A recent discussion on the Wings Over New Zealand forum made me wonder about this. Famous kiwi aviatrix was living in the UK when WWII broke out. She was a very competent long distance flyer. Yet according to Wikipedia and other accounts she was prevented from flying, and she ended up driving ambulances and giving lectures for the war effort.
Does anyone know why she was prevented from flying, rather than join the Air Transport Auxiliary like other female pilots (including five other kiwi girls)? Was it a medical issue? Or was it some personality clash?
Any ideas why she didn’t fly in WWII?
By: paulmcmillan - 22nd May 2013 at 12:07
Some of the ATA Personnel Files are at the RAF Museum… (e.g. contracts)
I don’t know if they have public access but there may be a file for her in there if she applied
Paul
By: Snoopy7422 - 22nd May 2013 at 11:57
Interesting, as I’d often wondered about this too. Sad to reflect upon the sad demise of so many of the pre-war aviation heroes and heroines. Many met an ignominious end. Unfortunately, since technical improvements at the time were so meteoric, once the war had started, there were thousands of kids meeting and exeeding the exploits of the ‘Greats’. After the war, no one wanted to know about the 1930’s.
By: Zac Yates - 22nd May 2013 at 09:11
According to Ian Mackersey in his 1990 book Jean Batten: The Garbo of the Skies, Jean wrote in her (unpublished?) memoir: “I failed my medical because of poor near-occular vision, which apparently could have been caused by excessive eyestrain during my record flights through peering at maps in dim light when suffering from exhaustion.”
Mackersey counters this by saying she later admitted to another vision problem resulting from her crash in Rome in 1934 which “gave her double vision for some time afterwards because the muscles had suffered temporary local contusions.” He also explained this caused her stress on later flights.
He also goes into detail (pg293-296) about her ego which may have played a part – losing her “hero” status and just becoming another anonymous ATA pilot – but in the end, he says, “Somewhere in the wartime files at Kew, clues to the truth possibly lie.”
By: Zac Yates - 22nd May 2013 at 08:49
Any ideas why she didn’t fly in WWII?
I’ll see if I can track down my copy of Garbo Of The Skies and find the relevant chapter to answer your question, Dave.
By: T-21 - 21st May 2013 at 08:22
I have a similiar autograph from a book signing at Old Warden. Any ideas on value ?
By: David_Kavangh - 20th May 2013 at 16:32
This doesn’t answer your question, but a bit sad to read about her last days.
http://the-lothians.blogspot.com.es/2012/06/miss-jean-batten-anything-but-love-and.html
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May 20, 2013 at 4:06 pm