Air Transport Auxiliary pilots played a vital role in the Second World War delivering all types of aircraft from factories to airfields. The very first of just a few women to qualify for such a challenging role was ATA First Officer Lettice Curtis. Melody Foreman profiles this amazing airwomen.
SECOND WORLD WAR | AIR TRANSPORT AUXILIARY
On 26 October 1942, a young woman ferry pilot looked up at the sky and sighed at the heavy rain that prevented her from undertaking some allimportant flight training. It had been tough enough to qualify and train for a Class V licence to fly a four-engine bomber, and lessons so far had been complicated. Now the weather had grounded her once again and Air Transport Auxiliary First Officer (Eleanor) Lettice Curtis was not amused.
She was on course to become trumpeted, ‘Anything to Anywhere’. The last time she’d taken up the Halifax with an instructor was October 7 and since then the weather had put a stop to all decent progress. That day at the ATA headquarters in White Waltham, Berkshire, the 27-year-old Curtis took shelter from the rain beneath the long and mighty wing of the Halifax. She turned her blue eyes skyward again. Maybe, just maybe, the rain might clear up so…
