Jane Winstone (24 September 1912 – 10 February 1944) was a

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

aviator An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators because they a ...

. She was born in

Whanganui Whanganui, also spelt Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whanganui is ...

, New Zealand in 1912 and flew in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

as a pilot in the British civilian

Air Transport Auxiliary The Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) was a British civilian organisation set up at the start of the Second World War with headquarters at White Waltham Airfield in Berkshire. The ATA ferried new, repaired and damaged military aircraft between fac ...

and died in service.

Early life

Jane Winstone was born to Lina Storme (née Clapham) and chemist Arthur Winstone on 24 September 1912 in Whanganui, New Zealand. She had two younger sisters and was raised and educated in Whanganui. She attended the Sacred Heart school there, and learned to fly while still a student. At one time the youngest female solo pilot in New Zealand, Winstone first obtained her

pilot's license Pilot licensing or certification refers to permits for operating aircraft. Flight crew licences are issued by the civil aviation authority of each country, which must establish that the holder has met minimum knowledge and experience before issui ...

at the age of 16.

Flying career

A charter member of the Whanganui Aero Club, she also was one of those aboard the first flight from Whanganui's airport. After flying in

Charles Kingsford Smith Sir Charles Edward Kingsford Smith (9 February 18978 November 1935), nicknamed Smithy, was an Australian aviation pioneer. He piloted the first transpacific flight and the first flight between Australia and New Zealand. Kingsford Smith was ...

Southern Cross CRUX is a lightweight x86-64 Linux distribution targeted at experienced Linux users and delivered by a tar.gz-based package system with BSD-style initscripts. It is not based on any other Linux distribution. It also utilizes a ports system to ...

, she was one of the four female pilots (alongside Trevor Hunter, June Summerell and Eva Parkinson) to escort New Zealand aviator

Jean Batten Jane Gardner Batten (15 September 1909 – 22 November 1982), commonly known as Jean Batten, was a New Zealand Aircraft pilot, aviator who made several record-breaking flights – including the first solo flight from England to New Zealand i ...

on 21 July 1934 in her arrival in New Zealand following her record flight from England to Australia. Winstone applied to be a pilot for the

while living in New Zealand and they informed her she would be considered if she was able to be examined in Britain. She paid for her own passage to Britain to be able to sit the examination and flying test and passed with excellence. Her fiancé, Angus Carr MacKenzie, who was a

Royal New Zealand Air Force The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF; ) is the aerial warfare, aerial military service, service branch of the New Zealand Defence Force. It was formed initially in 1923 as a branch of the New Zealand Army, being known as the New Zealand Perm ...

officer, had died on air operations in June 1942. Winston joined the ATA on 19 August 1942. Once enlisted she was assigned to Ferry Service and flew Hurricanes and Spitfires to deliver them to pilots on bases. Winstone was given the rank of Second Pilot Officer and was based at 12 Ferry Pool in Cosford, Shropshire.Jane Winstone
(online cenotaph). Auckland, New Zealand: Auckland Museum, retrieved online 1 September 2018. She died in service on 10 February 1944 when her Spitfire LF.1X MK616's Merlin engine failed and the aircraft crashed near

Tong Castle Tong Castle was a very large mostly Gothic country house in Shropshire whose site is between Wolverhampton and Telford, set within a park landscaped by Capability Brown,Wolverhampton's Listed Buildings on the site of a medieval castle of the sa ...

, in

Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...

. She had been transporting the plane from the Vickers Aircraft factory at Cosford to the RAF 39 Maintenance Unit at

Colerne Colerne is a village and civil parish in north Wiltshire, England. The village is about west of the town of Corsham and northeast of the city of Bath. It has an elevated and exposed position, above sea level, and overlooks the Box valley to ...

, Wiltshire. The engine had cut out three times at takeoff. Jane Winstone's funeral was held at

St Joseph's Church, Maidenhead St Joseph's Church is a Roman Catholic parish church in Maidenhead, Berkshire, England. It was built in 1884 and designed by Leonard Stokes in the Gothic Revival style. It is located on the Cookham Road north of the town centre. It is a Grade ...

, and she was buried in All Saints Cemetery in

Maidenhead Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England. It lies on the southwestern bank of the River Thames, which at this point forms the border with Buckinghamshire. In the 2021 Census, ...

Honours and legacy

In 2006, a retirement village built on St. John's Hill in Whanganui was named in Winstone's honor; it is called Jane Winstone Retirement Village.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Winstone, Jane 1912 births 1944 deaths New Zealand aviation pioneers Air Transport Auxiliary pilots Military personnel from Whanganui New Zealand military personnel killed in World War II Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1944 Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in England New Zealand women in World War II Women aviators People from Whanganui