A NEW biography by Alison Hill, Pauline Gower, Pioneering Leader of the Spitfire Women, includes contributions from Isle of Wight pilot, the late Mary Ellis, and others with Island connections.
Mary Ellis ran Sandown Airport for many years after the Second World War.
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During the war she was an Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) pilot and delivered 400 Spitfires, flew 76 types of plane and an incredible 1,000 aircraft overall.
Pauline Gower set up and commanded the ATA women’s section throughout the war.
Mary shared positive memories of her Commandant with author Alison Hill on two occasions — once at White Waltham (ATA HQ) and later at her home near Sandown Airport in 2018, when Alison was flown over to visit her and had just begun thinking of writing about Pauline.
This article's author, Anne Grant, who runs the Solent Aviatrix website, said, “I started my website about 15 years ago, to record the histories of pioneering women pilots connected to the Isle of Wight and South of England.
“I was lucky to meet a few of the ATA women, including Mary. I was able to connect my friend Alison with Mary and others, like Pauline’s son Michael and Dorothy Spicer’s daughter Patricia, pilot Rod Hall-Jones and artist Charlotte Halliday. They have all made valuable contributions to the new book.”
“Dorothy Spicer is important to Isle of Wight aviation history because she trained for her advanced construction engineering licence at Spartan Aircraft, a subsidiary of Saunders-Roe (SARO) of East Cowes.
“She did so in secret, aided by SARO owner Sir Edwin Alliott Verdon-Roe. At the time women were barred from this qualification. When she passed the Air Ministry tests it caused turbulence in Britain’s aviation industry and beyond.
“She became international news as the first woman in the world to do it, much to the chagrin of many men who opposed it.
“Now, 90 years on, young women of today are encouraged to take up apprenticeships in aviation and aerospace industries, including here on the Isle of Wight.
"They would be astonished to learn just how hard it was for Dorothy and her pilot partner Pauline to forge a career for themselves in that sector.”
Anne continues: “Rod Hall-Jones owns the last flying three-seater Spartan in the world. Rod, who lives in New Zealand, hopes his bi-plane can return to the Isle of Wight where it was built in 1932.
“Rod’s contribution to Alison’s book describes the complexities of maintaining a Spartan in perfect flying condition. We therefore get an insight into the Gower-Spicer daily routine of running a joy-flight business and flying over 20,000 passengers. Pauline and Dorothy owned two Isle of Wight-built Spartans.”
Patricia has a painting of her mother, Dorothy, by Edward Halliday, renowned portrait artist to the Queen and Prince Philip.
Charlotte Halliday said: “My father was a friend of Dorothy Spicer and her husband, Richard. I have a copy of the painting on my desk.”
His 1930s portrait is so evocative of the era, almost haunting in quality now. Charlotte is delighted that Edward’s painting is in the book.
Alison Hill’s previous books include Sisters in Spitfires, a poetry collection dedicated to the ATA women, and Fifty Ways to Fly, which included a poem by Pauline Gower.
This was sold in support of the British Women Pilots’ Association. At Mary Ellis’s memorial service in Cowes in 2018, Alison read ‘Spitfire Salute’, her tribute to Mary.
Pauline Gower, Pioneering Leader of the Spitfire Women, is on sale at major book shops, Amazon or from publishers The History Press.
- DID YOU KNOW? There is an urgent appeal to buy back the last 1930s Spartan bi-plane from New Zealand and return it to the Isle of Wight, where it was built.
READ MORE: Campaign to get bi-plane from New Zealand to Isle of Wight
WATCH: a short video about the Spartan Home to UK campaign
- Anne is a Wight Aviation Museum member and is running the ‘Spartan Home to UK’ campaign on her Solent Aviatrix website, where a downloadable presentation can be found.
Rod must sell his plane by the end of this year. Anyone who can help in any way, please contact Anne via her website, or via Wight Aviation Museum.
For more information, see: solentaviatrix.wordpress.com/2022/06/27/spartan-home-to-uk-campaign/
Like reading stories about the Isle of Wight and its characters in bygone days? Click here to visit our Looking Back section for more interesting tales!
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