Faith Margaret Ellen Bennett (12 May 1903 – 1969) was a British actress and Air Transport Auxiliary pilot during the Second World War. Her photograph featured on a Royal Mail stamp in 2022.

Early life

Bennett was born Margaret Ellen Riddick on 12 May 1903 in London, England. One of her brothers died during the First World War.

Acting career

In 1930, she married film writer Charles Alfred Selwyn Bennett, and over the course of the 1930s she starred in multiple British films under the stage name Faith Bennett.

Flying

Bennett took flying lessons at the Northampton School of Flying in

Sywell Sywell is a village and civil parish in North Northamptonshire, England. At the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 Census, the population of the parish was 792. The name Sywell is thought to mean "seven wells". Facilities The facilities found i ...

, where her instructor was the famous WWI flying Ace Tommy Rose DFC. She took these lessons alongside her acting career, earning both a British aviator's certificate and an American flying license (the couple moved to the U.S. briefly while Charles worked for

Universal Studios Universal Studios may refer to: * Universal Studios, Inc., an American media and entertainment conglomerate ** Universal Pictures, an American film studio ** Universal Studios Lot, a film and television studio complex * Various theme parks operat ...

Air Transport Auxiliary

On 8 July 1941, Bennett joined the

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 ...

(ATA) and eventually reached the rank of Pilot First Officer. She received her training and was assigned to No. 5 Ferry Pilot Pool (F.P.P.) in December that year, and only two days later was forced to make a crash landing due to poor weather and a stalled engine. Bennett sustained "slight injuries", and was afterwards assigned to the Hamble Ferry Pool. She remained with the ATA until she was demobilised in 31 July 1945. After the WW2 she divorced Charles Bennett and married fellow ATA pilot Herbert Henry Newmark in 1946. Faith Bennett died in 1969.

Commemoration

The

British Women Pilots' Association British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and cultur ...

named the Faith Bennett Navigation Cup after her, and the trophy is still awarded annually to women pilots of special merit. The National Portrait Gallery holds four photographs for Bennett dating from the early 1930s. A photograph of Faith Bennett at the controls of a

Lockheed Hudson The Lockheed Hudson is a light bomber and coastal reconnaissance aircraft built by the American Lockheed Aircraft Corporation. It was initially put into service by the Royal Air Force shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War and ...

bomber featured on a commemorative £1.85 stamp, part of a set of ''Unsung Heroes – Women of WWII'', issued by the

Royal Mail Royal Mail Group Limited, trading as Royal Mail, is a British postal service and courier company. It is owned by International Distribution Services. It operates the brands Royal Mail (letters and parcels) and Parcelforce Worldwide (parcels) ...

in 2022.

Filmography

* ''

The Officers' Mess ''The Officers' Mess'' is a 1931 British comedy film directed by Manning Haynes and starring Richard Cooper, Harold French and Elsa Lanchester. It was made at Walton Studios.Wood p.72 It was released as a quota quickie by Paramount Pictures. ...

'' (1931) * ''

Mannequin A mannequin (sometimes spelled as manikin and also called a dummy, lay figure, or dress form) is a doll, often articulated, used by artists, tailors, dressmakers, window dressers and others, especially to display or fit clothing and show off dif ...

'' (1932) * '' Eyes of Fate'' (1933) * '' The Pride of the Force'' (1933) * ''

Hawley's of High Street ''Hawley's of High Street'' is a 1933 British comedy film directed by Thomas Bentley (director), Thomas Bentley and starring Leslie Fuller, Judy Kelly, Francis Lister and Moore Marriott. Its plot concerns a butcher and a draper who stand for el ...

'' (1933) * '' Seeing Is Believing'' (1934) * '' Master and Man'' (1934) * '' One Good Turn'' (1936)

References

Bibliography

* Brown, Geoff. ''Launder and Gilliat''. British Film Institute, 1977.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Faith 1903 births 1969 deaths British film actresses British stage actresses Actresses from London British World War II pilots British women in World War II Air Transport Auxiliary pilots British aviators Women aviators 20th-century British actresses 20th-century English women 20th-century English people Women in World War II People on stamps