Birds of a Feather Outstanding Aviatrices

WINTER CHRISTMAS CRACKERS Xmas Gift Ideas BIRDS OF A FEATHER OUTSTANDING AVIATRICES INVICTA CLASSIC BRITISH ICON Birds of a feather Few contemporary British sportswomen have surely matched the courage, passion and determination of such pioneering girls of the ‘20s and ‘30s as Brooklands babes Kay 3HWUH(OVLH:LVGRPDQG'RURWK\/HYLWWDQGIDEXORXVÁ\HUV$P\-RKQVRQ/HWWLFH&XUWLV and Diana Barnato Walker. How sad then that the names of some equally legendary ÀJXUHVDUHQRZDOOEXWIRUJRWWHQ²HJ/DG\0DU\+HDWK Tracey Lady Mary Heath Curtis-Taylor RUIHPDOH WRÁ\VRORIURP&DSHWRZQWR Whilst Mary Heath was still a toddler, her Tracey has long since been in awe of the Britain in an open-cockpit biplane. crazed father bludgeoned her mother to pioneer aviators, and is clearly hewn from death, causing her to be raised by a pair the same family tree. Born in Stamford, Known in the US as ‘Britain’s Lady Lindy’ of maiden aunts, who discouraged her Lincs., she and her two sisters were LHWKHIHPDOHHTXLYDOHQWRI&KDUOHV/LQG- natural aptitude for sport. Far from being whisked away to Canada at the tender bergh), Mary befriended Amelia Earhart 5 TXDVKHGVKHURVHWREHFRPHDFKDPSLRQ age of two. She revelled in the moun- and sold her the Avro Avian in which she’d athlete (competing internationally in both tain landscape there, and was ambivalent PDGH KHU UHFRUGEUHDNLQJ ÁLJKW +HDWK·V the javelin and high jump) and helped fel- about returning to the UK nine years life then took a downturn, and she died low females gain Olympic status. She hence. Her consolation was a horse in her native Ireland in 1939. Her distin- ODWHU EHFDPH WKH ÀUVW %ULWLVK ZRPDQ she adored and worked overtime guished aviation history, however, recently WR KROG D FRPPHUFLDO Á\LQJ OLFHQFH DQG to keep, but which then died an agonis- served as the motivation for a new British to parachute from an aeroplane. How- ing death when she was 17. Curtis-Taylor aviatrix of international note. HYHU ZKDW EULHÁ\ PDGH KHU RQH RI WKH LVLQQRGRXEWLWZDVWKLVVDGHTXLQHVDJD most famous women in the world was, that endowed her with the discipline and LQ EHFRPLQJ WKH ÀUVW SLORW PDOH determination that are the hallmarks of her exciting but demanding life today. Read more >> Above/right: These outstanding aviatrices have both ÁRZQVRORIURP&DSHWRZQWRWKH8.LQD period biplane – Lady Mary Heath in 1928 and Tracey Curtis-Taylor in 2013 Birds of a feather 6KHÀUVWÁHZDVDWHHQDJHUZKLOHRQKROLGD\ vard – in fact everything except my whippet %XW OLNH +HDWK VKH FRQTXHUHG DOO EH- in Canada but it led nowhere in the short – and returned home.” IRUH KHU ² VKH ÁHZ OHJV WRWDOOLQJ term – eg being a female pilot in the RAF miles in 60 days via South Africa, Botswana, was simply not an option in those days. Her It was while based with the Shuttleworth Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, early working life included brief stints with Collection that the clouds parted and her Sudan and Egypt. And what an experience it De Beers as a trainee diamond valuer and future became clear. Long since inspired by was – she was hauled over the coals for two WKH)RUHLJQ2IÀFHZKLFKVKHKRSHGZRXOG VXFKÀOPVDV¶0DJQLÀFHQW0HQ,Q7KHLU)O\- KRXUVDIWHURYHUÁ\LQJ9LFWRULD)DOOVDWIW lead to a post in Africa – a continent she was ing Machines’ and ‘Out Of Africa’ she had instead of the prescribed 6,000. “I wasn’t longing to experience after years of reading FRPH WR ORYH Á\LQJ HDUO\ ELSODQHV DERYH going to miss the opportunity of a lifetime about it. Chauvinism again reared its head all other aircraft, while her experience of was I?!” Her connection with her heroines though and, on being told the ‘the best you Africa had left her aching to return there. RI WKH SDVW ZDV QHYHU VWURQJHU WKDQ Á\LQJ can hope for is to marry an ambassador’, she It made sense to link the two desires, and over the Rift Valley – Heath had famously travelled to Johannesburg under her own UHFUHDWLQJ 0DU\ +HDWK·V SLRQHHULQJ ÁLJKW jettisoned shoes, books and even a tennis steam. For nine months she waitressed and ZDVWKHSHUIHFWMXVWLÀFDWLRQ+HUDGPLUDWLRQ UDFTXHWWRFOHDUWKHULGJHE\IW²&XUWLV did door-to-door sales, in what were the for American radial aeroplanes made the Taylor managed to retain all her belongings closing years of apartheid, before returning Boeing Stearman the obvious choice of EXW WKH ÁDVKEDFN ZDV SDOSDEOH 8JDQGDQ overland to the UK in a Bedford truck. “Flying aircraft and a worldwide search led to the military police threatened to impound the across Africa is physically demanding, but Austria-based company 3G Classic Aviation, ArtemisDIWHUVKHLQDGYHUWHQWO\ÁHZRYHURI positively elegant compared with driving who then restored and prepared a 1942 ex- the Presidential palace. The most spectacular through the congo in the wet season, with ample especially for her. After two years of GD\ZDVÁ\LQJORZRYHU/DNH1DWURQLQWKH miles of mud and rampant dysentery!” sponsorship search, she managed to obtain 5LIW9DOOH\DQGHYHQORZHUZLWKWKHÁDPLQJRV invaluable backing from Boeing, but it was a over Lake Magadi. The most distressing letter to the CEO of Artemis Investments experience was seeing the carcass of a WKDW ÀQDOO\ WXUQHG KHU SODQ IURP GUHDP WR pregnant rhino which had been butchered reality. by poachers in the Lewa Conservancy, north of Mount Kenya. The most harrowing So it was that Tracey and the 71-year old was being trapped at a military airbase in 6 Spirit of Artemis took to the sky over Egypt, where the Stearman was tethered Capetown on November 2, 2013, bound for Goodwood – as unsure as Mary Heath Curtis-Taylor then emigrated to New Zealand, had been 85 years earlier what the coming where aviation became an immediate weeks would hold. Yes, she had the apparent focus. “I used to hang around the aero EHQHÀW RI D *DUPLQ *36 V\VWHP EXW WKH FOXE DQG KLWFK ÁLJKWV ZLWK WKH ORFDO IDUP- Stearman was as similarly primitive as HUV , DOVR KDG P\ ÀUVW WDVWH RI DHUREDWLFV Heath’s Avian; the terrain and weather outside in the worst storm to hit the eastern Á\LQJWKURXJKWKHPRXQWDLQVDQGODQGLQJRQ would be as demanding as ever; and the 0HGLWHUUDQHDQLQ\HDUV´,ZDVWHUULÀHGLW beaches. It was a fantastic experience.” A PPL bureaucracy, air space limitations, paucity of would be destroyed – it was one of the worst was followed by commercial and instructor’s aviation fuel and ever-present danger of war weeks of my life!” licences before she combined the three tal- zones were problems never experienced by HQWVRIÁ\LQJSKRWRJUDSK\DQGVXUYH\LQJLQ the pioneering Heath. Ironically, Tracey was So what next? After 30 years of aviation, an aerial mapping role. “It was the best job perhaps the greater anomaly of the two – 7UDFH\ QRZ IHHOV´, KDYH ÀQDOO\ ÁRZQ LQWR I’ve ever had, but I felt an overwhelming de- Á\LQJ ZKDW LV HIIHFWLYHO\ V WHFKQRORJ\ my own life. My future lies with the Spirit of sire to return to England, so left my marriage, in a more troubled and deeply bureaucratic Artemis, with which I can hopefully assist all family, career and share in a WWII T6 Har- modern age. manner of causes from the support of wom- www.motoringclassics.co.uk www.bmh-ltd.com HQLQ$IULFDWRZLOGOLIHFRQVHUYDWLRQ²ÁLJKWFDQ be an inspiration for so many things. If all goes to plan, our next big adventure will be the re- HQDFWPHQWRI$P\-RKQVRQ·VHSLFÁLJKWWR Australia, after which I’d like to ship the Stear- PDQWR$PHULFDDQGÁ\LWDFURVVWKH6WDWHVLQ celebration of Boeing’s centenary year – it is another pioneering landmark and I have much to thank them for.” Top right: Artemis over Lake Natron in the Rift Valley Right middle: Tracey fuelling up Artemis for one of what would be 38 legs, totalling 9,925 miles Bottom right: Artemis landing at Lewa 7 7KHVWRU\RI7UDFH\&XUWLV7D\ORU·VHSLFÁLJKWIURP Capetown to Britain is fully captured by The Aviatrix, an award-winning documentary by Nylon Films. Further details ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF NYLON COURTESY ALL PHOTOS RI7UDFH\·VDYLDWLRQH[SORLWVDQGWKHÀOPFDQEHIRXQGDWZZZ birdinabiplane.com and www.theaviatrix.co.uk) www.motoringclassics.co.ukwww.motoringclassics.co.uk www.bmh-ltd.com www.bmh-ltd.com.

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