Amy Johnson

British aviator (1903–1941)

This article is about the British aviator. For other uses, see Amy Johnson (disambiguation).

Amy Johnson

CBE

Amy Johnson c. 1930

Born| (1903-07-01)1 July 1903

Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England

Disappeared| 5 January 1941(1941-01-05) (aged 37)
Thames Estuary, near Herne Bay, Kent, England
Status| Believed to have died in an aviation accident
Education| Boulevard Municipal Secondary School
Alma mater| University of Sheffield
Occupations|

* Aviator
* engineer

Spouse|

Jim Mollison

(m. 1932; div. 1938)​

Awards| Segrave Trophy (1932)

Amy Johnson CBE (born 1 July 1903 – disappeared 5 January 1941) was a pioneering English pilot who was the first woman to fly solo from London to Australia.

Flying solo or with her husband, Jim Mollison, she set many long-distance records during the 1930s. In 1933, Katharine Hepburn's character in the film Christopher Strong was inspired by Johnson. She flew in the Second World War as a part of the Air Transport Auxiliary. Her aircraft crashed into the Thames Estuary: she died after bailing out. Because her body was never recovered, the precise cause of her death—drowning, hypothermia or being pulled into a warship's moving propellers, is unknown and has been a subject of discussion since the possibility of friendly fire was raised in 1999 (see below).

## Early Life

[edit]

Born in 1903 in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, Amy Johnson was the daughter of Amy Hodge, granddaughter of William Hodge, a Mayor of Hull, and John William Johnson whose family were fish merchants in the firm of Andrew Johnson, Knudtzon and Company. She was the eldest of three sisters, the next in age being Irene who was a year younger.[1]

Johnson was educated at Boulevard Municipal Secondary School, later Kingston High School, and the University of Sheffield, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics.[2] She then worked in London as secretary to a solicitor, William Charles Crocker. She was introduced to flying as a hobby, gaining an aviator's certificate, No. 8662,[3] on 28 January 1929, and a pilot's "A" licence, No. 1979, on 6 July 1929, both at the London Aeroplane Club under the tutelage of Captain Valentine Baker. In 1929 she became the first British woman to obtain a ground engineer's "C" licence.[4]

Johnson was a friend and collaborator of Fred Slingsby whose Yorkshire based company, Slingsby Aviation of Kirbymoorside, North Yorkshire, became the UK's most famous glider manufacturer. Slingsby helped found Yorkshire Gliding Club at Sutton Bank and during the 1930s she was an early member and trainee.[5][6]

## Aviation

[edit]

Johnson in her Gipsy Moth leaving Australia for Newcastle, 14 June 1930 Amy Johnson greeted after having flown solo from England to Australia

Johnson got the money to buy her first aircraft from her father, who was always one of her strongest supporters, and Lord Wakefield.[2] She bought a secondhand de Havilland DH.60 Gipsy Moth G-AAAH and named it Jason after her father's business trade mark.[7][Note 1]

In 1930, Johnson achieved worldwide recognition when she became the first woman to fly solo from England to Australia. Flying Jason, she left Croydon Airport, Surrey, on 5 May and landed at Darwin, Northern Territory on 24 May, a distance of 11,000 miles (18,000 km).[8] Six days after, she damaged her aircraft while landing downwind at Brisbane airport and flew to Sydney with Captain Frank Follett while the aircraft was repaired. Jason was later flown to Mascot, Sydney, by Captain Lester Brain.[9][10] Jason is now on permanent display in the Flight Gallery of the Science Museum in London.

She was awarded the Harmon Trophy and also the CBE in George V's 1930 Birthday Honours in recognition of this achievement, and was honoured with the No. 1 civil pilot's licence under Australia's 1921 Air Navigation Regulations.[11][12][Note 2]

Amy Johnson and Jack Humphreys visit to Japan, September 1931

Johnson next bought a de Havilland DH.80 Puss Moth G-AAZV which she named Jason II. In July 1931, she and co-pilot Jack Humphreys became the first people to fly from London to Moscow in one day, completing the 1,760 miles (2,830 km) journey in approximately 21 hours. From there, they continued across Siberia and on to Tokyo, setting a record time for Britain to Japan.[13]

In 1932, Johnson married Scottish pilot Jim Mollison, who had proposed to her during a flight together eight hours after they had first met. In July 1932, Johnson set a solo record for a flight from London to Cape Town, South Africa in the Puss Moth G-ACAB Desert Cloud, breaking her new husband's record.[13] De Havilland Co and Castrol Oil featured this flight in advertising campaigns.[14]

Amy Johnson and Jason in Jhansi, India in May 1930 Amy Johnson and Jim Mollison were married on 29 July 1932

In July 1933, Johnson and Mollison attempted to fly the de Havilland DH.84 Dragon I G-ACCV, named Seafarer,[13] nonstop from Pendine Sands, South Wales, heading to Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, New York.[15] They hoped to then fly Seafarer to Baghdad in an attempt to gain the record for a non-stop long-distance flight.

Running low on fuel and flying in the dark, the pair made the decision to land short of New York. Spotting the lights of Bridgeport Municipal Airport (now Sikorsky Memorial Airport in Stratford, Connecticut) they circled it five times before crash landing some distance outside the field in a drainage ditch. Both were thrown from the aircraft but suffered only cuts and gashes.[16] After recuperating, the pair were feted by New York society and received a ticker tape parade down Wall Street.[4]

In 1934, the Mollisons set a record time for a flight from Britain to India in a de Havilland DH.88 Comet named Black Magic, as part of the England to Australia MacRobertson Air Race. They were forced to retire from the race at Allahabad because of engine trouble[13]

In September 1934, Johnson, under her married name of Mollison, became the youngest president of the Women's Engineering Society, having been vice-president since 1934.[17] Johnson succeeded Elizabeth M. Kennedy in the role.[18] Johnson was succeeded as President by Edith Mary Douglas.[19] She was active in the society until her death.[20]

On 4 May 1936, Johnson made her last record-breaking flight, starting from Gravesend Airport and regaining her Britain to South Africa record in G-ADZO, a Percival Gull Six.[21] In 1936, she was awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Aero Club.[4]

She further honed her gliding skills with the Midland Gliding Club, based in Shropshire, which she joined in October 1937, and remained an active flying member until gliding was suspended following the outbreak of the Second World War.[22] In 1938, Johnson overturned her glider, when landing after a display at Walsall Aerodrome in England, but was not seriously hurt.[23] Following the accident, she told reporters, "I still declare that gliding is the safest form of flying."[22]

She divorced Mollison in 1937 and reverted to her maiden name.[24] Johnson began to explore other ways to make a living through business ventures, journalism and fashion. She modelled clothes for the designer Elsa Schiaparelli and created her a travelling bag sold under her own name.[25]

In 1939, Johnson found work flying with the Portsmouth, Southsea and Isle of Wight Aviation Company, piloting short flights across the Solent and flying as a target for searchlight batteries and anti-aircraft gunners to practise on.[26]

## Second World War

[edit]

During the Second World War, Johnson's employing company's aircraft were taken over by the Air Ministry in March 1940. She was served a notice of redundancy alongside all other pilots in the company, as all the aircraft were requisitioned for the war effort. She received a week's pay and a further four weeks' pay of £40 as a redundancy package.[27]

Two months later, Johnson joined the newly formed Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA), which transported Royal Air Force aircraft around the country. She rose to first officer under the command of her friend and fellow pilot Pauline Gower.[28] Her former husband also flew for the ATA throughout the war.[29] Johnson described a typical day in her life in the ATA in a humorous article, published posthumously in 1941, for The Woman Engineer journal.[20]

## Death

[edit]

In a last letter to her friend, Caroline Haslett, on New Year's Day 1941, Johnson wrote: "I hope the gods will watch over you this year, and I wish you the best of luck (the only useful thing not yet taxed!)".[20] On 5 January 1941, while flying an Airspeed Oxford for the ATA from Prestwick via RAF Squires Gate to RAF Kidlington near Oxford, Johnson went off-course in adverse weather conditions. Reportedly out of fuel, she bailed out as her aircraft crashed into the Thames Estuary near Herne Bay.

A convoy of wartime vessels in the Thames Estuary spotted Johnson's parachute coming down and saw her alive in the water calling for help.[30] Conditions were poor: there was a heavy sea and a strong tide, snow was falling and it was intensely cold.[31] Lt Cmdr Walter Fletcher, the Captain of HMS Haslemere,[Note 3] navigated his ship to attempt a rescue.[31] The crew of the vessel threw ropes out to Johnson, but she was unable to reach them and was lost under the ship. A number of witnesses believed there was a second body in the water.[30]

Fletcher dived in and swam out to this,[clarification needed] rested on it for a few minutes and then let go. When the lifeboat reached him he was unconscious and as a result of the intense cold he died in hospital days later.[31][32] Johnson's watertight flying bag, her log book and cheque book later washed up, and were recovered near the crash site.[33][25]

A memorial service was held for Johnson in the church of St Martin-in-the-Fields on 14 January 1941. Lt Cmdr Walter Fletcher was posthumously awarded the Albert Medal in May 1941.[31]

### Disputed circumstances

[edit]

In 1999, it was reported that Johnson's death may have been caused by friendly fire.[34] Tom Mitchell, from Crowborough, Sussex, claimed to have shot Johnson's aircraft down when she twice failed to give the correct identification code during the flight. Mitchell explained how the aircraft was sighted and contacted by radio. A request was made for the signal. She gave the wrong one twice. "Sixteen rounds of shells were fired and the plane dived into the Thames Estuary. We all thought it was an enemy plane until the next day when we read the papers and discovered it was Amy. The officers told us never to tell anyone what happened."[34]

In 2016, Alec Gill, a historian, claimed that the son of a ship's crew member stated that Johnson had died because she was sucked into the blades of the ship's propellers. The crewman did not observe this to occur, but believes it is true.[35]

As a member of the ATA with no known grave, her body never recovered, Johnson is commemorated, under the name of Amy V. Johnson, by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission on the Air Forces Memorial at Runnymede.[36]

A memorial for UK Air Transport Auxiliary personnel, who went missing presumed dead during the Second World War

## Honours and tributes

[edit]

English Heritage blue plaque at Vernon Court, Cricklewood, London The KLM McDonnell Douglas MD-11 named Amy Johnson Amy Johnson Building, University of Sheffield

In June 1930, Johnson's flight to Australia was the subject of a contemporary popular song, "Amy, Wonderful Amy", composed by Horatio Nicholls and recorded by Harry Bidgood, Jack Hylton, Arthur Lally, Arthur Rosebery and Debroy Somers. She was also the guest of honour at the opening of the first Butlins holiday camp, in Skegness in 1936. From 1935 to 1937, Johnson was President of the Women's Engineering Society.[37]

A collection of Amy Johnson souvenirs and mementos was donated by her father to Sewerby Hall in 1958. The hall now houses a room dedicated to Amy Johnson in its museum.[38]

In 1974, Harry Ibbetson's statue of Amy Johnson was unveiled in Prospect Street, Hull where a girls' school was named after her (the school closed in 2004).[39]

In 2016, new statues of Johnson were unveiled to commemorate the 75th anniversary of her death. The first, on 17 September, was at Herne Bay, close to the site where she was last seen alive,[40] and the second, on 30 September, was unveiled by Maureen Lipman near Hawthorne Avenue, Hull, close to Johnson's childhood home.[41] In 2017, The Guardian listed this second statue as one of the "best female statues in Britain".[42]

A blue plaque commemorates Johnson at Vernon Court, Hendon Way, in Childs Hill, London NW2.[43] She is commemorated with a green plaque on The Avenues, Kingston upon Hull. She is commemorated with another blue plaque in Princes Risborough where she lived for a year.

The Amy Johnson Comet Restoration Centre, 2017

Buildings named in Johnson's honour include:

* "Amy Johnson Building" housing the department of Automatic Control and Systems Engineering at the University of Sheffield.
* "Amy Johnson Primary School" situated on Mollison Drive on the Roundshaw Estate, Wallington, Surrey, which is built on the former runway site of Croydon Airport.[44]
* "The Hawthornes @ Amy Johnson" in Hull, a major housing development by Keepmoat Homes on the site of the former Amy Johnson School.
* "Amy Johnson Comet Restoration Centre" at Derby Airfield, where the Mollisons' DH.88 Comet Black Magic is being restored to flying condition.
* "Amy Johnson House" in Cherry Orchard Road, Croydon was named for her; built in the 20th century, it was demolished in the mid-2010s.[45]
* "Amy's Restaurant and Bar" at the Hilton hotels at both London Gatwick and Stansted airports are named after her.

Other tributes to Johnson include a KLM McDonnell-Douglas MD-11 and, after that aircraft was retired, a Norwegian Air UK Boeing 787-9, named in her honour.[citation needed]

"Amy Johnson Avenue" is a main road running northwards from Tiger Brennan Drive, Winnellie, to McMillans Rd, Karama, in Darwin, Australia.

"Amy Johnson Way" is a road linking commercial premises in Blackpool, Lancashire, UK, adjacent to Blackpool Airport. It is also the name of a road in Clifton Moor, York.

"Johnson Road" is one of the roads built on the site of the former Heston Aerodrome in west London.

In 2011 the Royal Aeronautical Society established the annual Amy Johnson Named Lecture[46] to celebrate a century of women in flight[Note 4] and to honour Britain's most famous female aviator. Carolyn McCall, Chief Executive of EasyJet, delivered the Inaugural Lecture on 6 July 2011 at the Society's headquarters in London. The Lecture is held on or close to 6 July every year to mark the date in 1929 when Amy Johnson was awarded her pilot's licence.

Over a six-month period, inmates of Hull Prison built a full-size model of the Gipsy Moth aircraft used by Johnson to fly solo from Britain to Australia. In February 2017 this went on public display at Hull Paragon Interchange.[47]

In 2017, Google commemorated Johnson's 114th birthday with a Google Doodle.[48]

In 2017, the airline Norwegian painted the tail fin of two of its aircraft with a portrait of Johnson. She is one of the company's "British tail fin heroes", joining Queen singer Freddie Mercury, children's author Roald Dahl, England's World Cup winning captain Bobby Moore and aviation entrepreneur Sir Freddie Laker.[49][50]

A mural reading QUEEN OF THE AIR (which was a nickname the British press gave Johnson) was painted in Cricklewood railway station to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of women obtaining the right to vote in the UK.[51]

St Mary's Church in Beverley, East Yorkshire announced their intention of installing a stone carving of Amy Johnson as part of a programme of celebrating women in the restoration of the stonework of the medieval church in 2021. The other eight figures will include fellow engineer and WES member Hilda Lyon, Mary Wollstonecraft, Mary Seacole, Marie Curie, Rosalind Franklin, Helen Sharman and Ada Lovelace.[52][53][54]

## In popular culture

[edit]

Johnson's life has been the subject of a number of treatments in film and television, some more accurately biographical than others. In 1942, a film of Johnson's life, They Flew Alone, (released in the US as Wings and the Woman) was made by director-producer Herbert Wilcox, starring Anna Neagle as Johnson and Robert Newton as Mollison.

Amy! (1980) was an avant-garde documentary written and directed by feminist film theorist Laura Mulvey and semiologist Peter Wollen. A 1984 BBC television film Amy starred Harriet Walter in the title role. In the 1991, Australian television miniseries The Great Air Race, aka Half a World Away, based on the 1934 MacRobertson Air Race, Johnson was portrayed by Caroline Goodall.

Johnson earned a passing mention in other works such as the 2007 British film adaption of Noel Streatfeild's 1936 novel Ballet Shoes, in which the character Petrova is inspired by Johnson in her dreams of becoming an aviator.

In radio, the 2002 BBC Radio broadcast The Typist who Flew to Australia, a play by Helen Cross, presented the theme that Johnson's aviation career was prompted by years of boredom in an unsatisfying job as a typist and sexual adventures including a seven-year affair with a Swiss businessman who married someone else.[55]

In music, Johnson inspired a number of works, including the song "Flying Sorcery" from Scottish singer-songwriter Al Stewart's album, Year of the Cat (1976).[56] A Lone Girl Flier and Just Plain Johnnie (Jack O'Hagan) sung by Bob Molyneux,[57] and Johnnie, Our Aeroplane Girl sung by Jack Lumsdaine.[58] Queen of the Air (2008) by Peter Aveyard is a musical tribute to Johnson.[59] Indie pop band The Lucksmiths used a clip of her Australia welcome speech as an intro to their song The Golden Age of Aviation.

More fictionalised portrayals include a Doctor Who Magazine comic story in 2013 titled "A Wing and a Prayer", in which the time-travelling Doctor encounters Johnson in 1930. He tells Clara Oswald her death is a fixed point in time. Clara realises what's important is that it appears Amy died. They save her from drowning and then take her to the planet Cornucopia.[60]

The character Worrals in the series of books by Captain W. E. Johns was modelled on Amy Johnson.[61]

In 2023, screenwriter Sally Wainwright, best known for Happy Valley, revealed that she was interested in writing a drama about Johnson but "failed to convince" TV channels.[62]

## Gallery

[edit]

* Amy Johnson discusses plans for her tour

* Amy Johnson speaks about her England-Australia solo flight

* Amy Johnson flying to Cape Town seeking husband's record

## See also

[edit]

* List of fatalities from aviation accidents
* List of female explorers and travelers
* List of people who disappeared mysteriously at sea

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Her father was a partner in the Andrew Johnson Knudtzon Fish Merchants.
2. ^ A de Havilland DH 60G Gipsy Moth G-ABDV, named "Jason III" was given to Johnson on her return to England.[13]
3. ^ Haslemere was a small, former ferry that in Royal Navy wartime service was being used as a barrage balloon ship.
4. ^ In 1911, Hilda Hewlett became the first British woman to earn her pilot's licence.[46]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Amy Johnson pioneering aviator" (PDF). Hull Local Studies Library, Hull City Council. Retrieved 19 February 2013.
2. ^ a b Dunmore, Spencer (2004). "Undaunted: Long-Distance Flyers in the Golden Age of Aviation" Toronto: McClelland & Stewart. ISBN 0771029373. pp. 194–195.
3. ^ "The Royal Aero Club of the United Kingdom: Official notices to members". Flight. 25 October 1929. p. 1141. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
4. ^ a b c Aitken, Kenneth (July 1991). "Amy Johnson (The Speed Seekers)." Aeroplane Monthly, Vol. 19, no. 7, Issue no. 219. p. 440.
5. ^ "Amy's Yorkshire Flying Club". Amy Johnson Arts Trust. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
6. ^ "Amy's Yorkshire Flying Club". Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
7. ^ Eden, P. E. Civil Aircraft 1907–Present 2012 p. 46 colour drawing ISBN 9781908696649
8. ^ Marshall, A. C., ed. (1934). Newnes Golden Treasury. George Newnes Ltd. p. 488 (photo plate opposite). "The photograph was taken at Insein, and shows how the plane was damaged in landing."
9. ^ Captain Lester Brain beside Amy's "Jason". Ted Hood. 1931. "information from original catalogue record"[permanent dead link‍]
10. ^ "Miss Amy Johnson". The Canberra Times. Vol. 4, no. 813\. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 30 May 1930. p. 1. Retrieved 24 May 2018 - via National Library of Australia.
11. ^ "No. 33611". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 May 1930. p. 3481.
12. ^ "Brearley Pilot's Licences". Treasures of the Battye Library. State Library of Western Australia. Archived from the original on 10 October 2009. Retrieved 15 July 2007.
13. ^ a b c d e "Amy Johnson." Archived 17 September 2012 at the Wayback Machine The Science Museum (South Kensington. UK), 2013.
14. ^ De Vries, G. Wingfield. A Pictorial History 1991 pp. 79–80 with photos ISBN 0620159391
15. ^ Ignasher, Jim (30 December 2015). "Stratford, CT – July 23, 1933." Archived 10 May 2019 at the Wayback Machine New England Aviation History. Retrieved: 9 January 2016.
16. ^ "Fly ocean, crash near goal." Chicago Daily Tribune, 24 July 1933. Retrieved: 9 January 2016.
17. ^ "The Women Engineer, vol 3 p. 309". www2.theiet.org. Archived from the original on 11 October 2016. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
18. ^ "The Woman Engineer vol 3 pg 235". twej.theiet.org. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
19. ^ "The Woman Engineer vol 3 pg 397". twej.theiet.org. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
20. ^ a b c "The Woman Engineer Vol 5". www2.theiet.org. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
21. ^ De Vries, G. Wingfield. A Pictorial History 1991 p. 99 with photo ISBN 0620159391
22. ^ a b "Aviation heroine's close shave". Shropshire Star. 20 July 2022. p. 24.Article by Toby Neal, title referred to the gliding accident in Walsall in 1938.
23. ^ "Helliwells aircraft component factory at Walsall airport." Archived 28 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine Black Country Bugle, 25 November 2010. Retrieved: 19 May 2013.
24. ^ Smith, Constance Babington (2004). Amy Johnson. Stroud, Gloucestershire, UK: The History Press Ltd. ISBN 978-0-75093-703-0. pp. 312–313.
25. ^ a b "About Amy". Amy Johnson Project. Archived from the original on 20 October 2018. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
26. ^ "Air Transport Auxiliary". www.rafmuseum.org.uk. Archived from the original on 21 June 2021. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
27. ^ "Letter of Redundancy". Archived from the original on 24 June 2021.
28. ^ "ATA Letter of Promotion". Archived from the original on 24 June 2021.
29. ^ "8 Unsung Women Explorers". Our Amazing Planet, LiveScience.com. 30 April 2012. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
30. ^ a b Gillies, Midge (2004). Amy Johnson : queen of the air. London: Phoenix. ISBN 0753817705. OCLC 56451512.
31. ^ a b c d "Heroes Of Air Raids Civil Defence Awards, Rescues In Face Of Danger." The Times (London), Issue 48928, 17 May 1941, p. 2. Retrieved: 27 December 2012.
32. ^ Luff, David (2002). Amy Johnson: Enigma in the Sky. Airlife. ISBN 9781840373196.
33. ^ "BBC - A History of the World - Object : Amy Johnson's Flying Bag". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
34. ^ a b Gray, Alison (6 February 1999). "I think I shot down Amy Johnson". The Scotsman.
35. ^ Jameson, Sophie; Foster, Patrick (6 January 2016). "Flying pioneer Amy Johnson 'chopped to pieces by Royal Navy ship's propeller', historian says". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
36. ^ "CWGC Casualty Record: Johnson, Amy V. Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved: 10 January 2016.
37. ^ "Past Presidents." Archived 29 February 2020 at the Wayback Machine Women's Engineering Society. Retrieved: 21 November 2010.
38. ^ "The House". Sewerby Hall. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
39. ^ "Amy Johnson." Archived 15 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine Hull History Centre via hullhistorycentre.org.uk. Retrieved: 14 December 2010.
40. ^ "Aviator Amy Johnson: Statue unveiled at Herne Bay". BBC News. 17 September 2016. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
41. ^ "Amy Johnson statue unveiled in Hull". BBC News. 30 September 2016. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
42. ^ Pidd, Helen (9 January 2017). "Britain to celebrate pioneering women with three new statues". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
43. ^ "Blue Plaque – Johnson, Amy (1903–1941)". English Heritage. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
44. ^ "Amy Johnson Primary School." Archived 4 September 2010 at the Wayback Machine lgfl.net, 2010\. Retrieved: 25 December 2010.
45. ^ "Geograph:: Amy Johnson House, Cherry Orchard Road". www.geograph.org.uk. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
46. ^ a b Bossom, Emma (3 June 2011). "Carolynn McCall to speak at inaugural Amy Johnson Named Lecture." Archived 23 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine Royal Aeronautical Society's Amy Johnson Named Lecture via aerosocietychannel.com. Retrieved: 9 June 2011.
47. ^ "Full-size model of Amy Johnson's Gipsy Moth on show in Hull". BBC News. 9 February 2017. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
48. ^ "Amy Johnson's 114th Birthday". Google Doodle. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
49. ^ Caswell, Mark (3 July 2017). "Freddie Mercury unveiled as Norwegian's latest tail fin hero". Business Traveller.com. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
50. ^ Munro, Scott (30 June 2017). "Freddie Mercury's image to appear on Norwegian aircraft". Teamrock.com. Future Publishing Limited. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
51. ^ Nathalie Raffray (29 November 2018). "Cricklewood Station graced with mural of UKs first female pilot Amy Johnson from Roe Green Village | Latest Kilburn and Brent News - Brent & Kilburn Times". Kilburntimes.co.uk. Archived from the original on 4 December 2018. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
52. ^ "Yorkshire church to install stone carvings celebrating women". The Guardian. 21 May 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
53. ^ Burgess, Kaya. "Medieval church puts historic women on a pedestal". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
54. ^ Roland Deller (21 May 2021). "Carvings of local heroes and global pioneers commissioned to replace damaged stonework". St Mary's Church, Beverley. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
55. ^ "BBC Radio 4 Extra - Helen Cross - The Typist Who Flew to Australia". Bbc.co.uk. 10 September 2018. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
56. ^ Dyer, Kim (29 January 2016), "Review of 'Flying Sorcery'." Archived 13 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine alstewart.com. Retrieved: 27 October 2010.
57. ^ National Film and Sound Archive of Australia: Songs about Amy Johnson in "Our Heroes of the Air." The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia. Retrieved: 1 January 2014.
58. ^ "National Film and Sound Archive of Australia: Songs about Amy Johnson; Our Heroes of the Air. Archived 31 January 2012 at the Wayback Machine National Film and Sound Archive of Australia. Retrieved: 18 May 2012.
59. ^ "Queen of the Air: Peter Aveyard's tribute to Amy Johnson." Archived 7 November 2007 at the Wayback Machine queenoftheair.co.uk. Retrieved: 24 September 2010.
60. ^ "Doctor who Magazine #263." doctorwhonews.net, 24 July 2013. Retrieved: 1 January 2014.
61. ^ "The blaggers guide to Worrals of the WAAF". The Independent. 28 July 2013. Archived from the original on 16 November 2016. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
62. ^ "Sally Wainwright: Happy Valley creator says TV soaps have become unbelievable." BBC News, 25 August 2023. Retrieved: 25 August 2023.

## Further reading

[edit]

* Gillies, Midge. Amy Johnson, Queen of the Air, London, Phoenix Paperback, 2004. ISBN 0753817705.
* Moolman, Valerie. Women Aloft (The Epic of Flight). Alexandria, Virginia: Time-Life Books, 1981. ISBN 0-8094-3287-0.
* Nesbitt, Roy. "What did Happen to Amy Johnson?" Aeroplane Monthly (Part 1), Vol. 16, no. 1, January 1988, (Part 2) Vol. 16, no. 2, February 1988.
* Sugden, Philip. Amy's Last Flight: The Fate of Amy Johnson in 1941. Beverley, East Yorkshire: Highgate Press, 2015. ISBN 978-1-902645-62-9
* Turner, Mary. The Women's Century: A Celebration of Changing Roles 1900–2000. Kew, Richmond, Surrey, UK: The National Archives, 2003. ISBN 1-903365-51-1.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Amy Johnson.

* Biography of Amy Johnson by Science Museum, London
* BBC Humber article on Johnson
* BBC page on Amy Johnson's death
* The RAF Museum, Hendon, includes another Johnson display
* RAF History page on Amy Johnson
* CWGC record
* Amy Johnson: Pioneer Aviator, Article by LaRue Scott
* "In Case You've Never Heard of Amy Johnson". Experimental Aircraft Association. 28 March 2017.
* Science Museum article on women in engineering including Amy Johnson Archived 5 December 2021 at the Wayback Machine
* de Havilland Gipsy Moth G-AAAH "Jason" in display at the Science Museum in London
* Comet Racer G-ACSP Restoration
* British Library – 'The Story of My Flight' Amy Johnson describes her flight to Australia in a National Sound Archive recording.
* One minute silent film; close-ups of Amy Johnson speaking. Pathe News, Cape Town, 1932
* Songs inspired by, and recordings of, famous aviators, including Charles Kingsford Smith, Amy Johnson and Bert Hinkler talking about their journeys on the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia's website: "Our Heroes of the Air"

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*[c.]: circa
*[m.]: married
*[div.]: divorced