Marjorie Spiller

Marjorie Spiller (born November 23, 1897 in Streatham , England , † May 1942 in England) was a British actress and professional pilot before the Second World War . She flew as a pilot with the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) during World War II .

life and work

Spiller was an only child and was sent by her parents to a small private boarding school in Henley-on-Thames . She was an actress and singer by the 1930s, also known as Margery Spiller. She toured the UK as an actress and played a comedy crime drama in 1930. In 1935 she learned to fly at the South Coast Flying Club at Shoreham Airfield , where she was the first person in the club to receive her A license in October 1935. On this license, she stated 1905 as her year of birth, which was also stated in other professional documents. In 1936 she was declared "Woman of the Week" in a newspaper. She had volunteered to fly planes to Spain for £ 150 per trip to help the rebels in the Spanish Civil War in the fight against General Francisco Franco . She was ready to fly anything anywhere to get the necessary flying lessons for the B license, and in 1937 she passed the B exam at the London Flying Club. This meant that she was qualified to carry passengers and make a living as a professional pilot. In 1938 she was the chief instructor of the Sheffield Aero Club teaching staff and was the manager of the club's new airfield in Firbeck at Worksop . In 1939 she became an instructor in Eastbourne, but gave up the profession after the death of her mother. To make money, she worked as an ambulance driver for Air Raid Precautions (ARP). When the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) announced the formation of a women's division, they immediately wrote to Pauline Gower , who was to become the commander. In 1941 she joined the ATA with the changed date of birth, as she had to present her flight ticket as part of the application process. After a few months, she was unable to fly for health reasons and died shortly afterwards of cancer at the age of 44. Her ATA flight time was 109 hours 40 minutes, of which the longest flight time was in a Tiger Moth .

literature

• Lois K. Merry: Women Military Pilots of World War II , 2010, ISBN 978-0-7864-4441-0

Web links

• biography
• Photography by Marjorie Spiller Chief Instructor & Manager of The Sheffield Aero Club
• ATA Women Pilots
• Correspondence with Pauline Gower