Spitfire Women
Spitfire Women
By far the best of all the (70th anniversary) productions this year and all the better for having the real people and no imported celebs.
Laid back, bridge playing,fingernail painting,partying,modest,competent and all absolute stars :- Wonderful.
Better to have seen them in a two seat Spitfire than what we got elsewhere.
Laid back, bridge playing,fingernail painting,partying,modest,competent and all absolute stars :- Wonderful.
Better to have seen them in a two seat Spitfire than what we got elsewhere.
Chief Bottle Washer
Certainly a fascinating programme: you could see the young women still in all those ladies as they were interviewed 
Without wishing to sound churlish, though, I do wish the producers hadn't reversed so much footage for the sake of 'continuity'. Squadron letters back-to-front was only a small giveaway, but entering Spitfires from the starboard side is a bit of a no-no I would have thought
Without wishing to sound churlish, though, I do wish the producers hadn't reversed so much footage for the sake of 'continuity'. Squadron letters back-to-front was only a small giveaway, but entering Spitfires from the starboard side is a bit of a no-no I would have thought
Join Date: Mar 2007
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Thoroughly enjoyed the programme.
The surname 'Barnato' rang a bell and after some googling, turns out a chap named Barney Barnato was a diamond-mining competitor of Cecil Rhodes in Kimberly SA
Diana Barnato Walker came from exceedingly wealthy stock.
The surname 'Barnato' rang a bell and after some googling, turns out a chap named Barney Barnato was a diamond-mining competitor of Cecil Rhodes in Kimberly SA
Diana Barnato Walker came from exceedingly wealthy stock.
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Barney Barnato had a son, who became famous as one of 'The Bentley Boys'. competing at Le Mans etc. He was, of course, Wolf Barnato, the father of Diana.
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Mary Ellis still lives close by to Sandown airport, a superb display overhead the field by Dan Griffiths in visiting Spit TA805, last week brought her around.
Sat her in the cockpit, a golden moment. Hard to express the admiration felt, sort of brings a tear to your eye...what a gal!
Sat her in the cockpit, a golden moment. Hard to express the admiration felt, sort of brings a tear to your eye...what a gal!
Mary Ellis’s grey Toyota Yaris is a familiar sight in the picturesque Isle of Wight seaside resort of Sandown. Each day it is seen weaving through the bustling streets of Victorian townhouses, stopping at the newsagent or chemist, supermarket or bakery.
Yet there is nothing in the way the car is confidently driven or in the appearance of the petite, glamorous woman behind the wheel that reveals the extraordinary truth about the car’s chauffeur.
For Mary, who is always dressed impeccably with a silk scarf tied round her neck, perfect make-up and coiffured hair, is a former World War II Spitfire pilot and rally car driver. In addition to these fearsome accolades, she is also just a year shy of 100, which will soon make her part of a very exclusive club.
Yet there is nothing in the way the car is confidently driven or in the appearance of the petite, glamorous woman behind the wheel that reveals the extraordinary truth about the car’s chauffeur.
For Mary, who is always dressed impeccably with a silk scarf tied round her neck, perfect make-up and coiffured hair, is a former World War II Spitfire pilot and rally car driver. In addition to these fearsome accolades, she is also just a year shy of 100, which will soon make her part of a very exclusive club.
Read more: Should everyone over 70 be banned from driving? | Daily Mail Online
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I also did my FI course with Joan Hughes at Wycombe. Wonderful experience - had also been checked out in Airways Club Terrier some years before at White Waltham. I learned so much from Joan, who had been instructing on Tiger Moths at Hatfield before joining the ATA.
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Until she died recently in her 90s, I had the good fortune to have a few chats with Ruth Adam, a former ATA pilot living in South Australia. I tried without luck to get her to give a radio interview or just a talk, but she wouldn't be in it. A charming, modest woman with a meticulously kept scrapbook of her flying days.
Book "Those Wonderful Women in Their Flying Machines" is a nice little read of the USA equivalent. What those girls got up to in the bombardiers compartment while droning over the Texas real estate in B-17's..........
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Perhaps my favourite photo of the era, Joan Hughes and a Short Stirling bomber:
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=ph...X8KGVFraRPM%3A
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=ph...X8KGVFraRPM%3A
Highly recommended autobiography about being a female pilot and life in the ATA, and beyond - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Spitfire-Gi.../dp/B00KFDQVU0
My original recommendation, some comments about the book and other recommendations here:
http://www.pprune.org/jet-blast/5781...ml#post9357752
My original recommendation, some comments about the book and other recommendations here:
http://www.pprune.org/jet-blast/5781...ml#post9357752
Transparency International
"Spitfire Girl" was a good read.
And to those latecomers wondering what its all about: https://store.bbc.com/spitfire-women#
And to those latecomers wondering what its all about: https://store.bbc.com/spitfire-women#
