A Spitfire Girl

A Spitfire Girl PDF Author: Mary Ellis
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1473895383
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 340

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Book Description
This WWII biography recounts the heroic contributions of a female pilot who flew Spitfires, Hurricanes and Wellington Bombers for the RAF. A farmer’s daughter from Oxfordshire, Mary Ellis fell in love with flying at the age of eleven, when she rode in a biplane at a flying circus. Already a licensed pilot by the time the Second World War broke out, Mary joined the Air Transit Auxiliary in 1941. As a ferry pilot, she transported aircraft for the Royal Air Force, including more than four hundred Spitfires and seventy-six different kinds of aircraft. After the war, Mary accepted a secondment to the RAF as one of the first pilots to fly the new Gloster Meteor, Britain’s first fighter jet. By 1950, she became Europe's first female air commandant. In this authorized biography, Mary and biographer Melody Foreman vividly recount her action-packed career spanning almost a century of aviation. Mary says: I am passionate for anything fast and furious. I always have been since the age of three and I always knew I would fly. The day I stepped into a Spitfire was a complete joy and it was the most natural thing in the world for me.

A Spitfire Girl

A Spitfire Girl PDF Author: Mary Ellis
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1473895383
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 340

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Book Description
This WWII biography recounts the heroic contributions of a female pilot who flew Spitfires, Hurricanes and Wellington Bombers for the RAF. A farmer’s daughter from Oxfordshire, Mary Ellis fell in love with flying at the age of eleven, when she rode in a biplane at a flying circus. Already a licensed pilot by the time the Second World War broke out, Mary joined the Air Transit Auxiliary in 1941. As a ferry pilot, she transported aircraft for the Royal Air Force, including more than four hundred Spitfires and seventy-six different kinds of aircraft. After the war, Mary accepted a secondment to the RAF as one of the first pilots to fly the new Gloster Meteor, Britain’s first fighter jet. By 1950, she became Europe's first female air commandant. In this authorized biography, Mary and biographer Melody Foreman vividly recount her action-packed career spanning almost a century of aviation. Mary says: I am passionate for anything fast and furious. I always have been since the age of three and I always knew I would fly. The day I stepped into a Spitfire was a complete joy and it was the most natural thing in the world for me.

Spitfire Girl

Spitfire Girl PDF Author: Lily Baxter
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 1446456234
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 452

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Book Description
___________________________ 1940. The height of the Blitz. In London, eighteen-year-old Susan Banks longs to do her duty in the war. Her secret ambition is to learn to fly - to serve her country and realise her dream. But she knows it is out of the question for a girl like her; a foundling, unwanted and unloved and dependent on strangers for her welfare. Just as she fears she will be trapped forever in a life of servitude and loneliness, she meets Tony Richards, a flying instructor based in Hampshire. And when she is forced to flee London, she heads out into the country. She is taken in by the kindly landlord of the local inn and his daughter. As Susan works hard to earn her keep, and her friendship with Tony - now recalled to duty - blossoms into love, she dares to hope that things are at last looking up for her. But then she receives devastating news - Tony is missing in action. And Susan wonders if she'll ever see the man she loves again and realise her dream of becoming a Spitfire girl...

The Spitfire Girls Fly for Victory

The Spitfire Girls Fly for Victory PDF Author: Jenny Holmes
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 1473560438
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 304

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Book Description
**Don't miss Jenny Holmes's latest wartime series, The Air Raid Girls. Part 3 - The Air Raid Girls: Wartime Brides - is available now!** ---------------------------- Planes to deliver. A war to be won. Bobbie Fraser, Mary Holland and Jean Thornton are Atta Girls - part of the Air Transport Auxiliary team flying planes between bases. Taking to the air in anything they're given, their work is dangerous but their courage always comes through. Now there's a new girl joining the ranks - Canadian Viv Robertson, who is bright, brash and brave. But can Viv settle into her new home with the other girls? And when life on the ground leaves them as vulnerable as in the air, can they stick together through the tough times ahead and ultimately fly to victory? A heart-warming, romantic story of friendship, camaraderie and triumph over adversity that fans of Donna Douglas, Nancy Revell and Elaine Everest will adore. ---------------------------- Readers love Jenny Holmes 'A delight to read' 'I highly recommend this book, great job Jenny!' 'Really enjoyed this book cant wait to read the next one' 'Lovely historical drama' 'I love reading these books on life in WW2' 'A book you can't put down'

The Spitfire Girl in the Skies

The Spitfire Girl in the Skies PDF Author: Fenella J. Miller
Publisher: Aria
ISBN: 9781035906895
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
The second Spitfire Girl novel from bestselling author Fenella J Miller. The ATA training base, Hampshire, 1940. Ellie Simpson is attached to an Air Transport Auxiliary base in Hampshire. Life as an ATA pilot is tough, but despite the long hours and danger, Ellie can think of nowhere she'd rather be. Not only does she love flying, but doing important war work, alongside new-found friends, provides a welcome distraction from worrying about loved ones fighting on the front line. Being an ATA girl is definitely exciting, but as Ellie soon finds out wearing the distinctive blue uniform also means putting her life on the line every time she takes to the skies. It will take friendship and a strength she didn't know she possessed to help her county - and those she loves - to survive. An inspiring story of an incredible girl going above and beyond during World War II.

The Spitfire Girls

The Spitfire Girls PDF Author: Jenny Holmes
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 147356042X
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 448

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Book Description
**Don't miss Jenny Holmes's latest wartime series, The Air Raid Girls. Part 3 - The Air Raid Girls: Wartime Brides - is available for pre-order now!** ---------------------------- 'Anything to Anywhere!' That's the motto of the Air Transport Auxiliary, the brave team of female pilots who fly fighter planes between bases at the height of WWII. Mary is a driver for the ATA and although she yearns to fly a Spitfire, she fears her humble background will hold her back. After all, glamorous Angela is set to be the next 'Atta Girl' on recruitment posters. Bobbie learned to fly in her father's private plane and Jean was taught the queen's English at grammar school before joining the squad. Dedicated and resilient the three girls rule the skies: weathering storms and dodging enemy fire. Mary can only dream of joining them - until she gets the push she needs to overcome her self-doubt. Thrown together, the girls form a tight bond as they face the perils of their job. But they soon find that affairs of the heart can be just as dangerous as attacks from the skies. With all the fear and uncertainty ahead - can their friendship see them through the tests of war? A heart-warming, romantic story of friendship, camaraderie and triumph over adversity that fans of Donna Douglas, Nancy Revell and Call the Midwife will adore. ---------------------------- Readers love Jenny Holmes: 'There wasn't anything I didn't like about this book' 5 star review 'I couldn't put this book down' 5 star review 'Loved the whole story' 5 star review 'This is a totally absorbing book' 5 star review 'An excellent read put together in fine style' 5 star review

The Female Few

The Female Few PDF Author: Jacky Hyams
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 0752481223
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 197

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Book Description
Through the darkest days of the Second World War, an elite group of courageous civilian women risked their lives as aerial courier pilots, flying Lancaster bombers, Spitfires and many other powerful war machines in thousands of perilous missions. The dangers these women faced were many: they flew unarmed, without radio and in some cases without instruments, in conditions where even unexpected cloud could mean disaster. In The Female Few, five of these astonishingly brave women tell their awe-inspiring tales of incredible risk, tenacity and sacrifice. Their spirit and fearlessness in the face of death still resonates down the years, and their accounts reveal a forgotten chapter in the history of the Second World War.

Spitfire Women of World War Ii

Spitfire Women of World War Ii PDF Author: Giles Whittell
Publisher: HarperCollins UK
ISBN: 0007235364
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 306

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Book Description
First published in 2007. The accounts of women who flew aircrafts for the British Royal Air Force (RAF) to the frontline of World War II. The women of Air Transport Auxillary came from every continent. They were not allowed into combat, but delivered warplanes to the male pilots who would fly them into battle.

Spitfire Girl

Spitfire Girl PDF Author: Jackie Moggridge
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1781859884
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 333

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Book Description
The inspiring memoir of the remarkable Jackie Moggridge: ATA girl, Spitfire expert and pioneer. 'We had returned to a different world. We had taken off in peace at nine-thirty and landed in war at noon.' Jackie Moggridge was just nineteen when World War Two broke out. Determined to do her bit, she joined the Air Transport Auxiliary. Ferrying aircraft from factory to frontline was dangerous work, but there was also fun, friendship and even love in the air. At last the world was opening up to women... or at least it seemed to be. From her first flight at fifteen to smuggling Spitfires into Burma, Jackie describes the trials and tribulations, successes and frustrations of her life in the sky. What Amazon readers are saying about Spitfire Girl: 'There is something for everyone in this remarkable autobiography, adventure, romance, flight, struggle, victory. Must read!' 5* 'An amazing book by an inspirational woman' 5* 'Drama, aircraft, relationships... it's all there in this great page-turner!' 5* 'I am left with real admiration for Jackie Moggridge, truly an amazing lady' 5* 'Brilliant book. What an amazing women she was' 5*.

Spitfire Stories

Spitfire Stories PDF Author: Jacky Hyams
Publisher: Michael O'Mara Books
ISBN: 1782438173
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 241

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Book Description
Spitfire Stories, published in association with Imperial War Museums, is a fascinating anthology of first-hand stories from Spitfire heroes and heroines of the Second World War. The Spitfire is the world's most iconic aeroplane. Coming into its own during the Battle of Britain, it became famous during the Second World War as the only plane that could match the enemy fighters in the sky. Yet, even today, the history of the Spitfire contains many hitherto hidden or little-known stories of the men and women behind the plane; not only the gifted creators and inventors who brought the Spitfire to life, or the brave fighter pilots from many countries who triumphed in battle, but also the thousands of other people whose lives were affected by their personal connection to it - engineers, ground crew, factory or office workers, and their families. Spitfire Stories recounts the memories and stories of these people, from the birth of the iconic Spitfire in the 1930s to the present day. Among these accounts is the extraordinary tale of the fighter pilot who only discovered, fifty years on, the tragic truth of his last Spitfire flight, the businessman whose blank cheque changed the course of the war, the ninety-five-year-old Royal Air Force engineer who was determined to be reunited with his beloved Spit before he died, and the little girl who inspired the plane's creation - and went on to marry a movie star. Using documents, letters and photographs from the Imperial War Museums' unparalleled archive, plus exclusive first-hand interviews, these stories of the Spitfire are a revelatory collection of small but significant histories, to be treasured by all who love and admire the iconic plane.

Bomb Girls - Britain's Secret Army: The Munitions Women of World War II

Bomb Girls - Britain's Secret Army: The Munitions Women of World War II PDF Author: Jacky Hyams
Publisher: Kings Road Publishing
ISBN: 1782197168
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 197

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Book Description
They were the unsung heroines of World War II; the wives, mums and teenage girls, all 'doing their bit' for the war effort, clocking in daily to work in cast munitions factories, helping make the explosives, bullets and war machines that would ensure victory for Britain.It was dangerous, dirty and exhaustive work. They worked round the clock, often exposed to toxic, lethal chemicals. A factory accident could mean blindness, loss of limbs - or worse. Many went home with acid burns, yellow skin or discoloured hair. Others were forced to leave their loved ones and move to live with total strangers in unfamiliar surroundings. Frequently, their male bosses were coarse and unsympathetic.Yet this hidden army of nearly two million women toiled on regardless through the worst years of the war, cheerfully ignoring the dangers and the exhaustion, as bombing, rationing and the heartbreak of loss or separation took their toll on everyone in the country.Only now, all these years later, have they chosen to tell their remarkable stories. Here, in their own words, are the vivid wartime memories of the 'secret army' of female munitions workers, whose resilience and sheer grit in the face of danger has only now started to emerge.These are the intimate and personal stories of an unforgettable group of women, whose hard work and quiet courage made a significant contribution to Britain's war effort. They didn't fire the bullets, but they filled them up with explosives. And in doing so, they helped Britain win the war.