Amy Johnson - CBE
Amy Johnson CBE - Aviator
Amy Johnson CBE was born on 01 July 1903 and attended the Boulevard Municipal Secondary School followed by Sheffield University, from which graduated with a BS degree in Economics. Whilst working as a secretary in London, Amy took up flying as a hobby and gained a pilot's "A" Licence on 6 July 1929 at the London Aeroplane Club. In the same year, she became the first British woman to obtain a ground engineer's "C" licence. With financial help from her father, Amy purchased a second hand Gipsy Moth aeroplane which she called “Jason”, after her father’s business trade mark.
Amy achieved worldwide recognition when, in 1930, she became the first woman pilot to fly solo from England to Australia, taking off from Croydon on 5 May and landing in Darwin on 24 May, after flying 11,000 miles. She was awarded a CBE for this achievement.
In July 1931, Amy and her co-pilot Jack Humphreys became the first pilots to fly from London to Moscow in one day, completing the 1,760 mile journey in approximately 21 hours. From there, they continued across Siberia and on to Tokyo, setting a record time for flying from Britain to Japan. In July 1932, Amy set a solo record for the flight from London to Cape Town, South Africa. In the same year, she married Scottish pilot Jim Mollison, who, during a flight together, proposed to her only eight hours after they met.
The Mollisons flew in record time from Britain to India in 1934 as part of the Britain to Australia MacRobertson Air Race, but they were forced to retire from the race at Allahabad because of engine trouble. In May 1936, Amy made her last record-breaking flight, regaining her Britain to South Africa record. In the same year, she divorced Mollison and soon after, reverted to her maiden name.
In 1940, during the Second World War, Amy joined the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA), whose job was to transport Royal Air Force aircraft around the country, and she rose to First Officer. On 5 January 1941, while flying for the ATA from Blackpool to RAF Kidlington near Oxford, Amy went off course in adverse weather conditions and bailed out as her aircraft crashed into the Thames Estuary. The crew of the HMS Haslemere spotted Amy’s parachute coming down and saw her alive in the water. The commander of the ship dived into the water to rescue Amy, but he died in the attempt. Amy also died and her body was never recovered. She was the first member of the ATA to die in service.
In 1958, Amy’s father donated a collection of Amy Johnson souvenirs to Sewerby Hall near Bridlington. The hall now houses a room dedicated to Amy in its museum. There is a statue of Amy in front of the Prospect Shopping Centre in Hull and in addition, there is a bust of Amy that stood in the entrance hall of Kingston High School in Pickering Road. It is now in the care of Hull City Council. The Old Kingstonians’ Association’s memorabilia collection includes many photographs of Amy.