The week-end saw recognition on TV. of those very brave young ladies of the ATA who flew many types of A/C. in all weathers without radio – navigation aids etc — sadly many gave their lives in their duties.
I worked on Percival Proctors — Vega Gulls – Q6 ‘Petrels’ Miles Magisters during that period & saw many of these young ladies deliver & take away many of our A/C — I only wish that I had noted their names so that I could now contact any of the survivors.
I am currently connected with the restoration of a Percival Proctor which the ATA used at Thame during WW11 & if anyone can put me in contact with any ATA survivors I would indeed be most grateful.
It would be wonderful if we could trace one such pilot who had flown this particular Proctor & be able to arrange for him to visit the worshop & sign the airframe, plus of course it would be a great pleasure for me to meet one or more who may have flown some of my work from all those bygone years.
Dustyone
By: mackerel - 9th January 2011 at 20:25
Hi all, for those intrested there is a DVD out called “Spitfire Sisters” by fact not fiction films. This is also about women ATA pilots.
Steve
By: bazv - 9th January 2011 at 14:58
Dont need to Graham…you can buy it on DVD !
By: GrahamSimons - 9th January 2011 at 14:56
I got a version of ‘Ferry Pilot’ I keep meaning to digitiize
By: bazv - 9th January 2011 at 13:16
She could have ! But I doubt very much that she did.
It is a posed photo and she had a bag with her for the trip.
I would imagine that she wore standard flying boots.
rgds baz
By: trolleydolly - 9th January 2011 at 12:51
could she really fly a plane in those shoes ?
By: bazv - 30th December 2010 at 09:54
Just looking at a couple of pages in ‘Woman Pilot’…quote about her first spitfire delivery to Burma
I was too anxious to please to probe the evasive air of conspiracy that arose whenever anything other than immediate plans were discussed.Consequently I returned to Taunton that evening with only the haziest idea of the number of spitfires to be delivered and how long I would be away.Two instructions only were definite:Report to london in 3 days packed and ready to leave.And to bring my RAFVR uniform
Jackie then delivered a brand new Indian AF Vampire (ID504) to Cyprus,where they picked up their ex israeli spitfires with new burmese markings applied…
To quote again from her book…
As long as the Arabs believe that the spitfires have nothing to do with Israel we can fly over Arab territory and use RAF bases in Iraq for refuelling.Incidentally that’s why we are wearing RAF uniforms.
Just a little background to the photo perhaps .
I am sure there were other photos of her with RAF wings but not in the edition of her book that i have,but perhaps not surprising as she would not have wanted to draw attention to murky deliveries 🙂
By: bazv - 30th December 2010 at 09:20
Here is a link to ‘Forgotten Pilots’ video…
The top vid is a clip from the Ferry Pilot film showing Henshaw displaying a spit.
No 7 has quite a few ladies inc Jackie Moggridge at approx 4.00
By: bazv - 30th December 2010 at 09:13
Lovely pic Mark12…I was hoping my comment would bring out a photo 🙂 😉
She was a lovely lady,I would have loved to see her archive photos.
Thanks very much for posting it 🙂
By: Mark12 - 30th December 2010 at 09:02
Poor Jackie finally got her wings just before the VR flying was chopped and I have never seen a photo of her wearing them,there is a pic in her book of her standing next to a meteor in pilot officer uniform and wearing the ‘Budgie Badge’ (elementary flying wings)
I have always taken an interest in lady pilots and I think I have most of the ATA ladies autobios 🙂
Some years ago Jackie very kindly made here archive available during a period of research on the Burmese Spitfires.
Attached a crop from Spitfire UB431/TE527, a partial survivor, at one of the staging posts between Cyprus and Rangoon.
To my inexperienced eye this looks like WRAF uniform to me.
Mark
By: bazv - 30th December 2010 at 08:23
From the carlmoggy blogspot (a relation of Jackie)…
The hardback copy of the book cover illustrated on the blog has the actual photo on the cover (+ inside) but even on the paperback cover you can clearly see the ‘Budgie Badge’
john holloway said…
I was stationed at RAF Staging Post in Pakistan whEn Jackie and the other ferry pilots staged thru in 1955.There were 30 Spitfires altogether being ferried to Burma in batches of 3 or 4 at a time and she was active in all the flights.
On one occasion she arrived on here own and taxied as near to the Air Movements section as she could get as she was desperate to go “you know where” but every arrival had to be sprayed with DDT and the health officer with the spray wouln’t let her get out of the cockpit;however she jumped out and dodged him and ran to the ladies leaving me and the health officer standing.jhy
😀
By: bazv - 30th December 2010 at 08:13
Yes quite a few of the ladies managed to fly post war,but it was not easy for them,as you say a big anti climax…but then I suppose it was also difficult for some of the men as well – many had disabilities that would preclude them from professional peacetime flying,and hardly any of them had night flying/instrument flying qualifications/experience.
As far as I am aware only 2 ex ATA ladies qualified for full RAF wings post war with the VR – Jean Lennox Bird and Jackie Moggridge.
The link below is to a thread about Jean Bird including a link (post 4) to a photo of Jean Bird wearing RAF wings (from the hendon website).
http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showthread.php?t=81047&highlight=jean+bird
Direct link to Jean Bird photo…
http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/milestones-of-flight/images/1952/thumbs/x003-0288-001.jpg
Poor Jackie finally got her wings just before the VR flying was chopped and I have never seen a photo of her wearing them,there is a pic in her book of her standing next to a meteor in pilot officer uniform and wearing the ‘Budgie Badge’ (elementary flying wings)
I have always taken an interest in lady pilots and I think I have most of the ATA ladies autobios 🙂
By: Judwin - 30th December 2010 at 07:34
When their war ended it seemed for many of them a total anti-climax as most never flew again and many remembered those years as their best.[/QUOTE]
I was taught to fly by Joan Hughes who was CFI at West London Aero Club, and to my knowledge later instructed at Booker, retiring in her 70s.
She was an inspiring instructor and a fine aviator.
She also flew for films:
The Blue Max,
Aces High,
Magnificent Men and their Fying Machines.
Freydis liefe and Lettice Curtiss, also continued flying after ATA.
By the way: the 100 or so Flight Engineers of ATA rarely get a mention!
Contrary to folklore, not many of the real heavies were delivered without them, if any.
By: bazv - 29th December 2010 at 22:31
Jackie Moggridge (nee Sorour)…she wrote ‘Woman Pilot’ which includes post war flying in the RAFVR as Pilot Officer and delivering spitfires to Burma….as you say quite a woman !
By: AlanR - 29th December 2010 at 22:17
My brother-in-law has some tales to tell of Jackie Moggridge, when she was at
Channel Airways. By all accounts she was a real character.
By: g-anyb - 21st September 2010 at 08:16
A.T.A Dvd…
The IWM ( www.iwm.org.uk ) have a fantastic dvd called “Ferry Pilot”, that follows a typical day in the lives of a group of ATA pilots in 1941.
The film features many types, and pilots, but the highlight is delivery of a Whitley, by a first time whitley pilot, and superb footage of Alex Henshaw air testing a new spitfire….
Please hunt down a copy of this dvd, it will definately not disappoint…
By: QldSpitty - 21st September 2010 at 07:33
Good book:
Good Memorial :
http://www.atamemorial.org.uk/
By: Baldeagle - 21st September 2010 at 06:04
Good book:
By: slicer - 20th September 2010 at 23:32
My father tells me that the only time he recalls seeing an ATA girl was when he was based in Belfast near the Shorts factory, with his Sea Hurricane squadron, and a Stirling flew in, flown by a pilot who removed her flying helmet to reveal long blond hair…much to his surprise, naturally.
As an aside, Philip Wills, of gliding fame, was second I/C of the ATA during WW2.
By: contrailjj - 20th September 2010 at 23:09
I can recommend another good read (covering the US side of things) …
‘On Silver Wings’ (1942-1944 The Women Airforce Service Pilots of World War II)
by, Marianne Verges, Ballantine Books 1991
ISBN 0-345-36534-8
Very very nice account of the AFSPs and includes some great photos.
By: PaulR - 20th September 2010 at 22:10
Just watched a repeat on BBC4. Absolutely humbled by the bravery and can-do (sorry for the Americanism) attitude of those women.
Wonderful stuff, despite the alleged errors (not a slight on you, Graham, just my knowledge on this subject is low) and a worthy tribute to the Women of the ATA.
“I flew 72 types” – Wow! From fighters to heavy bombers, amazing skill.
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September 20, 2010 at 4:11 pm