My novel Fly the Storm was inspired by my cousin Margie Fairweather
On 28 May 1944 Winston Churchill wrote the following in a letter to Commodore D'Erlanger of the Air Transport Auxiliary: "I am much impressed by the achievement of the Organisation under your command in making more than 200,000 aircraft ferryings on behalf of the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force during the past four years; this is indeed a wonderful record." |
Female Pilots in WW2
My father's cousin Margaret Fairweather, on the extreme right of the picture, joined the ATA in January 1940 and was the first woman to fly a Spitfire. Prior to WW2 she was a flying instructor and clocked up 1,000 hours flying time as a civilian pilot.
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Too Old for Combat but doing a Vital Job
Her husband Douglas Fairweather (2nd from the left) was also an ATA pilot.
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Pin Up
Female pilots of ATA attracted the attention of photographers and magazine editors. |
The Pilot's Bible
ATA pilots were expected to fly every type of military aircraft. They all carried copies of this book.
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Left click before you fly a Spit
Each page was an aide memoire containing all the basic instructions needed to fly every different type of aircraft
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The Story has a Sad Ending
Douglas Fairweather volunteered to fly an Anson to Prestwick in apalling weather to pick up a hospital case needing special treatment at a Canadian military hospital in Taplow. The aircraft disappeared over the Irish Sea; Douglas's body was later recovered.
Four months later Margie took off in a Proctor with two passengers - her sister Kitty Farrer (ATA adjutant) and Mr L.H. Kendricks a VIP from the Ministry of Aircraft Production. After engine failure Margie attempted a forced landing on rough ground and was klilled when the aircraft broke up. Kittie recovered from serious injuries in Chester Hospital, Mr Kendricks emerged unscathed apart from a broken thumb.
Margie had given birth birth to a baby daughter three weeks before her husband's death, and was killed herself when her baby was just four months old. ; .
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