They are all over the place.
After this thread gained momentum and the truth became know via the Daily Mail HCAP back pedalled.
First, let me make my position clear. I am a member of the Trophies & Awards Committee of the Honourable Company of Air Pilots and I was present at the meeting when it was decided to award the Master’s Medal to Tracey (TCT for the rest of this email). The then Master Air Pilot suggested that she be awarded the Master’s Medal and this was approved by the T&A Committee and subsequently ratified by the Court.
The award was to recognise her organisational skills in mounting such an operation and getting the necessary sponsorship; thereby generating a massive amount of publicity and so raising the profile of aviation in the minds of the general public. The publicity generated will act as an inspiration to young people (especially women) who might be thinking of a career in aviation. It was not awarded to recognise a solo flight and the word “solo” does not appear in the citation for the award. In any event, it was a great achievement and not a flight that I personally would wish to undertake.
I hope this helps to clarify things in your mind. The decision has been made and it will be quite clear at the T&A Banquet in October that TCT has been awarded the Master’s Medal for the reasons stated above. I really think now that the time has come to draw a line under the matter and I hope you may feel generous enough to accept this.
Or this one following the Daily Mail story...
"The Honourable Company of Air Pilots has awarded Tracey Curtis Taylor The Master’s Medal for organising an aviation expedition from the UK to Australia, retracing the route flown by Amy Johnson as a tribute to her, which formed part of a wider promotional endeavour to encourage females into aviation. There was one specific, principal aim in mind: to promote aviation to many thousands of youngsters, especially women, across the globe for whom flying is a distant, even unknown or seemingly unachievable activity. This is particularly relevant when an estimated 400,000 new commercial pilots are needed worldwide in the next twenty years to meet anticipated growth. The Master’s award recognises Tracey Curtis-Taylor’s work in raising awareness of science and technology in general, and aviation in particular, amongst young women across the world”.
They have still not publicly announce what she will get the award for.
The award was to recognise her organisational skills
If it is based on organisational skills some may beg to differ.
This from a private email to me from an anonymous Duxford pilot and member of HCAP.
I am slightly mystified that part of TCT's past is never mentioned, including by her. At one time she ran the office for The Fighter Collection at Duxford .She most certainly never flew any of the TFC aircraft and, frankly, at the time I did not even know that she had ever learned to fly! She was an organisational nightmare and the person who took over from her had a monstrous task of getting everything straight. Now, she is never mentioned!