Margaret Fairweather (23 September 1901 – 4 August 1944) was a British

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 ...

and one of the first eight women members of 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). She was the first woman to fly a

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allies of World War II, Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. It was the only British fighter produced conti ...

Life

Fairweather was born in 1901 in the

West Denton West Denton is an area in the western part of the city of Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. Education Some of the schools in the area include: Primary: *Beech Hill Primary School *West Denton Primary School *St John Vianney RC Pr ...

part of

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

. Her mother,

Hilda Runciman, Viscountess Runciman of Doxford Hilda Runciman, Viscountess Runciman of Doxford (28 September 1869 – 28 October 1956) was a British Liberal Party politician. Family and education A daughter of James Cochran Stevenson, a Liberal Member of Parliament for South Shields, Hild ...

and her father

Walter Runciman, 1st Viscount Runciman of Doxford Walter Runciman, 1st Viscount Runciman of Doxford, (19 November 1870 – 14 November 1949), was a prominent Liberal and later National Liberal politician in the United Kingdom. His 1938 diplomatic mission to Czechoslovakia was key to th ...

were both members of parliament. She was educated at Notting Hill High School for GirlsOxford Dictionary of National Biography She was an instructor for the

Civil Air Guard The Civil Air Guard (C.A.G.) was established by the UK Government in July 1938 to encourage and subsidise pilot training as the prospect of another war loomed. Subsidised tuition for members of participating civilian flying clubs was offered in e ...

at Renfrew.

Air Transport Auxiliary

After war was declared in 1939, she was one of the first eight women members of the

(ATA). She was known as one of the ''First Eight'', alongside

Joan Hughes Joan Lily Amelia Hughes, MBE (27 April 1918 – 16 August 1993) was a World War II ferry pilot and one of Britain's first female test pilots. She was considered a capable instructor and flew everything except flying boats. Early life Hug ...

, Margaret Cunnison, Winifred Crossley Fair,

Mona Friedlander Mona Renee Vera Ernesta Forward ( Friedlander, 2 June 1914 – 24 December 1993) was a British pilot and one of the eight founding pilots who started the women's section of the Air Transport Auxiliary. Early life Mona Renee Vera Ernesta Friedland ...

Gabrielle Patterson Gabrielle Ruth Millicent Patterson (; 1905–1968) was a British aviator who worked for the Air Transport Auxiliary. She was Britain's first woman flying instructor. Early life She was born in Maida Vale in London on 6 July 1905. She was the elde ...

, Marion Wilberforce, and

Rosemary Rees Rosemary Rees MBE (23 September 1901 – 8 March 1994) was a British aviator who worked for the Air Transport Auxiliary. She was second in command to Margot Gore at Hamble from the 29th September 1941 when the site became an all-women ATA ferry ...

, under the command of

Pauline Gower Pauline Mary de Peauly Gower Fahie (22 July 1910 – 2 March 1947) was a British pilot and writer who established the women's branch of the Air Transport Auxiliary during the Second World War. Early life and education Pauline Mary de Peauly ...

. She flew many planes including Tiger Moths and

Hurricanes A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its locat ...

, and was the first woman to fly a

. Shortly after the death of her husband, Douglas, piloting an ATA aircraft on 3 April 1944, she died in a crash on 4 August that same year; also on board was her sister Kitty who was injured. The original cause of the aborted mission was a mechanical problem with the fuel tank. Because of the lack of fuel Margaret was obliged to make a forced landing at Hawarden in Cheshire which went well until they hit a ditch and she lost control as the

Percival Proctor The Percival Proctor is a British radio trainer and communications aircraft of the Second World War. The Proctor is a single-engined, low-wing monoplane with seating for three or four, depending on the model. Design and development The Proctor ...

flipped over. She had the worst injuries and despite being rushed to a hospital she died the next day. She had only just returned to work after giving birth. She and her husband are the only ATA couple to share the same grave and headstone. They are buried at

Dunure Dunure (Scottish Gaelic: ''Dùn Iùbhair'', meaning Yew Hill) is a small village in the South Ayrshire area of Scotland, situated about from Ayr. It is located on the coast of the Firth of Clyde, and is near to Maybole, south of Ayr. The villa ...

cemetery in Ayrshire.

Legacy

A bus company in Hatfield named its eight buses after the "first eight" of the Tiger Moth pilots in the ATA, including Fairweather. The fifteen surviving women members of the ATA (and 100 surviving male pilots) were given a special award in 2008 by the Prime Minister

Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. Previously, he was Chancellor of the Ex ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fairweather, Marg British women in World War II British civilians killed in World War II 1901 births 1944 deaths Air Transport Auxiliary pilots Alumni of Girton College, Cambridge People educated at Notting Hill & Ealing High School British women aviators Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in England Daughters of viscounts Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1944