The Female Few: Spitfire Heroines of the Air Transport Auxiliary

by Jacky Hyams

The fascinating accounts of the female pilots who transported the aircraft flown during the Battle of Britain, based on previously unpublished interviews with four pilots

Through the darkest days of World War II, an elite group of courageous, gifted women risked their lives as courier pilots, flying Lancaster Bombers, Spitfires, and many other aircraft in hundreds of perilous missions. The role of these women pilots of the Air Transport Auxiliary was to deliver the planes to the male RAF pilots who would take them into battle, dangerous work which the women carried out unarmed and without radios.

Fifteen would lose their lives. Here, four of these astonishingly brave women tell their stories for the first time—awe-inspiring tales of incredible risk, tenacity, and sacrifice. Their spirit and fearlessness in the face of death still resonates years later, and their accounts reveal a forgotten chapter in the history of World War II. As Yvonne Macdonald, now 90 and living in Cape Cod, says, "It was a kind of freedom you never get any other way, it was as if you had wings sewn on your back. A lot of people here in Cape Cod don’t even know I was in World War Two. Or what I did." They do now.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, World War II

192 pages, Hardcover

First published January 31, 2012

About the author

History, especially the 20th Century, is a real passion for me. Yet I didn't start writing about it until quite recently because my career as a journalist and editor took up all my waking hours! I started out as a feature writer, in Sydney Australia, on magazines like Woman's Day, Cosmopolitan and Rolling Stone and my career as a columnist and movie writer took me all over the world for many years until I arrived back where I started, in London, England and various editing jobs on mass market magagines like Bella and Me. Then I freelanced for many years for many major newspapers and magazines. In 2005, I decided there was a real need for an informative self help book for families with older parents and my first book, Time to Help Your Parents was published by Piatkus. At that point, I realised that non fiction writing was even more enjoyable than I'd imagined and since then, I've written six more titles, including The Real Life Downton Abbey and Bombsites & Lollipops -- which some Goodreaders seem to be enjoying!

Reviews

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a well-researched and well-written account of the activities of the Air Transport Auxiliary who, during World War Two, ferried planes between airfields and factories in order for the planes to be fitted, repaired or in the correct strategically location. Many, but not all, the ATA pilots were women - some of these had previous flight experience and but many didn't and were trained from scratch. The abilities and dedication of these pilots should not be underestimated as, just using a set of notes or instruction cards, they flew a multitude of different planes, often several different ones during any one day, and certainly not restricted to just Spitfires. The ATA pilots even flew twin-engined and four-engined bombers solo, whereas an RAF crew would be up to five men.
Told largely through interviews with some of the women pilots and with biographical sections on several others, this was a fascinating read. I have had this one on Kindle for a while but decided to read it prior to reading the monthly choice of one of my book groups, which was a novel about an ATA pilot (Bobby's War by Shirley Mann) in order to get an idea of the real-life background to the story. Interesting read - 8/10.

[Les McFarlane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extremely interesting

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Intimate, personal, and often humble, recounts of some of the women who served in the ATA during WW2. Interesting and informative on a subject that has received little notice until recently.

[Michael Rumney · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brief history of the Air Transport Auxilliary followed by several life stories of 5 female ATA pilots and how they entered the service. Jacky Hymas is a journalist when interviewing the women probably turned on a tape recorder and just kept it running.
What comes across are some similar stories and characteristics of the women interviewed especially the notion, 'we were just doing a job.'
The title is a little mis leading using the term Spitfire heroines, as a spitfire was just one of many different types of plane the women were asked to fly. Although what constantly comes across is how easy a spitfire was to handle compared to other aircraft.
The booked lacked depth but is a good introduction to an an aspect of second world war history.

[Rochelle Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this it was so interesting to hear the contribution that these wonderful women did to help the war effort. It’s split into chapters where each of the ladies tells her story describes how they came about applying for the ATA (Air Transport Auxiliary), their training, working through wartime and their lives after the war ended. I didn’t even know about this until I read this book so I’d really recommend this if you’re a fan of this genre it is really fascinating.

[Latricomtoise · Rating 4 out of 5]

My partner's passion is old aviation. I must say I am not really good at all the technical stuff, but I love learning about the lives and experiences of the people who flew those planes.

This book is a compilation of several testimonies and I found them very interesting, as they combine not only air stories but also a wider glance at life during the war.

Really enjoyed it.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

The true stories of women pilots who ferried planes in WW2 from factories to airfields. Ladies who flew without weapons and only knowing about the planes from their pilots notes.
These were ladies who wanted to fly even though it was a man’s world, who were needed and then dropped after the war. Ladies who were modest and just got on with it all no matter what life threw at them.

[Natalie Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

A simple but moving story

Simply told but an interesting chapter of a vanished age. Jacky hyams is not literary - there are better written memoirs- but that is not the point of this book. It is her story.

[Chuckles55 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, more about their life before and after the
ATA. Little about their experiences in the ATA. Well written an easy read.

[Johanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a short book and actually not very informative - a thin veneer of information over some short biographical chapters of five women who flew planes for the Air Transport Auxiliary during WWII. Even the title is misleading as they flew many different planes from open cockpit planes to Wellington bombers. These women deserve a better book and for anyone who is interested there are better books out there: autobiographies of some of those pilots & Virgina Nicholson's Millions Like Us have much more substance, and in fiction Marge Piercy's magnificent Gone to Soldiers. These books give a much better feel for the lives of these brave women (& men) who flew planes all around Britain and into Europe with no communications equipment and no armaments throughout the war.

[Marie Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice opener for someone just starting out on a journey to discover more about those courageous women of the ATA. It is a short book but teases you with just enough to want to go and look for more. Probably not for someone who already knows something about these women but ideal for a newcomer into their world.

[Josie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book didn't contain much information I didn't already know, but I am kind of in love with the female ATA pilots of World War 2, so I had to read it. And I did love the individual interviews with the women! I found their individual stories fascinating -- the backgrounds they came from, how they ended up doing the job they did, and their common love of flight.

[Fiona Warburton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite interesting, I found it more readable than the Bletchley Girls which I read recently.