Johnson, Amy

Johnson, Amy (1903-41), airwoman, b. Hull, Yorkshire, England.

In 1930, when long-distance flying was still something new, Amy Johnson became the first woman to fly from England to Australia.

She made the flight alone in days in a de Havilland Gipsy Moth biplane named Jason. This plane can be seen today at the Science Museum, London.

On her return to England, Miss Johnson was welcomed as a national heroine. The Daily Mail gave her £10,000, King George V invited her to Buckingham Palace and awarded her the CBE (Commander of the British Empire) and people sang a song about her, 'Amy, wonderful Amy, we're proud of the way you flew.'

Afterwards she made many more record-breaking flights, some of them alone, others with Jim Mollison.

Mollison was another famous flyer, and Amy married him. In 1933, they flew from Wales to the United States and this made Amy the first woman to fly the Atlantic Ocean from east to west.

In the Second World War (1939-45), Amy had the job of flying planes from place to place in Britain for use by the British Forces.

She died on 5 January, 1941 after baling out over the mouth of the River Thames.

See Janet Scott-Thornton The Story of Amy Johnson