Flying-boat stewardesses

[stepwilk]

I'm doing a pictures-and-text book on stewardesses, with a co-author/photographer--yes, we're specifically talking stewardesses here, not flight attendants--and I've gotten zero responses to this query on the "Cabin Crew" forum, despite numerous views.

Specifically, I'm looking for sources of what might be interesting stories of serving aboard flying boats, either PanAm or the Empire Boats or whatever else might have been out there at the time, either people who actually did it, people who knew people who did, or published accounts.

Anybody out there have any input?

[sixtiesrelic]

My wife was one for Ansett, flying Sydney to Lord Howe RPT in the sixtires.
She's a bit hard to get in front of a computer tho.
Ask questions and I'll answer for her.
The Ansett museum at Ansett Museum - Home (http://www.ansett.com.au/museum/museum_f.htm)
have photos from memory. We don't unfortunately.
Sixties

[stepwilk]

Thank you, Sixties. Assure your dear wife that I myself am 75, so perhaps I can be considered a relic from the Fifties. If you'll message me at [email protected],we can carry on amongst ourselves.

[A30yoyo]

Are you sure Pan Am and Imperial/BOAC used stewardesses on the boats? I've got a suspicion the crews were all-male but could be wrong. There are a number of photo-essays on Stewardesses in the Google LIFE photo archive mainly from the 50s if your book covers that period (and your publisher has a decent budget)

[A30yoyo]

And this thread from 2002 whilst it's written from the viewpoint of someone who was a passenger when a schoolboy, might provide detail
http://www.pprune.org/aviation-history-nostalgia/48484-rma-caledonia.html

[stepwilk]

Are you sure Pan Am and Imperial/BOAC used stewardesses on the boats? I've got a suspicion the crews were all-male but could be wrong.

I've seen at least one photo of BOAC stewardesses on a flying boat, and I know that PanAm used them briefly on the Boeing 314s between SFO and Hawaii. "Briefly" largely because the Boeings were quickly replaced by DC-4s and then -6s.

But you're right in that PanAm didn't hire any stews until 1944--they were late into that game--so most of the serious flying-boat use before that was male-staffed.

[A30yoyo]

One thing BOAC did at the end of WWII when they were short of stewards was to take on about 100 ATC cadets, 15/16 year lads who went flying after some training to augment the cabin service. I have an acquaintance who was on the scheme on Lancastrians at first . I don't think he was on the boats but he saw some of the Boeing 314s at Poole as well as Ensigns at Hurn where he was based.... I'll ask him about the flying-boats and stewardesses in a few days time

[stepwilk]

Thank you, that'd be great. I look forward to hearing what you learn.

[WHBM]

Where stews did come onto the Flying Boats it was only at the very end of their era. Given that much of the payload was given over to mails on the classic flying boats, the limited number of pax were typically looked after by one crew member, and in every article I've ever read they were male. Part of this was because on arrival and departure they were effectively AB's on a boat, assisting with the paying out and in of mooring ropes etc, handling the mails at the various points, etc.

There was also a limited requirement for service of meals in the air, although some was done; due to their limited range the big boats only ran for a few hours at a time (Pan Am Californis to Hawaii excepted) and it was common for pax to have breakfast before boarding, go ashore for lunch at a intermediate stop, and have dinner in the hotel where the overnight stop was.

Imperial/BOAC, at least, called these men Flight Clerks rather than stewards (which may help a Google search).

From the 1930s-40s era of the boats, there seem to have been far more accounts of journeys by passengers than there were by any crew members, cabin or flight deck. There was an excellent one by the editor of "Flight" magazine in 1938, travelling London to Sydney, reprinted in "Propliner" magazine some years ago, which included many comments on the duties of the flight clerk.

But that doesn't address your point about 'specifically stewardesses' at all, does it .... !

[John Hill]

Here is a video about a day in the life of a flying boat stewardess..
Footage | Television New Zealand | Television | TV One, TV2, U, TVNZ 7 (http://tvnz.co.nz/footage/flight-stewardess-teal-flying-video-3843416)

[noelmc]

Have you tried the Solent Sky Museum as an information source? They have a Sandringham flying boat there.
I do believe that Maureen O'Hara was a stewardess on the one they have (I think her husband owned it)

[stepwilk]

Thanks, Noel, I'll take a look. That husband would have been Charles Blair. Unfortunately, Maureen O'Hara was never a stewardess, though she was the first woman president of a scheduled U. S. airline (Antilles Airboats).

[WHBM]

That husband would have been Charles Blair. Unfortunately, Maureen O'Hara was never a stewardess, though she was the first woman president of a scheduled U. S. airline (Antilles Airboats).
Maureen O'Hara was certainly described as acting as stew when Charles brought the Sandringham over to Europe and they did some local trips.

I wouldn't describe Antilles as being from the USA, they were from the Virgin Islands. The Sandringhams were on the VP- register (I don't think any ever got onto the FAA register).

[A30yoyo]

Stepwilk....I saw my pal this morning(Flight note on ATC cadet stewards
scientific workers | model aircraft | aircraft exhibition | 1944 | 2617 | Flight Archive (http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1944/1944%20-%202617.html?search=BOAC) ATC cadet steward
He thought that BOAC took on some young women as flight attendants for the Bristol(Whitchurch) to Rineanna(Shannon) shuttle which used DH Albatrosses originally, later Dakotas but not on the connecting flying-boats though women launch-crews attended the flying-boats at Poole.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2451/3545139345_aa022d2bc4_z.jpg?zz=1 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/8270787@N07/3545139345/)
Boeing 314 A Flying Boat (http://www.flickr.com/photos/8270787@N07/3545139345/) by Etiennedup (http://www.flickr.com/people/8270787@N07/), on Flickr


Post-war he thought the first use of Stewardesses by BOAC was on the L049Constellations,(which Flight supports see under Galley on:
cockpit | 1946 | 1379 | Flight Archive (http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1946/1946%20-%201379.html?search=BOAC) female steward )

[stepwilk]

Maureen O'Hara was certainly described as acting as stew when Charles brought the Sandringham over to Europe and they did some local trips.


She may have been "acting" as a stew, since that's what she did for a living--acting. She was a major, major U. S. film star and Hollywood icon from 1939 until as late as 1972, when she last did a film with, I think, John Wayne. She would hardly have been working as a stewardess or even had the slightest idea what they actually did for a living.

I'm sure you're right that Antilles was on the VP register, so make that "the first woman president of a scheduled airline in North America."

[Corsairoz]

Stepwilk

Maureen O'Hara certainly did perform as a Stewardess for Antilles, and certainly understood the role very well.

Maureen O'Hara would often accompany her husband Charles Blair on flights. Indeed she was with him when their Sandringham visited the UK for some pleasure flights for a few days in the early 1970's.

I had the great pleasure of being on one of those flights, a 1 hour flight around the Isle of Wight alighting from Calshot. And Maureen was certainly not 'acting' the part or only along for the ride. She clearly took her role as senior cabin crew very seriously and I remember her simply being a lovely lady with absolutely no celebrity 'attitude'.

That particular aircraft, VH-BRC is now preserved at SolentSky Museum in Southampton, UK and I have the second great pleasure of taking care of her and showing our visitors around her, including up onto the flight deck. We have a small information plaque remembering the aircraft's time with Maureen O'Hara on board.

C

[Warmtoast]

There is mention of Maureen O'Hara acting as a stewardess on page 6 here:

http://www.pooleflyingboats.com/archive/LVE-Love-Makes-the-World-Go-Around-VP-LVE-Southern-Cross.pdf


There had been for some a further memorable encounter of meeting Maureen O’Hara dressed as a late-1940s stewardess:

‘Soon after we had got into the aircraft a very attractive air stewardess appeared in a 1940s style outfit - Maureen O’Hara the wife of Captain Charles Blair…The joyride was quite spectacular, for I was not prepared for the amount of splashed water as we took off. Then we flew at low level right round the coastline of the Isle of Wight.’

[stepwilk]

That's certainly interesting about O'Hara. Though obviously being a stewardess was never what she did for a living any more than having my Porsche on the track several times means I was a professional racecar driver, we certainly should include a photo or two of her in the book. So thank you for the input.

I just realized that "racecar"is a palindrome. Never spotted that before.

[Warmtoast]

Stepwilk

At 91 Maureen O'Hara is still around, living in Glengarriff, Co Cork.

The Irish Independent dated 19th May 2011 has a photo of her taken at Foynes Flying Boat Museum, with Lal Kirwan Dowley, the first ground hostess for the flying boat, museum director Margaret O'Shaughnessy and Carol Davenport, whose husband David was head of operations.

See here: The screen siren and her dashing captain - National News - Independent.ie (http://www.independent.ie/national-news/the-screen-siren-and-her-dashing-captain-2641856.html?start=2)

Quite possibly the Foynes Flying Boat Museum will help you in your research for the elusive Flying Boat Stewardess(s)

[A30yoyo]

Curious that racecar is a palindrome as they possibly don't have a reverse gear :)

[A30yoyo]

Stepwilk.....My contact from the 1946 days of BOAC came up with this photocopy from 'Flying the North Atlantic' by Jim Barry which is easily purchased. Seems the stewardesses just served on the Poole-Shannon Sunderland shuttle..

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/zz20/A30yoyo/Poole-girls.jpg

I like these LIFE shots of representative airline stewardesses on a Tex Johnston 367-80 flight from Seattle to Washington DC? about 1956. followed by a colour feature from 1958 by photographer Stackpole...lower link best
LIFE: Boeing Jet Flight - Hosted by Google (http://images.google.com/hosted/life/l?imgurl=0764b3681ecdc8dc)
LIFE: Boeing Jet Flight - Hosted by Google (http://images.google.com/hosted/life/l?imgurl=6b86b04d66880a43)

LIFE: Boeing Jet Flight - Hosted by Google (http://images.google.com/hosted/life/l?imgurl=0d349a42d95633da)


LIFE: Boeing Jet Flight - Hosted by Google (http://images.google.com/hosted/life/l?q=boeing+jet+source:life&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dboeing%2Bjet%2Bsource:life%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG%2 6biw%3D1417%26bih%3D713%26site%3Dimages%26tbm%3Disch&imgurl=bf845feb19a08977)



LIFE: Boeing Jet Flight - Hosted by Google (http://images.google.com/hosted/life/l?imgurl=c282742ff817a227)


stackpole hostesses - Google Search (http://images.google.com/search?q=stackpole+hostesses&q=source%3Alife&biw=1440&bih=688&tbm=isch#hl=en&biw=1440&bih=688&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=stackpole+airline+source:life&oq=&aq=&aqi=&aql=&gs_sm=&gs_upl=&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&fp=1b1536552660542c)

[ExSp33db1rd]

I'm of the opinion that the first stewardesses in BOAC were the ones from BSAA when it was merged into BOAC, BSAA being the first British Airline to employ female cabin crew ?

If the Flying Boats were still around at that time, then maybe some females were employed on them subsequently?

A one time BOAC stewardess from the late 50's early 60's, Libby Escolme, has recently published a book - "Glamour in the Skies" The Golden Age of The Air Stewardess by Libby Escolme -Schmidt, I've just received my copy but not yet read it so can't comment on Flying Boat Stewardesses, even if she mentions them. Glancing through it I see many familiar faces -and names ! ( and no, I'm not telling ! )

[stepwilk]

Thank you both! I'm going to order a copy of "Glamour in the Skies."

Stephan

[WHBM]

I'm of the opinion that the first stewardesses in BOAC were the ones from BSAA when it was merged into BOAC, BSAA being the first British Airline to employ female cabin crew ?

If the Flying Boats were still around at that time, then maybe some females were employed on them subsequently
Richard Branson's mum, Eve, was of course one of these pioneer BSAA stewardesses. Their aircraft were given "Star" names, and the stewardesses were termed "Stargirls".

BSAA merged into BOAC in July 1949. The last Flying Boat service was 18 months later. It would be unlikely that crews would be retrained for a type being rapidly run down and operating from a different base away from London.

[A30yoyo]

Like the caption from the 'Flying the North Atlantic' photo says BOAC had a handful of stewardesses from about 1943....'Glamour in the Skies' confirms what my contact from BOAC in 1946 says. No doubt the arrival of the Stargirls in BOAC strengthened the position of women in the cabin service

[A30yoyo]

While it answers many of Stepwilks queries I've just noticed that the copy I've borrowed from the Cornwall* Library Service has pages 33-64 duplicated and 65-97 missing (most of the Fifties section)...so anybody buying one watch out.
*the real one in the UK not the imposter on the Hudson

[stepwilk]

My copy, which just arrived from Amazon, is intact.

Welcome to Cornwall! My ex-wife has a summer place there...

[A30yoyo]

So the library one is rare, collectable and slightly useless....I remember now you said about your wife a while back (hope she bought cheap....you could buy a cottage near Lands End for £25 in the early sixties!) I used to buy Air&Space occasionally ( a local newsagent carried it on spec. ) but not lately....do they pay handsomely for their articles?

[WHBM]

pages 33-64 duplicated and 65-97 missing (most of the Fifties section
This is a not unknown printiing/bookbnding error, where this happens in blocks of 32 pages (because that's how they are printed, then folded and cut up. I first saw it many years ago, and have seen it a couple of times since. The last 32 or whatever pages may have the same.

Back to stewardesses !

[stepwilk]

do they pay handsomely for their articles?

Yes, but I make more money writing films.

[Fantome]

About eight years ago there was a marvellous exhibition in the Sydney Museum in Phillip Street of the boats that used to run out of Rose Bay . The senior curator behind it was Mr Holly. His mum had been a hostie with Ansett Flying Boat Services on the Lord Howe Island run. There were many photos and cabin artifacts on display. I shall try to make contact with Mr Holly and see if any of that material is today accessible.

Sandringham, VH-BRC , in the Southampton museum is indeed well displayed. There are mannequins posing as engineers. Their overalls are emblazoned on the back with the large blue ANSETT late logo. This is not authentic. The overalls we were issued with had embroided in red block letters on the back -

A.F.B.S. in four inch high letters.

It is sad postscript to AFBS that Sir Reg and his latter day board members cared not a fig about retaining any links with their seaplane heritage and let everything at Rose Bay be demolished and leveled, leaving not a wrack behind, on the cessation of the service to Lord Howe Island in 1974.

[stepwilk]

I shall try to make contact with Mr Holly and see if any of that material is today accessible.

Thank you, Fantome, that would be great. You can let me know directly at [email protected], if you wish.

[Newforest2]

Olive Carlisle was the first stewardess to be employed by BOAC.

Untitled Normal Page (http://www.seawings.co.uk/ShopBerth50-MichealDVDpage.htm)

[A30yoyo]

Stepwilk.....The Imperial War Museum has WWII photos of a stewardess in the door of a camouflaged DH Albatross and of two stewardesses collecting the hot flasks for a flying-boat flight to Shannon
BRITISH OVERSEAS AIRWAYS CORPORATION AND QANTAS, 1940-1945. | Imperial War Museums (http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205210633)

BRITISH OVERSEAS AIRWAYS CORPORATION AND QANTAS, 1940-1945. | Imperial War Museums (http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205210640)

They have a licensing procedure for reproduction in print

[stepwilk]

Thanks, yoyo--we already had the stews-with-flasks photo, but not the one of the Albatross with what seem to be blacked-out windows.