora's parents, at the cessation of hostilities) is unknown.

Download ATA Pilot Personal Record (.zip file):

W.160 *	3rd Officer	Barbara Lilian Lankshear
	b. 13 Oct 1917, Rusholme, Lancs	21 Feb 1944 to 30 Sep 1945

Father: Frederick Russell Lankshear, a Chemical Manufacturer; Mother: Lilian [Rhind]

Address in 1939: Claremont Rd, Bristol

prev. Secondary School Teacher

Ab initio pilot

Gained her Royal Aero Club Pilot's Certificate (No 20583) as part of the ATA's 'Wings' scheme on 26 Sep 1945

"3420 SUPPLEMENT TO THE LONDON GAZETTE, 22 JULY, 1947
WOMEN'S AUXILIARY AIR FORCE - METEOROLOGICAL BRANCH
Commission resigned - Section Officer B L LANKSHEAR (4208) retaining her rank 7th July 1947"

Her son Michael wrote: "She worked on computers after the war and spent a life working on Main Frame sytems before computers became universal."

W.---	Cadet	Heather Marion Lott
	b. 3 May 1917, London	8 May 1944 to 10 Jun 1944

Mother: [Rawson]

Ed. Ashford School, Kent

prev: Secretary; WAAF from 3 Aug 1942 to 7 May 1944

Address in 1944: 22 Ellerton Lodge, East End Rd, London N3

One accident:

- 16 May 1944, a taxying accident in Magister V1039, which struck another Magister N3826. She was not blamed, as she was obviously inexperienced and under instruction.

[Contract Terminated by ATA]

 m. Oct 1954 in London, Richard J Jesson

 d. 27 Nov 2006 - Jersey

 Download ATA Pilot Personal Record (.zip file):

W.164	3rd Officer	Annette Elizabeth Mahon
	b. 21 Oct 1918, Dublin	8 May-44 to Sep-45

 ‘Annette was posted to Prestwick as a Class II pilot to ferry mostly Fleet Air Arm aircraft to the Isles and the north of Scotland. She became known as “Queen of the Barracudas” – and a one woman PR campaign for the capabilities of this high-wing torpedo/dive bomber monoplane.’ RAF Museum

m. 18 Jan 1947, Dr Samuel 'Maurice' B Hill

 1993

Annette (3rd from left) at the unveiling of the ATA Memorial in Hamble-le-Rice, 2010

d. 7 Oct 2013 - Basingstoke

W.124	3rd Officer	Mrs Joan Edwina Francis Mullineaux
	b. 27 Dec 1916, St. Annes-on-Sea, Lancs	1 May 1943 to 30 Sep 1945

 née Lee

Father: Edward George Lee, a Textile Manufacturer; Mother: Elizabeth [Dewer], of "Avonmore", St Annes-on-Sea 

Ed. St Leonard's School, St Andrews, Fife

Address in 1939: 158 Stannes Rd E, Lytham St Annes

prev: Driver, Corporal in WAAF at RAF Feltwell, Norfolk from September 1939

m. 5 Dec 1942 in St Annes-on-Sea, Capt. John Lecce Mullineaux, 42 Div RASC, "only child of Mr J. H. Mullineaux , and the late Mrs Mullineaux, of Fulwood, Preston"

 Postings: 5FPP, 1FPP

 Off sick from 3 Aug 1943 to 16 Jun 1944 after a flying accident: she was afterwards "slightly lame"

Two accidents, one her fault:

- 3 Aug 1943, her Magister stalled and dived into the ground after it was caught in the slipstream of a Wellington

- 31 Aug 1944, she collided with a parked aircraft whilst taxying Tiger Moth EM915

 Total hrs: 508 hrs, of which 276 hrs on Argus, plus Magister, Proctor, Hart, Moth, Swordfish, Whitney Straight, Oxford, Anson, Auster, Barracuda and Dominie/Rapide.

 "Apart from a tendency to become overconfident, this pilot proved good average ability and her airmanship was sound"... "has done her work efficiently and willingly. A good officer"

Lancashire Evening Post - Friday 28 March 1947: "NORTH-WEST DECREES

as Special Commissioner to hear divorce suits at Preston, to-day, Judge Ormerod granted decrees nisi to the following, on the grounds stated:—

• John Lecce Mullineaux, 123. Victoria-road, Pulwood. Preston; desertion by Joan Edwina Frances Mullineaux"

m. 1948 in Westminster, John B S Smyth

d. Oct 1971 aged 54 - Eton, Bucks

 Download ATA Pilot Personal Record (.zip file):

W.---	Cadet	Rita Mary 'Ray' Neve
	b. 1 Jun 1920, Lambeth, London	8 May 1944 to 17 Jun 1944

Father: S Neve, Mother: [Atherfold] of 54 Lexham Gardens, London W8

Ed. Tunbridge Wells County School

prev: Secretary; WAAF

She "acted as clerk to the Housing and Health Committee, the Lighting Committee and the Waterworks Committee" in Tunbridge Wells.

"TRAINING AS FERRY PILOT

Her many friends In Tunbridge Wells will be interested to learn that Rita Neve, late of the Town Hall staff, has, after nearly three years in the Service, been transferred from the WAAF to the Air Transport Auxiliary.

In October, 1941, she trained at Cranwell and passing out as L.A.C.W. teleprinter operator was posted to a Bomber Command Station. After some months’ duty there, she went to the West of England for a wireless operator’s course, and subsequently to Northern Ireland, where she worked in this capacity under Coastal Command.

From Ireland she volunteered for a wireless mechanic's course, and, after completing this, was sent to a station in Training Command. Having previously applied for entry in the A.T.A., she recently passed the necessary testa and is now undergoing training aa Ferry Pilot.

During this somewhat varied career she also satisfactorily passed the Air Ministry Board as candidate for a Signals Commission, but time did not permit her to proceed with this.

We are sure that her friends will wish her good luck her new venture." - Kent & Sussex Courier - Friday 12 May 1944

[ab initio]

[Contract Terminated by ATA]

 Assistant 2nd Officer, WAAF Administrative and Special Duties Branch, from 22 Aug 1945

"A candidate for Hanwell South Ward In the Ealing Town Council elections next week is 28-year-old Miss Rita Mary Neve, a former pupil at the County School, who was on the Town Clerk’s staff before she Joined the W.A.A.F. during the war. She Is now employed by firm of scientific consultants In London. Keenly interested In politics and local government, she is chairman of the Hanwell South Young Conservatives." - Kent & Sussex Courier - Friday 06 May 1949

Address in 1963: 10 Church Rd, Ealing, Southall

 d. 22 Mar 1999 - Tunbridge Wells, Kent

Download ATA Pilot Personal Record (.zip file):

W.132	2nd Officer	Zita Paddon
	b. 22 Apr 1913, Hampstead	27 Aug 1943 to 30 Oct 1945

Father: Charles Walter Paddon, a Civil Servant (Government Auditor)(d. 1940); Mother Amy Louise [Topham]

Ed. Sheffield High School, Southlands School Exmouth 1924-1930; Bedford College for Women, University of London (B.Sc. General Science) 1931-33

Also studied Engineering Drawing at Bedford Technical Institute, 1939.

prev: Private School Teacher; 1939-1943 WAAF. Cypher Officer working for RAF Ferry Command. 

Address in 1939: 14 Pemberley Ave, Bedford (living with parents)

Postings: 7FPP

3 accidents, 1 her fault:

- 27-Oct-44, taking off in Spitfire XVI SM182, she allowed the tail to raise too high, the propeller hit the ground and sheared off the tips

- 02-Mar-45, a wheels-up landing in Barracuda II LS687 after the port undercarriage locked up

- 19-Apr-45, another wheels-up landing, this time in Mustang IV KM428 after the undercarriage selector lever stuck.

A member of the British Gliding Association's Delegation to Czechoslovakia in September 1946

Pilot Officer in WRAFVR until 1955

Moved to Harrogate c.1956

m. 4 Aug 1967 in Bedford, John H Fordham

d. 11 Feb 2001 - Tunbridge Wells

 Download ATA Pilot Personal Record (.zip file):

W.158	3rd Officer	Patricia Mary Provis
	b. 20 May 1923, Beckenham Kent	21 Feb 1944 to 30 Sep 1945

 Father: Roy Seymour Provis, Mother: Rose Mary [Wood] of Bankside, Oxted, Surrey

Ed. The Downs School, Seaford, and Chateau Mont Choisi, Lausanne

 prev: WAAF from 10 Jun 1941:

"CpI. Patricia Provis, only daughter of Mr. and Mrs. R. S. Provis, Bankside, Oxted, has one of the most interesting jobs in the W.A.A.F. as a maps clerk at an R.A.F. station in Coastal Command. She joined the W.A.A.F. in July, 1941, and passed her medical board on her 18th birthday. Experience in map reading and credits gained in geography at her school qualified her for enrolment in this trade, and she has been made responsible for the issue and preparation of maps and charts for the air crews of her station." - Sevenoaks Chronicle and Kentish Advertiser - 22 Jan 1943

She said later: "Amy Johnson was my heroine.  When I was six she flew to Australia and I listened on my crystal set wireless and said I’d like to do it.” 

She was one of 17 who were transferred from the WAAF to the ATA in February 1944.

“They were only too glad to get rid of us with masses of pilots demobbed and waiting for flying jobs.”  After a medical the girls awaited an interview in the library of the Ministry of Aircraft Production and there Pat noted the titles of two books on aircraft technology.  When asked she said that she had read those books and learned quite a lot from them.  She put her selection down to ‘being a good liar’.

Ab initio pilot

Postings: 4FPP

“I was selected to join the 16 others who went in from the WAAF and I learnt to fly the Swordfish when I was 21.  I went solo after 12 hours training as we were all expected to do and if you didn’t you were sent back to the WAAF.  We were posted to various stations and given cross country training so that we could use railways for navigation.  (Roman roads came in useful, too).  There were no radios in those days for communication with control towers.  15 of the 17 intake went on to fly Spitfires, Hurricanes, Tempests, Typhoons and Barracudas - being able to fly one you were expected to fly all the rest.

My war was mostly comic - getting in everybody’s way! 

In January 1945 I crashed a Swordfish - that was comic too!  The petrol pumps packed up when I was close to Turnberry Airfield.  I thought that the forced landing would be easy but I made a horrible mess of it and finished up on the sea wall - what is now, I think, the ninth hole on the Turnberry Golf Course.  The most dangerous thing about a Swordfish was the climbing in and out of it.  However, on this occasion, there was no problem.  I just put my foot over the side and there was the ground.  I was still more or less on the airfield so the fire engine and ambulance came out pretty smartly but not before the Station Engineering Officer rushed up and said “Where’s the Form 700 and, by the way, are you alright?.”  Then someone said “*****, it’s a woman!”  I replied, “Yes it’s a woman, so can you see if you can find me a mirror?”

They took me in the ambulance to Sick Quarters where they gave me the very latest treatment for crashed pilots - a cup of tea and two Aspirins.”

I was blamed for it at the crash enquiry so did not progress to delivering Spitfires, etc.  Some eventually flew Lancasters and one of our people delivered a converted Lancaster for the Dam Buster raid.”

 One accident, definitely her fault:

- 12 Jan 1945, forced landing in Swordfish III NF369, after engine failure, due to "bad practice on the part of the pilot, who failed to check the contents of the gravity fuel tank before take-off. This tank was subsequently found empty."

m. Maslen Jones and lived in Rock, Cornwall

"Pat married after the war and did no flying for 44 years then she went up with an instructor in a Cessna from Bodmin Airfield (she had more flying hours than him) and found she had not forgotten how to fly. She said, “It’s like riding a bicycle - you never forget how to do it.”  Of her time with ATA she said. “I was very lucky to do it from scratch and be paid to do it!”

 d. 13 Aug 2012 - Wadebridge, Cornwall - "On August 13th 2012, peacefully at Trewiston Lodge, St. Minver, Pat, aged 89 years of Rock. Funeral service Glynn Valley Crematorium, Tuesday September 4th at 12.30 pm. No flowers please, donations in lieu for Cornwall Air Ambulance by retiring collection. Please wear bright clothes."

 All quotes from http://www.olivehouserock.co.uk/link/144/index_files/Page549.htm

 Download ATA Pilot Personal Record (.zip file):

W.---	Cadet	Sheila Reddicliffe
	b. 6 Dec 1919, Kirkby nr Liverpool	8 May 1944 to 21 Jun 1944

ATA

Plymouth Herald

Father: Harold Gelsthorpe Reddicliffe, a Canned Goods merchant, Mother: Vera R [Whitty], of 32 N. Park Rd, Kirkby, Liverpool

Ed. Belvedere School GPDST (Girls' Public Day School Trust), Liverpool; https://www.belvedereacademy.net/GDST/; 

Bedford College, University of London

prev. Civil Servant (Clerk, P&T Censorship, Liverpool; Imperial Censorship, Bermuda); WAAF

[She travelled from Liverpool to Bermuda on 30 Jan 1941, with about 160 other civil servants and government officials.]

[ab initio]

[Contract Terminated by ATA]

 Address in 1952: 29 Lower Belgrave St, London SW1

m. 1952 Peter Brian Beresford Lightbody

Published 'The Book of Callington' in 1982, and 'Callington: A Cornish Community' in 1987

 See https://archive.org/details/bookofcallington0000ligh/page/n1/mode/2up

d. 29 Jun 2017 - Callington, Cornwall

  2008

"Lightbody Sheila (Reddicliffe) Peacefully at Launceston, Cornwall on Thursday 29th June 2017 aged 97.

Sheila was a true European, reading German & French at Bedford College, Univ. of London in 1938-39; working in Imperial Censorship in Bermuda 1940-41; Pilot Training in WAAF at RAF Thame 1944; qualified as a Surveyor RICS; raising three boys in Post-War Britain at Liss, Hants, then from 1959 in Henwood & Callington, Cornwall.

Author of the Local History of Callington leading to the establishment of Callington Heritage Centre & of three Tudor period Novels. Determined, highly intelligent and always active she was an excellent wife, mother, mentor, companion & example to us all. Her sons, Nick, Simon & Ben, step-daughter Sally and their families" - https://funeral-notices.co.uk/notice/lightbody/4504909

 Download ATA Pilot Personal Record (.zip file):

W.161	3rd Officer	Frances Mary 'Frankie' Rudge
	b. 25 Dec 1914, Hamilton Ontario	21 Feb 1944 to 27 Apr 1945

Father: William Rudge, Mother: Mary, of 214 W Washington St, Painesville, OH, USA

Ed. Harvey High School, Painesville, OH

prev: Private Secretary; WAAF from 19 Aug 1941 (Section Officer from 8 Dec 1941) stationed at Greenock and then RAF Loughborough and Church Fenton.

Ab initio pilot

1 accident:

- 1 Sep 1944, a forced landing in Magister I T9747 after engine failure on take-off. After landing, the aircraft over-ran the airfield boundary and was damaged

Exp. in ATA: Magister: 103hrs 45min; Proctor: 38hrs 50min; Fairchild: 34hrs 55min; Moth: 12hrs 40min; Auster: 6hrs 05min; Swordfish: 3hrs.

m. 27 May 1944 in Haddenham, Bucks, Sgt Fergus Herbert Clarke Horsburgh of 6 Alexandra Place, Stirling, Scotland - they had originally met on the boat coming over from the USA in 1941.

Travelled back to Canada 23 Oct 1945 but returned to the UK

 Their son Brian Rudge Horsburgh died in 1969 aged 19 in Ottowa. Fergus was resident in Chateauguay, Quebec at the time.

  1993

d. 4 Mar 2005 - Exmouth, Devon

Download ATA Pilot Personal Record (.zip file):

W.165	3rd Officer	Ruth Mary Hornsby Russell
	b. 20 Nov 1920, Gravesend Kent	21 Feb 1944 to 30 Sep 1945

ATA
The Final 7 Women Pilots - Betty Keith-Jopp (W.167), Sue Alexander (W.163), Joan Arthur (W.166), Ruth Russell (W.165), Annette Mahon (W.164), Aimee de Neve (W.168), Katharine Stanley Smith (W.162

Father: George Ireland Russell, Mother: Irene, of 'Highfield', Linden Gardens, Leatherhead

3 sisters, 2 brothers

Ed. Parsons Mead School, Ashtead; King's College, University of London (B.Sc Hons in Geography)

prev: WAAF Meterorologist, based at Cranage and Kidlington

Ab initio pilot

Postings include: 7FPP

 Off sick from 19 Apr to 22 May 1944, with concussion after a flying accident in Magister T9813. She wrote about it later: "I was just sitting there as passenger, not touching the controls. Low flying always frightened me a bit and suddenly he [her instructor, seconded from the RAF, Sgt. Ronald Codlin] flew into some wires. The next thing I knew, we were on the ground. I realised I was not badly hurt and climbed out, then came the awful part. My instructor was trapped in the front cockpit and his leg was trapped and horribly twisted. I could do nothing to get him out... it seemed ages before the ambulance came".

  Sgt. Codlin's ATA contract was terminated the same day.

 One other accident, not her fault:

- 30 Aug 1945, a forced landing in Sea Otter JN252, after the engine cut out twice and then picked up again.

[Her brother-in-law was killed in action in 1944]

Address in 1947: 54 Cranley Gardens, Kensington

Sailed to Bermuda 16 Dec 1948 and m. there, on 29 May 1949, Major Keith Wilkinson AdamsMBE, RASC, originally from Cheshire:

 Their son Michael was b. 31 Mar 1950 in the King Edward VII Hospital, Bermuda.

They then spent 1953-56 in the Middle East, followed by a period back in the UK:

"ARMY OFFICER FINED

Lieut.-Colonel Keith Wilkinson Adams, of Greendene, Sea Lane, Bracklesham. who caused a car to stop on an approach to a pedestrian crossing at South Street, Chichester, was stated to have told P.C. D. Bond that he had been abroad and did not know the regulations. The Clerk (Mr. W. J. Booker) told the Magistrates that Lieut.- Col. Adams had written that he had been in the Middle East for the past three years and was staying at Bracklesham. Only the front part of the car was In a prohibited area. Defendant was fined £1. " - Bognor Regis Observer - Friday 26 October 1956

Then they all (Keith, Mary, children Michael, Susan, Simon and Victoria) moved to Australia in May 1958

 Keith d. 2004 in Adelaide, Australia

Ruth is featured here in 2013: 

https://youtu.be/FGNvxndyqtc
https://youtu.be/3iop5BgGtmg

d. 9 May 2014 - Darwin, Australia

"Adored wife of the late Keith Wilkinson Adams; Much loved mother of Michael, Susan, Simon and Victoria; Loved mother-in-law of Angela, Jim, Jackie and Laurie; Treasured grandmother of Erica, Timothy, James,Felicity, Olivia and Nicola and their partners Nicholas, Jessica and Anouck; and cherished great grandmother of Archer and Neve. Loved sister of Diana. A long and inspirational life, loved and admired by many and never to be forgotten" - https://www.heraldsun.com.au/tributes/notice/death-notices/adams-ruth-mary-hornsby-nee/4959447/

 Her son (who supplied many of the photos) tells me: "Aged 94, she ran a company, did public speaking engagements, co-hosted a local Adelaide radio program, and set up and monitored her own Youtube, Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook accounts. She didn't appreciate glass ceilings."

Buried CentennialPark Cemetery, Pasadena, Mitcham City, South Australia, Australia 

Download ATA Pilot Personal Record (.zip file):

W.53	First Officer	Roy Mary 'Becky' Sharpe MBE
	b. 13 Aug 1910, Bristol	3 Sep 1941 to 30 Sep 1945

RAeC 1938

1938 (Gloucestershire Echo)

ATAM

Grew up in India, and travelled back from there to the UK in 1928, age 17

Address in 1938: Northfield, Staverton, Stroud, Glos.

Prev: Secretary and Saleswoman, Motor Cycle Trade (Leslie Paynter, of Cheltenham);

WAAF Driver (501 Sqn, Gloucester) from 3 Sep 1939; Corporal from Sep 1940, Assistant Section Officer from 1st Sep 1941 but resigned to join ATA

 "An accomplished and daring motor-cyclist"

prev. exp. 10 hrs (Civil Air Guard)

She was "the first Air Guard member to go solo at the Cotswold Aero Club... She only waited a few minutes to receive the congratulations which always follow a first solo. She mounted her motor-cycle, and in a short time was back at business in a Cheltenham motor-cycle showroom. Miss Sharpe was one of the first applicants for Air Guard membership, and she commenced flying on September 29. Living at Staverton, she had made almost daily visits to the airport, and has flown on every occasion when weather permitted. Prior to her first tuition flight, she had only been in an aeroplane twice before for joy trips. Miss Sharpe is very well-known in Cheltenham, for she has ridden frequently at grass track meetings, scrambles and trials."

Address in 1941: (sister H M Sharpe), 21 Roland Gardens, London SW7

Postings: 5FPP, 15FPP

2 accidents, neither her fault:

- 21 Sep 1942, a forced landing in Spitfire IX BS336 after intermittent loss of power

- 7 Nov 1942, the tail wheel assembly of her Wellington III BJ714 broke following a normal landing at Sherburn. 

 "ferried about 1,030 aircraft before being posted to the Air Movements Flight, White Waltham... her passengers included Russian VIPs, loads of horseshoes, sulphuric acid, and eggs,"

MBE in the 1946 New Year's Honours List

Joined the staff of Control Commission in Germany, then test and development flying "near London"

"After D-Day she carried supplies to the Continent. Recently she has had flying job as saleswoman and demonstrator, taking her all over Europe." - Dundee Evening Telegraph

 In January 1948, she was among the earliest recruits for the newly-formed WAAFVR. Others included ex-ATA pilots Margaret Frost, Freydis Leaf, Ruth Russell and Margot Gore.

She competed in the King's Cup air race in 1949, flying a Miles Mercury (unplaced) and was due to fly a Spitfire Vb in 1950, "entered by her employer, W S Shackleton", hoping to beat Lettice Curtis' womens' speed record.

ex-ATA women pilots Joan Jenkinson (by then Lady Sherborne) and Monique (Agazarian) Rendall also competed in 1950.

Download ATA Pilot Personal Record (.zip file):

W.162	3rd Officer	Katharine Mary Stanley 'Katie' Smith
	b. 1 Sep 1919, Croydon	8 May-44 to Sep-45

ATA	RAeC 1945
The Final 7 Women Pilots - Betty Keith-Jopp (W.167), Sue Alexander (W.163), Joan Arthur (W.166), Ruth Russell (W.165), Annette Mahon (W.164), Aimee de Neve (W.168), Katharine Stanley Smith (W.162)

Father: Alfred Ernest Stanley Smith MC, a solicitor (d. 1947); Mother: Jennie Drayton [Pitts] (d. 1967)

Ed.  St. John's School, Bexhill-on-Sea

Prev. Costume staff of the Westminster Theatre, London; 

Womens Land Army 12 Apr to 6 Oct 1941 ("looking after pigs and chickens in a Mental Institute at Teddington");

WAAF from Dec 1941, Meteorological Officer stationed at Aldergrove, N. Ireland

Address in 1941: 45 Normanton Rd, South Croydon, Surrey

Her elder brother Edward was a fighter pilot, serving in the Battle of Britain and ending WWII as a Wing Commander:

see https://bbm.org.uk/airmen/SmithES.htm

Ab initio pilot

Postings: 5TFPP, 15FPP, 7FPP

3 accidents:

- 15 Oct 1944, her Tiger Moth T5368 was blown onto its nose by a "heavy" aircraft taxying ahead of her

- 28 Feb 1945, the port tyre of her Swordfish III NS133 burst on landing, cause unknown.

- Jul 1945, a heavy forced landing in Fairchild KK477 after engine failure, breaking the undercarriage and tipping the aircraft onto its nose

Of the last accident, she wrote "The pay-off was that later that same day HQ phoned Ratcliffe and asked them to send in Fairchild 477, it was due to be broken up. Our operations cheerfully told them not to worry, we'd already broken it up for them!"

m. 5 Jun 1945 in Croydon,  USAF Sgt. Arthur Zachary Hirsch Jr, from Woodbury, Connecticut, USA (They had met at Aldergrove, where he was with the US Weather Office)

Gained her Royal Aero Club Pilot's Certificate (No 20497) as part of the ATA's 'Wings' scheme on 8 Aug 1945

 "Katie and her husband became involved with theatrical work, thus reviving their original interests" - WAAF with Wings

d. 16 May 2010 - Rose Lane Adult Care Home, Prescott, AZ, USA

" On April 1, 1946 she and Zach arrived in the U.S. and she obtained her U.S. Citizenship in 1951 in Worcester, Mass. Kay worked for Dennisons Stationery Store in New York from 1946-47. From 1965-73 she was on the costume staff at Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis, MN. In the off season, costume staff at the Minnesota Opera Chanhassen Dinner Theatre, Minnesota Opera, Minnesota Children's Theatre. From 1973-79 she was on the costume staff McCarter Theatre, Princeton, NJ. From 1979-84 costume staff at the Dallas Ballet, Dallas Opera, Dallas Shakespeare-in-the-Park, SMU, Six Flags Over Texas.

In 1984 Kay and Zach moved to Prescott where she was the Resident Costumer at the Prescott Fine Arts Associations Community Theatre until 2008. During this time Kay designed and made costumes for over 110 Theatre productions. Kay was involved in the Girl Scouts serving as a Brownie Leader for 6 years, Girl Scout Troop Leader for 6 years, Senior Girl Scout Leader for 4 years and was the Girl Scout Coordinator in the Elementary School. She was involved in the Cub Scouts as a Den Leader for 4 years and her Den was selected by Howard Sanden, Brown & Bigelow Calender-printer artist to be painted on the annual Cub Scout Calender. Kay was an Executive Board Member of the Yavapai Humane Society for 10 years and originated the Santa Paws, Dog Show, and PR slide promotion programs. She was also a member of the British War Brides Association and 99's (Women's Pilots Association)." - https://www.ruffnerwakelin.com/obituaries/KatharineKay-Mary-Stanley-Smith-Hirsch?obId=487953

Arthur d. 2015

 Download ATA Pilot Personal Record (.zip file):

RAeC 1938

Father: Emil Sorour (originally French, poss. Arthur Emilien Sureur, naturalised British, d. before Jackie's birth)

5 ft 2½ in tall, dark brown hair

Mother: V [remarried a Mr Helling when Jackie was 6 months old], of 136 Schoeman St, Pretoria, SA

Brought up mostly by her grandmother; first flight at age 15 (and first parachute jump at age 16) in South Africa. Moved to the UK in 1938 and learnt to fly at the Aeronautical College, Witney, Oxon..

She has talked about the shock of meeting a "cultured, educated negro" at Oxford, "I'd never met one before".

prev: WAAF ACW/1 from Sep 1939, stationed at Rye as a radar operator

Postings: 5TFPP, 15FPP, 4FPP, 6FPP

Reprimanded for "inattention to airfield control signals at Cosford", 30 Mar 1945

5 accidents, 1 her fault:

- 30 Jun 1942, she over-ran the runway in a Seafire and hit a fence, after one flap failed to lower

- 27 Jan 1943, she had to land her Spitfire VIII with the tail wheel retracted, after it failed to lower

- 19 Feb 1943, in an Anson; she overshot the landing due to an error of judgement

- 18 Oct 1943, another Spitfire's tail wheel failed to lower and lock

- 10 Jan 1944, her Spitfire was struck by a vehicle following behind her when she turned

"Has shown exceptional keenness all the time she has been with this Ferry Pool"... "A keen, hardworking pilot.; should endeavour to use more common-sense in flying. Discipline, excellent"

King's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air, "for having ferried more aircraft during the war than any other man or woman."

m. 12 Jan 1945, in Taunton, Somerset Capt. Reginald Moggridge RE "the elder son of the well-known Taunton builder" (2 daughters, Veronica (Jill) b. 1946 and Candida b. 1961)

"A housewife with a hobby that keeps her in the air" - With daughter Jill in 1949 (Coventry Evening Telegraph)

Jean Lennox Bird Trophy in 1951

Awarded her RAF 'Wings' in 1954, one of 5 women (all ex-ATA pilots) to do so when serving with the short-lived (1 Feb 1949 - 1954) Women's Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (WRAFVR). The others were Jean Bird, Benedetta Willis, Freydis Leaf and Joan Hughes 

"When she is at home she takes part in local amateur acting"

In 1956, Veronica Volkersz wrote that Jackie was one of only 7 women flying commercially:  "Jackie Moggridge lives in Taunton with her husband and a ten-year-old daughter. For the past year she has been ferrying Spitfires from the Middle East to Burma"and concluded that "The tragedy is that for women, commercial aviation is now - except, possibly, in Russia - a closed field."

Published her autobiography, "Woman Pilot" in 1957: "This autobography of a pretty and distinguished woman is romantic and in places extraordinarily moving, perhaps because Jackie Moggridge shines through her writing as a courageous, honest and really nice, if very determined, personality" - Truth

 Pilot for Channel Airways from 1957-1960, then Meridian Air Maps in Scotand.

On 29 April 1994, she flew in Spitfire IX ML407 to Duxford (with Caroline Grace at the controls, it was converted to a two-seater post-war) to deliver it to Johnnie Houlton DFC - exactly 50 years after she had originally delivered it to... Johnnie Houlton at Duxford.

 Reg d. 1997

d. 7 Jan 2004 - Taunton, Somerset: her ashes were scattered over Dunkeswell Aerodrome by Caroline Grace, flying Spitfire ML407

Wikipedia story here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackie_Moggridge

 Download ATA Pilot Personal Record (.zip file):

Listen to a 1984 interview with Jackie here: https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/80008464

W.---	Cadet	Dorothy Margaret Stewart
	b. 26 Aug 1918, Edinburgh	8 May 1944 to 1 Jul 1944

Father: Thomas W Stewart, Mother: Annie C [ ] of 'Dunvegan', Hailes Approach, Colinton, Edinburgh

B.A. Hons in History

prev: WAAF 4 yrs 

[ab initio pilot]

1 accident, deemed to be her fault:

- 25 Jun 44: a heavy landing in a Magister which damaged the main spar centre section

[Contract Terminated by ATA]

m. 13 Jul 1946 in Cambridge, Flt-Lt Ivan Humphrey Jones Morgan LDS, (a dentist, remarried in 1971, d. 2006) from St Neots

 Daughter Susan b.  Oct 1947, son Anthony b. Jul 1950

Address: 7 Worts Causeway, Cambridge

 d. 12 Feb 1990 - Cambridge

Download ATA Pilot Personal Record (.zip file):

W.153 *	3rd Officer	Winifred 'Pooh' Stokes
	b. 27 Sep 1918, Benwick Cambs	21 Feb 1944 to 30 Sep 1945

ATA

RAeC 1945

Father: Herbert Stokes, a garage proprietor, Mother: [Smith]

 prev. Bank Clerk; Ambulance Driver; WAAF

 Address in 1939: London Rd, Peterborough

Ab initio pilot

 with (l) Di Faunthorpe

 She gained her Royal Aero Club Certificate No 20942 on 3 Aug 1945, as part of the 'ATA Wings' programme

 Address in 1945: New Rd, Benwick, Cambs

m. 12 Nov 1946 in Ash Shatibi, Al Iskandariyah, Egypt, F/O (later Sqn-Ldr) Peter George Pudney Henson RAF

  1951

from Wellingborough, Northants

Winifred and 4-month old daughter Pamela sailed back from Egypt to the UK in September 1948; she and Peter then sailed to the USA in 1954 with daughters Pamela (age 6) and Christine (b. 1950 in York)

Peter d. 1956 missing presumed killed as a result of a flying accident in Florida;  flying a F-84 Thunderjet, he parachuted into the water 3 miles offshore but bad weather prevented a rescue.

"His wife and two small daughters live at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida" - The Montgomery Advertiser, 2 Feb 1956

 Address 1969-83: Lansdowne Rd, Bedford

d. 1 Apr 2002 - Bedford

W.---	Cadet	Dora 'Joyce' Tildesley
	b. 22 Mar 1921, Wolverhampton	8 May to 9 Jun 1944

Father: Horace William Tildesley, a Company Director, Mother: Dora Louise Mills [Corker], of 167 Penn Rd, Wolverhampton

prev: WAAF; Nurse & Ambulance Driver

[Contract Terminated by ATA]

Address in 1954: Chequerfield House, Stubbs Rd, Wolverhampton

Sailed to Australia in Jan 1954, (profession: Radiographer), then flew to San Francisco (on Qantas) 25 Nov 1955

m. 1972 in Gloucestershire, Humphrey Carnfield 'Huff' Windeyer (b. 1899 in Australia, d. 1989 in Banbury)

 She lived in 'Hillside Cottage', Southrop, Hook Norton, Oxfordshire

d. 1 Jan 2006 - Banbury, Oxfordshire

 Download ATA Pilot Personal Record (.zip file):

W.---	Cadet	Sheila Marion Tointon
	b. 20 Aug 1916, Hornsey	8 May to 17 Jun 1944

Mother: [Charles]

  prev: Shorthand Typist; WAAF from 12 Jan 1942

 Address in 1944: 3 Alum Chine Rd, Westbourne, Bournemouth

Ab initio pilot

 m. Jul 1948 in Wolverhampton, George D Dobson

Jennifer b. 1954 in Swindon

d. 27 Apr 2008 - Faringdon, Oxfordshire

 Download ATA Pilot Personal Record (.zip file):

W.115	3rd Officer	Ida Laura Veldhuyzen Van Zanten
	b. 22 Jun 1911, Hillegom, Holland	18 May 1943 to 30 Sep 1945

RAeC 1938

Wikipedia

ATAM

Father: Gerrit Veldhuijzen van Zanten (d. 1922), Mother: Lamberta Ida [Muller] (d. 1928)

6 brothers, inc. Edward, Gerrit and Mauritz

Ed. Hillegom Secondary School; School for Social Workers, Amsterdam

Sailed to the USA in 1937 (Her brother Mauritz was resident in Lynden, Washington; he owned Van Zanten's Inc, an azalea nursery. He died in the USA in 1993). On 11 Sep 1937, the Bellingham Herald reported that "Miss Ida van Zanten of Holland, who has spent the last three months at the home of her brother, Maurice van Zanten, has started back home via Japan and Dutch East Indies, and expects to arrive in Holland in April."

Address in 1938: Keizersgrachd, 707, Amsterdam

Address in 1942: Hotel du Lac, Vesenaz-sur-Geneve, Switzerland.  (She left Holland on the 8 Jan 1942, and travelled via France, Switzerland (where she was arrested and interned for illegally entering the country) and then via Spain and Portugal to the UK, finally arriving 13 Aug 1942.)

This document, dated June 1942, shows that when she was allowed to leave Switzerland she was given a ticket from Bilbao, Spain to Curaçao, the Dutch Caribbean island:

... but eventually, she appears to have managed to get a flight from Lisbon to the UK.

On her application form dated 28 Aug 1942, she describes her present occupation as "Refugee from Holland - Waiting since 3 monthes for permission from Home Office to come to England"  She had been "forced by Gestapo to leave Holland, had to leave log book and 'A' Licence behind".

Prev. Dutch Labour Exchange; Air Hostess for KLM; Dutch Government War Office, London, Oct-Nov 1942; WAAF

Prev. exp. 10 hrs on Moth, Taylor Cub, FK46, BA Swallow

Her "references" included John Kirwan, (who was her instructor at Hanworth when she gained her Royal Aero Club Certificate in 1938), and KLM's famous pilots Koene Dirk Parmentierand Jan Johannes Mollwho had been prize-winning DC-2 pilots in the 1934 MacRobertson Race from England to Australia:

  John     Dirk      Jan

 She said she "wanted to help the Allies by ferrying aircraft."

 Postings: 15FPP, 5TFPP, 7FPP, 1FPP

Initial reports were not encouraging; "Her general flying ability at the moment is a lowly average and map-reading and use of compass leave much to be desired"... "She is very keen and tries hard but would appear to be a very shy and apprehensive type"; nevertheless, she was cleared to ferry Class I aircraft on 19 Sep 1943.

 She gradually improved: "Has now reached a fair standard.... Really does try hard" but seems to have had "off-days"; for example, in Jan 1944 her instructor for Class II reported that "Her airmanship today was definitely dangerous".

She eventually passed for Class III aircraft by mid-1945.

Types flown: Magister, Moth, Hart, Fairchild, Proctor, Gladiator, Mentor, Swordfish, Auster, Wicko, Whitney Straight, Oxford, Anson.

 3 accidents, 2 her fault:

- 13 Oct 1943, she damaged the propeller and undercarriage of her Argus I FK335 when she taxied into an unmarked hole on the airfield at Lyneham

- 20 Dec 1943, she overshot the landing in Argus HM165 and ran into the far boundary, due to an error of judgement

- 24 Feb 1945, Reprimanded for "taxying without due care" - her Argus FK337 hit Argus EV803 at a runway intersection.

She was decorated in Holland in 1948 with the 'Vliegerskruis' (DFC) and other medals

https://magazines.defensie.nl/vliegendehollander/2015/05/ida-veldhuyzen-van-zanten

 d. 16 Oct 2000

Buried Hillegom Cemetery

 Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ida_Veldhuyzen_van_Zanten

 Download ATA Pilot Personal Record (.zip files):

W.92	First Officer	Anne Walker
	b. 15 Apr 1917, Peshawar, India	17 Jul 1942 to 31 Oct 1945

RAeC, 21 Aug 1939

ATAM

Mother: Caroline D Walker, [b. 26 Jan 1881, divorced] of Bignals, Beaulieu, Hants

 Ed. St Cuthbert's School, Bournemouth

prev.  a "photographic student"; WAAF (Acting S/O) from Sep 1939, stationed at RAF Hornchurch, Essex

prev. exp. 3 hrs on DH Moth

 Postings: 15FPP, 6FPP

 4 accidents, 2 her fault:

 - 14 Mar 1943, a forced landing in Hurricane I after engine failure

- 22 Dec 1944, a wheels-up forced landing in Spitfire IV RM904 after the undercarriage selector lever stuck in the 'Up' position

- 31 Aug 1944 Reprimanded  for "taxying with insufficient care"; her Auster V RT526 collided with a parked Auster at Rearsby

 - June 1945 "Anne Walker (later Duncan) took off from Somerton airfield [in a Supermarine Walrus] at Cowes in a crosswind, a hazardous performance with all that double wing.  She swung, finishing up at the end of the take-off run in a haystack.  She was knocked out and the whole caboosh went up in flames.  Luckily a baker’s boy was cycling along the lane beside the aerodrome boundary.  He pulled Anne out of the conflagration, then rescued his bike plus some of the singed stuff. (Mary Ellis – A Spitfire Girl’)

She made a slow start; "her over-confidence tended to make her careless", but became a "keen, hard-working pilot... progressing well onto more advanced (Class 4) types"

"Throughout this pilot's reports one gets the impression of casualness or carelessness, this I believe is greatly due to her manner which she should endeavour to rectify"

m. 1948 in London, Alexander D Duncan, an aeronautical engineer and salesman for the aviation division of R.K. Dundas.

 d. 19 Nov 1988 - Beaulieu, Hants, leaving £349,395

Download ATA Pilot Personal Record (.zip file):

W.---	Cadet	Sheila Willson
	b. 20 Jul 1921, Birmingham	8 May to 3 Jun 1944

Father: Thomas Willson, Mother: Lilian Nellie [Holden] of 'Holdene', Parkland Ave, Upminster, Essex

Ed. Palmer's Endowed School for Girls, Grays, Essex (prize and certificate from La Societé Nationale de Proffesseurs de Francais en Angleterre)

prev: Civil Service; WAAF

[ab initio pilot]

[Contract Terminated by ATA]

Download ATA Pilot Personal Record (.zip file):