The pleasure flights were run by the delightful and elegant Mary Ellis. When over there with my daughter several years ago we were persuaded to ask Mary what her favourite aircraft was.
"Well the Spitfire was very nice, but I think I preferred the Wellington" was the reply.
From the Sunday Mirror, Sep 23, 2007
Mary Ellis, 85, lives on the Isle of Wight, with husband Don. She still has a part-time job, selling tickets for pleasure flights at Sandown airport.
She flew 400 different Spitfires, among them every model that was produced between 1941 and 1945. "We were so young - it was absolutely wonderful," she says. "When you are that age, you don't think of danger. As long as we knew what we were doing, we had no fear.
"But it was all so many years ago, and it's strange now to be the centre of attention.
"I've never talked much about those times, so I find all this fuss suddenly quite overwhelming - I've even been asked to sign autographs. Our generation kept very quiet about what they did in the war - we all just got on with our duty.
"But back then, people thought a woman was odd for even wanting to fly. You had to move Heaven and Earth and really fight for it before anyone would let you near the controls.
"All the women said the Spitfire was their favourite, and I loved them all. I didn't break any of mine - though I did have one near- miss when another Spitfire was coming in directly in front from the other direction.
"We only knew of the danger when we scraped past each other, which was a bit of a heart-stopper.
"Once I landed a Wellington bomber, and the officer who greeted me on the tarmac asked where the pilot was. He searched the plane looking for a man.
"I suppose some felt threatened. They expected us to go right back to being home-minders once the war ended."
"I did have one near- miss when another Spitfire was coming in directly in front from the other direction." That was when Mary and two other ATA pilots were delivering three Spitfires to Wroughton. They came from the factories with no radio. The three set off in less than perfect weather. One turned back but Mary and the other pilot both found Wroughton. As Mary was on late final she looked up and saw the other Spitfire also on late final coming at her from the opposite direction!
Mary is a former Managing Director of Sandown Airport.
Here's Mary at the unveiling of the ATA Memorial at Hamble in July this year (she's the lady immediately to the left of the memorial)
