Jackie Moggridge
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Jackie Moggridge (born Dolores Theresa Sorour; 1 March 1922 – 7 January 2004) was a pioneering pilot, the first woman to do a parachute jump in South Africa and the first female airline captain of scheduled passenger services.


Early life

Born Dolores Theresa Sorour in
Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...
,
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
, she decided to call herself Jackie after her sports heroine Jackie Rissik who was famous at the time for playing hockey. She learned to fly and got her ‘A’ flying licence, starting to fly aged fifteen. She became the first woman to do a parachute jump in South Africa aged seventeen. She moved to the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
in 1938 with the intention of getting her ‘B’ flying licence with the Aeronautical College, Witney, Oxford.


Second World War service

Like many women interested in flying for the war effort, she joined the
Women's Auxiliary Air Force The Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF), whose members were referred to as WAAFs (), was the female auxiliary of the Royal Air Force during World War II. Established in 1939, WAAF numbers exceeded 180,000 at its peak strength in 1943, with over 2 ...
until she could join 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 factori ...
(ATA). Initially she was based in
Rye Rye (''Secale cereale'') is a grass grown extensively as a grain, a cover crop and a forage crop. It is a member of the wheat tribe (Triticeae) and is closely related to both wheat (''Triticum'') and barley (genus ''Hordeum''). Rye grain is u ...
at a radar station. She was recruited to the ATA by the Women's Commandant,
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 ...
in July 1940. Moggridge was the youngest of the female pilots at the time. She flew more than 1,500 aircraft of 83 different types. Jackie Moggridge was awarded the King's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air in 1945.


Post-war

Dolores Theresa "Jackie" Sorour married army Lieut. Colonel and engineer, Reginald Moggridge, in
Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...
, Somerset in 1945, with whom she had two daughters. She was involved with the local amateur dramatics societies but still wanted to fly. In 1949 she was commissioned into the Women's RAF Volunteer Reserve (WRAFVR), as a Pilot Officer, and qualified for her RAF wings in 1953, the second of the first five women to gain their RAF wings. As a result of her involvement in both amateur dramatics and the RAF Reserve, Moggridge was interviewed in 1950 by
Richard Dimbleby Frederick Richard Dimbleby (25 May 1913 – 22 December 1965) was an English journalist and broadcaster, who became the BBC's first war correspondent, and then its leading TV news commentator. As host of the long-running current affairs ...
for his radio show ''
Down Your Way ''Down Your Way'' was a BBC radio series which ran from 29 December 1946 to 1992, originally on the Home Service, later on BBC Radio 4, usually being broadcast on Sunday afternoons. It visited towns and villages around the United Kingdom, spoke to ...
''. Moggridge went on to gain her commercial pilot's licence in the 1950s, and ferried Spitfires from
Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...
to
Rangoon Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...
, to the Indian Air Force and to
Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
, before looking for more flying opportunities. In 1957 she worked for
LEC Refrigeration LEC Refrigeration, known by its full title as Longford Engineering Company Refrigeration, is a British company manufacturing refrigerators and freezers. History It was formed in 1942, by fishmongers Frank Purley and his brother Charles Reginal ...
, co-piloting demonstration versions of their fridges to South Africa for potential customers to view, a trip of 15,000 miles. In 1958 she applied to be a pilot with
Channel Airways Channel Airways was a private airline formed in the United Kingdom in 1946 as East Anglian Flying Services. The newly formed airline initially operated aerial joy rides with a single, three-seater aircraft from an airstrip on the Kent coast. Sc ...
, based at
Southend Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...
Airport, without stating her sex. She was appointed due to her impressive flying record, becoming the first British female airline captain to fly passengers on scheduled flights. Over time, she worked the
Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...
,
Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...
and
Guernsey Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; french: Guernesey) is an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency. It is the second largest of the Channel Islands ...
routes.


Awards and legacy

For her war-service, the recently married First Officer Moggridge was awarded the King's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air, in addition to campaign medals. In 1953 she was awarded the Coronation medal, not a universal issue at the time, and therefore a further recognition of merit. Moggridge was awarded the Jean Lennox Bird Trophy by the British Women Pilots’ Association in 1959, for furthering the cause of women in aviation, she accepted the award saying "I long for a time when being a woman Captain would be commonplace". She created the Jackie Moggridge Cup, which is awarded to a British woman pilot for achieving excellent qualifications. In addition to the BWPA Jackie Moggridge Cup, a new trophy to be awarded annually in her memory to inspire girls to fly, was introduced in 2021. The RAF Jackie Moggridge Spitfire Award was presented by
Princess Anne Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950), is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of K ...
at Cranwell College to an Engineer or Aircrew Graduate who has shown outstanding potential. Jackie Moggridge wrote a book about her experiences, originally published in 1957 as ''Woman pilot'', now republished as ''Spitfire Girl – My Life in the Sky'' (Head of Zeus). Her daughter Candy Adkins gives talks in schools and societies on Jackie Moggridge's life during WW2 and beyond to ensure that pioneering women who were airbrushed out of the history books are not forgotten, and to inspire girls into aviation.


First five women to gain RAF wings in early 1950s

Jean Bird Jean Lennox Bird (8 July 1912 – 29 April 1957) was a pioneering pilot and the first woman to be awarded RAF wings. Early life Jean Lennox Bird was born in Hong Kong on 8 July 1912, the second daughter of Lt Col. Lennox Godfrey Bird, an arc ...
, Benedetta Willis, Jackie Moggridge, Freydis Leaf and
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 Hughe ...
were the first five women to be awarded their wings. The next didn't gain RAF wings until
Julie Ann Gibson Flight Lieutenant Julie Ann Gibson was the first full-time female pilot for the Royal Air Force when she graduated in 1991. Previously a ground-based officer, later selected for flying training. She was subsequently assigned to No. 32 Squadron RAF ...
1991.


References


Sources

* * * * * * * * *
www.jackiemoggridgespitfiregirl.com
Official Jackie Moggridge website launched by daughter Candida 30.03.21 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Moggridge, Jackie 1922 births 2004 deaths British women aviators South African aviators Air Transport Auxiliary pilots British women in World War II Women's Auxiliary Air Force airwomen Recipients of the Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air Royal Air Force officers South African emigrants to the United Kingdom