One of the few surviving female pilots who flew dangerous missions carrying fighter jets for the RAF during World War II has passed away at the age of 103.
One of the women who flew with the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA), a non-governmental organisation that supported the Allied war effort, was Jaye Edwards.
She began moving aircraft from factories to RAF stations spread throughout Britain, where they were required to battle the Luftwaffe, when she was just 21 years old.
Spitfires, Hurricanes, and the Boulton Defiant were among the 20 various aircraft the “unsung” hero became proficient in.
She and the other ATA pilots were given the job of flying planes over the English Channel to and from frontline locations in France after D-Day.
The organisation provided 309,000 planes throughout the war.
In the hundreds of flights Mrs. Edwards took, she had two terrifying mishaps.
She lost her front teeth in the first incident, which occurred during training, when she clipped a wing on a tree, jolting the aircraft and caused her head to strike the control panel.
Later, during a normal flight, she experienced a landing gear failure.
Just one week shy of turning 104, Mrs. Edwards passed away on August 15, leaving Nancy Stratford as the sole living female ATA pilot.
Her son, Neil Edwards, paid tribute to his late mother and claimed that the ‘attagirls’ were underappreciated for their contributions.
Do not stand at my tomb and grieve, begins a heartbreaking poem he read from Mrs. Edwards.
Her life philosophy, according to Mr. Edwards, was to never hold yourself back.
“She always insisted that life must be experienced, and I believe this is why she travelled so often,”
She experienced some of the most turbulent events of the previous century.
One of her complaints was that the ATA’s military service wasn’t completely recognised until she was 97 years old.
She admired the ATA because, despite being founded by wealthy girls, it eventually expanded to become a global organisation.
Prior to seeing an advertisement for women to join the ATA in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, in January 1943, Mrs. Edwards was employed as a nurse.
She was one of 168 women who served the ATA throughout the conflict and were known as “attagirls.”
The day when Britain declared war on Germany in September 1939, she had already learned to fly and obtained her civilian pilot’s licence.
To take off, especially on a sunny day, and then be at 2,000 feet with the sun beaming, no clouds, and just you, she once said in an interview. It was wonderful. There was no conflict; all that was said was, “Wow.”
Following the war, Mrs. Edwards immigrated to Vancouver, Canada, where she trained as a teacher and wed lumberjack Bill.
She wouldn’t take to the skies again until she was in her 80s, when she made a “perfect turn” while flying a small plane over White Rock, British Columbia.
She did lived a remarkable life and went on to achieve interesting things, according to Susan Coote, Mrs. Edwards’ niece.
She relocated to Canada, where she married and gave birth to a son.
She began teaching and did so for the remainder of her life.
According to John Webster, the ATA Association’s secretary: “The ATA played an almost indisputable crucial role in aiding military activities.
Without them, all of our squadrons would have had difficulty getting their aircraft to other bases.
They allowed pilots to engage in combat instead of wasting their time manoeuvring aircraft.
“I think it’s crucial to emphasise that the attitude toward women at the time made it difficult for them to be hired in the first place.
Women were chosen to pilot the King’s aircraft, which was a major accomplishment in and of itself. In addition, in 1943, female ATA pilots received equal pay.
The Air Transport Auxiliary are unsung heroes.
When the Second World War started in September 1939, the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) was established.
Its function was to transport RAF and Royal Navy fighters between production facilities, maintenance facilities, and front-line squadrons.
1,250 men and women from 25 different nations transported 309,000 aeroplanes of 147 different types throughout the course of the conflict.
Initially, it was planned that the ATA would transport supplies and mail through light aircraft.
But soon after the ATA was established, its pilots started carrying out the tasks for which they are today famous.
Under the leadership of its commanding officer, Gerard d’Erlanger, who had previously served as British Airways’ director, the unit grew quickly.
Many of the men who initially enlisted had already participated in the First World War and were frequently too elderly for active duty.
The first female members of the ATA were able to fly only training and communications aircraft at first and were not allowed to fly any operational aircraft until January 1940.
Additionally, they received pay that was 20% less than that of men and experienced sexism from top RAF commanders.
However, Pauline Gower, who had created the comparable Air Transport Auxiliary, persisted in getting the restriction on them flying operational aircraft lifted.
Winnie Crossley flew a Hurricane to the front lines in 1941, being the first woman to do so.
First Officer Lettice Curtis flew a four-engined bomber for the first time in the autumn of the following year.
Then, in 1943, women received salary parity with their male coworkers.
Many of the 168 women who worked throughout the war, including the well-known Jacqueline Cochran, were Americans.