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54-497: The club also hosted Oxford University Gliding Club at their site until Windrusher's closure, where OUGC then relocated to Oxford Gliding Club . During their tenancy, the gliding Varsity match between Oxford University Gliding Club and Cambridge University Gliding Club was held at Bicester Airfield every other year, the other years it was held at Gransden Lodge Airfield . Due to the COVID-19 pandemic these competitions were not held but in

108-823: A Percival Gull Six. In 1936, she was awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Aero Club . 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 . In 1938, Johnson overturned her glider, when landing after a display at Walsall Aerodrome in England, but

162-522: 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 . A collection of Amy Johnson souvenirs and mementos

216-754: A distance of 11,000 miles (18,000 km). 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 . Jason is now on permanent display in the Flight Gallery of the Science Museum in London . She was awarded the Harmon Trophy and also

270-399: 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. Johnson's watertight flying bag, her log book and cheque book later washed up, and were recovered near the crash site. A memorial service was held for Johnson in the church of St Martin-in-the-Fields on 14 January 1941. Lt Cmdr Walter Fletcher

324-412: A lightweight manufactured Rope -like material. Dyneema is substantially lighter than the traditional multistrand steel cable, and enables higher launch heights, which in turn provide a longer flight. Combined with the longer than average "runs" at the club, the average winch launch height at OGC is in excess of 1400 feet, though with the right conditions launches have reached 2500 feet. OGC operates

378-657: 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. 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

432-555: 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 . A mural reading QUEEN OF THE AIR (which was a nickname the British press gave Johnson) was painted in Cricklewood railway station to commemorate

486-573: A public Air Show at RAF Upper Heyford in the summer of 1938. The Club moved from Cumnor to the Chiltern ridge at Aston Rowant, close to the Lambert Arms pub, for the 1939 season. The formation of the Oxford Gliding Co. Ltd. dates from 1939, including the original £4,000 share capital which is still on the books to this day. On the outbreak of war in 1939, all recreational aviation ceased, and the club

540-456: A subject of discussion since the possibility of friendly fire was raised in 1999 (see below ). 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,

594-434: A suitable site by aviator Amy Johnson . Lindemann went on to become scientific advisor to Winston Churchill and was paymaster general during World War II. A meeting in early 1938 at Rhodes House considered the establishment of a club further. Attendees at this meeting included Joan Meakin , Mary Bailey , Amy Johnson and Naomi Heron-Maxwell . Flying began on Saturday, 7 May 1938, at a site known as Cumnor meadow, which

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648-546: A varied fleet, consisting of both single and dual seat aircraft. In addition to the aircraft that it owns, it has access to the fleet of OUGC as part of the facilities agreement. (1 OUGC) (G-DESB) (1 OUGC) (G-CFEF) (1 on loan from WGC ) (G-DEED) Amy Johnson 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

702-561: 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

756-519: 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. Buildings named in Johnson's honour include: 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. "Amy Johnson Avenue"

810-506: Is now on the bed of Farmoor Reservoir . The Club fleet consisted of two open primary gliders , one of which had a streamlined nacelle. Club members had to build an access road to the site, including a bridge over a ditch, and a basic hangar. The famous Austrian gliding pioneer, Robert Kronfeld became manager and CFI (Chief Flying Instructor) of the Club in June 1938. Club pilots and gliders took part in

864-545: 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. 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

918-586: The Royal Aeronautical Society established the annual Amy Johnson Named Lecture to celebrate a century of women in flight 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

972-416: 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. 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

1026-579: The 100-year anniversary of women obtaining the right to vote in the UK. 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 . Johnson's life has been

1080-550: The 1930s she was an early member and trainee. Johnson got the money to buy her first aircraft from her father, who was always one of her strongest supporters, and Lord Wakefield . She bought a secondhand de Havilland DH.60 Gipsy Moth G-AAAH and named it Jason after her father's business trade mark. 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,

1134-537: 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 moving propellers—is unknown, and has been

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1188-460: 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. In music, Johnson inspired a number of works, including the song "Flying Sorcery" from Scottish singer-songwriter Al Stewart 's album, Year of

1242-573: 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. Conditions were poor: there

1296-445: The ATA throughout the war. Johnson described a typical day in her life in the ATA in a humorous article, published posthumously in 1941, for The Woman Engineer journal. 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!)". On 5 January 1941, while flying an Airspeed Oxford for

1350-549: The CASC guidelines on disposing of assets (such as aircraft) to other eligible CASC organisations in the local area. This meant that the majority of their fleet is unavailable for use by either their own members or those in the local area following advice from the British Gliding Association and the insurers. The club has leased some of the aircraft to some clubs, however the terms of the leases are not clear as they are not in

1404-553: The Cat (1976). A Lone Girl Flier and Just Plain Johnnie (Jack O'Hagan) sung by Bob Molyneux, and Johnnie, Our Aeroplane Girl sung by Jack Lumsdaine. Queen of the Air (2008) by Peter Aveyard is a musical tribute to Johnson. 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

1458-668: 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. 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

1512-566: The Puss Moth G-ACAB Desert Cloud , breaking her new husband's record. De Havilland Co and Castrol Oil featured this flight in advertising campaigns. In July 1933, Johnson and Mollison attempted to fly the de Havilland DH.84 Dragon I G-ACCV , named Seafarer , nonstop from Pendine Sands , South Wales , heading to Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn , New York. They hoped to then fly Seafarer to Baghdad in an attempt to gain

1566-418: 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. 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 . Her former husband also flew for

1620-471: The airfield is not otherwise in use, and when there are sufficient members available to commence operations. Like most UK gliding clubs, there are no paid employees and all members (subject to age and regulatory requirements) are trained in the various elements of airfield operation. In addition to the day-to-day operations, the club also undertakes various maintenance tasks including grass-cutting, aircraft inspection as per BGA requirements and general upkeep of

1674-407: The airfield under the new proposed terms which meant that no new lease was on offer, the club would have to book the airfield for the day if they wanted to fly and would become just another "airfield user" rather than the leaseholder. When the club ceased operations, it maintained that it was not being dissolved and was instead entering a state of "hibernation", which meant they did not need to follow

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1728-533: The club was reformed as a separate entity after the RAFGSA moved to RAF Halton . The following year it hosted the UK Junior National Championship and its own Regional championship. It also later achieved the British Gliding Association's accreditation as a Junior Gliding Centre. During their operation, Windrushers hosted the following competitions; After discussions that took place in early 2020,

1782-489: The early summer of 2022 the series was restarted and held at Oxford Gliding Club . Prior to its closure, and since operations ceased the club has maintained Community amateur sports club (CASC) status, a favourable tax status. Windrushers originally started at operations at Little Rissington before moving to Bicester in 1956, later merging with the Royal Air Force Gliding & Soaring Association . In July 2004

1836-552: The facilities. As part of the agreement with OUGC, members of each club are able to use the fleet of both clubs. The club's instructors operate under the BGA training system, and do not charge for their time. This is common (but not universal) in gliding, unlike other general aviation areas. In late 2023 the club upgraded to a new skylaunch winch, having previously operated a club manufactured winch. Both winches are powered by Liquefied petroleum gas , and are fitted with Dyneema cable,

1890-405: The new owners of Bicester Airfield , Bicester Heritage, sought to change the lease that allowed WGC to operate on the airfield. WGC would have lost privileges they enjoyed over other users of the airfield, which would have resulted in increased cost and reduced independence to run competitions or expand operations. Bicester Heritage also looked to take over WGC property within the airfield, including

1944-489: The next in age being Irene who was a year younger. 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. 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, on 28 January 1929, and

1998-499: The pair were feted by New York society and received a ticker tape parade down Wall Street . 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 In September 1934, Johnson, under her married name of Mollison, became

2052-930: The proceeds to the governing body, namely the British Gliding Associoation Oxford Gliding Club Oxford Gliding Club (OGC) is a UK gliding club, and is one of the oldest still in operation in the UK. Currently it operates from RAF Weston-on-the-Green , north of Oxford . In 2012, the club celebrated its 75th anniversary. The pre-war ancestor to the club was the "Oxford University and City Gliding Club" which had its inaugural meeting at Christchurch College on Thursday 2 December 1937. The founders were predominantly Oxford academics, including author and anthropologist Robert Sutherland Rattray , Professor H H Price , philosopher Professor Gilbert Ryle and physicist Professor Frederick Lindemann, 1st Viscount Cherwell (later Lord Cherwell). They were helped in their search for

2106-459: The public domain. The cost of storing and insuring he fleet forced the Management to sell of some of the aircraft. Following different attempts to find an alternative location to restart the club, it was decided at a members meeting in 2023 that all attempts had come to nothing and that Windrushers Gliding Club would have to fold. Following CASC rules it was decided to monetise any assets left and pass

2160-411: The recently renovated clubrooms and workshops. In July 2020, the club left the airfield, with members leaving for various different gliding clubs in the local area such as Oxford Gliding Club , Shenington Gliding Club at Shenington Airfield , Banbury Gliding Club and others further afield. The club states its lease was terminated on December 12th, 2019 and it would have been impossible for them to stay at

2214-504: 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. After recuperating,

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2268-625: 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

2322-444: 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,

2376-471: The youngest president of the Women's Engineering Society , having been vice-president since 1934. Johnson succeeded Elizabeth M. Kennedy in the role. Johnson was succeeded as President by Edith Mary Douglas . She was active in the society until her death. 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 ,

2430-472: Was a heavy sea and a strong tide, snow was falling and it was intensely cold. Lt Cmdr Walter Fletcher, the Captain of HMS Haslemere , navigated his ship to attempt a rescue. 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. Fletcher dived in and swam out to this, rested on it for

2484-457: Was a part of OGC until 1970 when it became a separate entity and moved to RAF Bicester under the predecessor to Windrushers Gliding Club , the RAF Gliding and Soaring Association . Whilst the club operates from an RAF airfield, it is not affiliated with nor is it a military organisation. The club operates mainly on weekends and bank holidays , however may occasionally operate on weekdays when

2538-504: Was at Herne Bay, close to the site where she was last seen alive, and the second, on 30 September, was unveiled by Maureen Lipman near Hawthorne Avenue, Hull, close to Johnson's childhood home. In 2017, The Guardian listed this second statue as one of the "best female statues in Britain". A blue plaque commemorates Johnson at Vernon Court, Hendon Way, in Childs Hill, London NW2. She

2592-489: 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 . In 2017, Google commemorated Johnson's 114th birthday with a Google Doodle . In 2017, the airline Norwegian painted the tail fin of two of its aircraft with

2646-467: Was donated by her father to Sewerby Hall in 1958. The hall now houses a room dedicated to Amy Johnson in its museum. 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). In 2016, new statues of Johnson were unveiled to commemorate the 75th anniversary of her death. The first, on 17 September,

2700-418: Was eventually reformed at Kidlington ( London Oxford Airport )in 1951. An increase in powered aircraft activity at Kidlington resulted in the club relocating to RAF Weston-on-the-Green in 1956. In July 2020, Oxford University Gliding Club returned to RAF Weston-on-the-Green. It operates as an independent organisation, however OGC facilitates its operations by providing the necessary operational capacity. It

2754-423: 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." In 2016, Alec Gill, a historian, claimed that the son of a ship's crew member stated that Johnson had died because she

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2808-460: Was not seriously hurt. Following the accident, she told reporters, "I still declare that gliding is the safest form of flying." She divorced Mollison in 1937 and reverted to her maiden name. 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. In 1939, Johnson found work flying with

2862-499: Was posthumously awarded the Albert Medal in May 1941. In 1999, it was reported that Johnson's death may have been caused by friendly fire . 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

2916-544: Was sucked into the blades of the ship's propellers. The crewman did not observe this to occur, but believes it is true. 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 . In June 1930, Johnson's flight to Australia was the subject of

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