Month: March 2019

March 1st is St David’s Day and so we salute the Welsh wizards of ATA, who appear in the employee listings only as British.  We have looked at our collection of over 300 ATA travel permits issued in 1944.  They provide information about date and place of birth, and reveal 5 pilots and 5 flight engineers, all men.  As there were 1250 ATA aircrew we would guess than the Welsh contingent numbered many more than 10.

One of those we found was First Officer Gwynne Johns (left), who was born in Llandovery, 27 miles north of Swansea.  He was a pre-war champion parachutist and in civilian life a bank manager.  His age and his glasses would have barred him from RAF service, but ATA were happy with both.  He was based at Kirkbride, the Ferry Pool known as the ‘salt mines’ on the Solway Firth west of Carlisle.  In his right hand is his parachute and in his left his maps and his essential copy of Ferry Pilots Notes, the bible of every ATA pilot.  Did you know that our on-line shop sells facsimile copies of Ferry Pilots Notes?  Another Welshman was Captain George Pine (right) , born in Porthcawl.  He was based at Whitchurch (No.2 Ferry Pool) and was qualified Class 5, ie 4-engined bombers.  At the end of the war he was awarded the MBE.

On St Patrick’s Day we salute all the Irish men and women who served with ATA in a multitude of capacities. There were 8 men and 1 woman from the Irish Republic as pilots, together with further pilots and a couple of flight engineers who were born in northern Ireland.  Then lots of riggers, fitters, and other occupations as well. The boss of the Belfast Ferry Pool throughout its existence was Paddy Armstrong (picture of him in Brief Glory).  Belfast served the Shorts factory and their bread and butter was the Stirling bomber.  Sunderland flying boats were also involved and to help with mooring duties ATA employed a small number of Sea Cadets. We bet they had fun.  We heard an amazing story about Paddy Armstrong recently.  When the Belfast Pool was being closed down, all the office furniture, files, etc were piled in the back of an Anson to go to Aston Down.  In the copilot seat was Jill Farquaharson, who was in charge of MT at Belfast. As soon as they were airborne Paddy gave control of the aircraft of Jill and promptly went to sleep.  Too much Guinness for lunch?!

Annette Mahon was born in Dublin and was one of the WAAFs recruited by ATA in 1944;  the story of these WAAFs recruited is well told in the book “WAAFs with Wings” by Peggy Lucas.  Annette served from May 1944 until the end of September 1945.  After her training Annette was posted to No 4 Ferry Pool at Prestwick, where she was known as the Barracuda Queen.  In the documentary film Spitfire Sisters she tells a wonderful story of flying over the heather covered hills of southern Scotland and suddenly thinking that the scent from the heather was very strong.  When she looked down into the cockpit well she saw that her feet were soaked in hydraulic fluid!  She used to say that she loved every minute in ATA and would do it all again, if she had to.   Annette married Dr Hill who was on ATA’s medical staff.

On St Patrick’s Day in 1942, the American Stuart Updike (based at White Waltham) recorded in his diary “three deliveries today, Mohawk, Hurricane & Spit – a really good day, visibility good and ceiling about 2000ft – had tea at Shawbury – very good too!”  But… the British weather changes all the time and the very next day he wrote “Flew an Anson through some stinking weather today, did not enjoy it one bit either.  Lunch at Sherburn (No 7 Ferry Pool in Yorkshire) with Coe and Eddie”.