Suzanne Ashton. Nee: Chapman
Hello morrowmm,
Abject apologies for my long delay responding to your messages, due to illness, then my wife's illness - both concurrently with a close family member's (continuing) disappearance abroad. As a result, I've had an ever-increasing "pended emails" folder, which I'm only now making some inroads into.
In this case, I've also been prompted to extract a digit by an enquiry this morning, (via my sister in Oz!) from an old Isleworth Grammar friend (old now being the operative word), and fellow Island Air Services cohort member, regarding another IAS (non-ATA) pilot - so I've also dug out the info I had on Suzanne to send to him. In 2010 my wife and I had called in at Maidenhead Heritage Centre, where the ATA archives are kept, to see if they knew what had become of Suzanne, post-IAS. John Webster there most kindly dug around and sent me a potted history a few days later. If you want to send me a private message with an email address, I'll happily forward that to you, including a 1944 photo of Suzanne as a pilot in training.
BTW, I already had good information on what subsequently befell Monique Agazarian, the other ATA pilot and part-owner of IAS, after I knew them there - but until 2010 I was left wondering about Suzanne. Thank you for what you have added, although I'm sorry to hear that she died a few years ago. I think the Maidenhead Heritage Centre is probably already aware, as they keep close contact with remaining ATA people but I'll make sure by letting John know, anyway.
Similarly, I imagine that her daughter, your cousin, already has any info that I've got - but you never know. Tell her please, that I greatly admired Suzanne, who could put a Rapide down on the Heathrow concrete smooth as silk. Knew her quite well, as we often shared a bus home at the pleasure flying day's end - to Hampton where she lived, and where I changed onto a bus to Ashford.
Apologies again, and best wishes.