Dorothy Norman Pearse née Spicer (1908–1946) was an English
aviatrix, and the first woman to gain an advanced qualification in
aeronautical engineering.
Early life
Dorothy Spicer was born on 31 July 1908 at
Hadley Wood, Middlesex, the only daughter of Hilda Mary Sisterson and stockbroker Norman Spicer (d. 1936).
She attended the
Godolphin School
Godolphin School is an independent boarding and day school for girls in Salisbury, England, which was founded in 1726 and opened in 1784. The school educates girls between the ages of three and eighteen.
History
Godolphin was founded by Eliz ...
in Sailsbury, Wiltshire
and studied at
University College, London.
Career
Spicer learned to fly in 1929 at the London Aeroplane Club at
Stag Lane Aerodrome
Stag Lane Aerodrome was a private aerodrome between 1915 and 1933 in Edgware, north London, UK.
History
The land for an aerodrome was purchased by the London & Provincial Aviation Company (Warren and Smiles - Michael Geoffrey Smiles of Bonning ...
.
Here she met
Pauline Gower who was studying for her commercial pilot's licence and who became her friend.
In 1931, they started a business together. Gower was licensed to carry passengers for 'hire or reward', and Spicer was qualified as a ground engineer and held an 'A' (private) pilot's licence. They hired a plane and later bought a
Gypsy Moth for the business, but struggled to make a living so decided to join the Crimson Fleet air circus and later the British Hospitals' air pageant. Spicer had joined the
Women's Engineering Society (WES) in 1932 in their Aeronautical Section, and is described as ''Ground Engineer to Miss Gower''. The WES Journal ''The Woman Engineer'' for June 1933 records that Spicer and Gower were 'touring the country with a "circus" which is giving air pageants in two hundred towns this summer in aid of British Hospitals'.
Spicer studied for the 'B' engineer's licence during this time, despite the fact that institutions offering advanced courses were restricted to men. She persuaded the manufacturers of the
Spartan plane she and Gower flew in the circus to allow her to undertake the necessary practical and theoretical training at their workshops and earned her 'B' licence, becoming the first woman in the world to do so. She also held a 'C' (ground engineer) licence, the second British woman to achieve this (her friend and fellow pilot
Amy Johnson was the first)
and became the first woman to achieve a 'D' licence in 1935.
Women were not usually allowed to study at such an advanced level and it took
Air Vice-Marshal A. E. Borton to persuaded
Sir Harold Snagge, chairman of the
Napier Napier may refer to:
People
* Napier (surname), including a list of people with that name
* Napier baronets, five baronetcies and lists of the title holders
Given name
* Napier Shaw (1854–1945), British meteorologist
* Napier Waller (1893–19 ...
engineering company, to make special arrangements. The 'D' licence authorised her to inspect, pass out, and repair both engines and airframes, being qualified to build all aspects of an aircraft, airframe, and engine from scratch, and to approve the materials required for the work.
In a speech in 1937, Amy Johnson teased Dorothy: "amidst much laughter she then called upon Miss Spicer to admit or deny the report that she held every licence that it was possible to hold".
In September 1937, at the
Women's Engineering Society conference, Spicer read a paper on the "Selection and Treatment of Steels for Aero-Engines".
In 1938 she accepted a position with the
Air Registration Board
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is the statutory corporation which oversees and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the United Kingdom. Its areas of responsibility include:
* Supervising the issuing of pilots' licences, testing of e ...
in London, becoming the first woman in the British Empire to receive a technical appointment in civil aviation.
The same year she and Pauline Gower jointly authored a book "''Women with Wings''", recounting their experiences flying together.
In late 1940, Dorothy took on flying work as an air observer and research assistant with the
Royal Aircraft Establishment
The Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) was a British research establishment, known by several different names during its history, that eventually came under the aegis of the Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom), UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), bef ...
, Farnborough, and became involved in the development of a variety of new aircraft types and items of equipment.
Personal life
On 2 March 1938 she became engaged to Flight Lieutenant Richard Pearse. They married on 26 April 1938 at
Holy Trinity Brompton with Pauline Gower as chief bridesmaid. Their only child, Patricia Mary, was born at
Farnham Common in Surrey in May 1939.
The Second World War broke out shortly after Patricia Mary's birth. In late 1940 Dorothy Pearse took on flying work as an air observer and research assistant at
Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough. She was involved in the development of a number of new aircraft and equipment. Her husband worked as a test pilot at the same organisation.
After the war, her husband Richard became South American representative of
British Aviation Services in Rio de Janeiro. On 23 December 1946, the couple caught a flight to
Rio de Janeiro but bad weather caused the plane to fly into a mountainside, killing all on board. A memorial service for Dorothy and Richard Pearse was held at All Saints' Church,
St John's Wood on 8 January 1947.
Their daughter went on to be a racing driver under the name Pat Sonnenschein.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spicer, Dorothy
1908 births
1946 deaths
English aerospace engineers
Women aviators
British women engineers
Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in Argentina
20th-century women engineers
Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1946
People educated at Godolphin School
Women's Engineering Society
People from Hadley Wood