Mary, Lady Heath
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Mary, Lady Heath (17 November 1896 – 9 May 1939) was an Irish aviator and began life as Sophie Catherine Theresa Mary Peirce-Evans in Knockaderry,
County Limerick "Remember Limerick" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Limerick.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Republic of Ireland, Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Provinces of Ireland, Province , subd ...
, near the town of
Newcastle West Newcastle West () or simply Newcastle (''An Caisleán Nua'', formerly anglicized Castlenoe) is a town in west County Limerick, Ireland. It is the largest town in the county, excluding Limerick city, It is also the county town, and sits on the ...
. She was one of the best known women in the world for a five-year period from the mid-1920s.


Early life

When the young Sophie Peirce-Evans was one year old, her father John Peirce-Evans, bludgeoned her mother Kate Theresa Dooling to death with a heavy stick. He was found guilty of murder and declared insane. His daughter was taken to the home of her grandfather in Newcastle West where she was brought up by two maiden aunts, who discouraged her passion for sports. After schooldays in Rochelle School,
Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...
; Princess Garden Belfast and St Margaret's Hall on Mespil Road in
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...
, where she played
hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...
and
tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...
, Sophie enrolled in the
Royal College of Science for Ireland The Royal College of Science for Ireland (RCScI) was an institute for higher education in Dublin which existed from 1867 to 1926, specialising in physical sciences and applied science. It was originally based on St. Stephen's Green, moving in 1 ...
on Merrion Street (now
Government Buildings Government Buildings ( ga, Tithe an Rialtais) is a large Edwardian period, Edwardian building enclosing a quadrangle on Merrion Street in Dublin, Ireland, in which several key offices of the Government of Ireland are located. Among the offices o ...
). The college was designed to produce the educated farmers which the country then needed. Sophie, one of the few women in the college, duly took a top-class degree in science, specialising in agriculture. She also played with the college hockey team and contributed to a student magazine, copies of which are held in the
National Library of Ireland The National Library of Ireland (NLI; ga, Leabharlann Náisiúnta na hÉireann) is the Republic of Ireland's national library located in Dublin, in a building designed by Thomas Newenham Deane. The mission of the National Library of Ireland i ...
. After getting her degree, she moved to Kenya with her first husband, William Elliot-Lynn. In 1925, she published a book of poetry called ''East African Nights''. She was a
Soroptimist Soroptimist International (SI) is a global volunteer service organization for women with nearly 72,000 members in 121 countries worldwide. According to Soroptimist.org, their mission statement says that, "Soroptimist is a global volunteer organiza ...
and a Founder Member of SI Greater London, which was chartered in 1923.


Careers


Athletics

Before becoming a pilot Lady Heath had already made her mark. During the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, she spent two years as a dispatch rider, based in England and later France, where she had her portrait painted by Sir
John Lavery Sir John Lavery (20 March 1856 – 10 January 1941) was a Northern Irish painter best known for his portraits and wartime depictions. Life and career John Lavery was born in inner North Belfast, baptised at St Patrick's Church, Belfast an ...
. By then, she had married the first of her three husbands and as Sophie Mary Eliott-Lynn, was one of the founders of the
Women's Amateur Athletic Association The Amateur Athletic Association of England or AAA (pronounced 'three As') is the oldest national governing body for athletics in the world, having been established on 24 April 1880. Historically it effectively oversaw athletics throughout Britai ...
after her move from her native Ireland to London in 1922, following a brief sojourn in
Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
. She was Britain's first women's javelin champion and set a disputed world record for the high jump. She was also a delegate to the
International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...
in 1925, the same year that she took her first flying lessons. In 1923 she represented the United Kingdom at the
1923 Women's Olympiad The 1923 Women's Olympiad (, and ) was the fourth international event in women's sports, the tournament was held 4 to 7 April 1923 in Monte Carlo, Monaco. The tournament was formally called "''Les Jeux Athlétiques Fémini ...
in Monte Carlo, during the games she came third place at the high jump,
javelin throw The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about in length, is thrown. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area. Javelin throwing is an event of both the men's decathlon and the wom ...
and the
Women's pentathlon The pentathlon or women's pentathlon is a combined track and field event in which each woman competes in five separate events over one day (formerly two days). The distance or time for each event is converted to points via scoring tables, with t ...
, later that year she participated in the first WAAA Championships. In 1924 she participated in the 1924 Women's Olympiad winning the silver medal in the long jump, in 1926 she again represented the United Kingdom at javelin at the
1926 Women's World Games The 1926 Women's World Games (Swedish II. Internationella kvinnliga idrottsspelen, French 2èmes jeux féminins mondiaux ) were the second regular international Women's World Games, the tournament was held between 27
in Gothenburg, coming fourth with a throw of 44.63 metres. In 1925, she published a coaching manual ''Athletics for women and girls'', which advised on basic training. In 1928, Lady Heath represented England as a judge in the 1928 Summer Olympics, the first Olympics in which women's
athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...
were included.


Aviation career

The following year, Lady Heath became the first woman to hold a commercial flying licence in Britain and along the way, set records for altitude in a small plane and later a
Shorts Shorts are a garment worn over the pelvic area, circling the waist and splitting to cover the upper part of the legs, sometimes extending down to the knees but not covering the entire length of the leg. They are called "shorts" because they ...
seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their technological characteri ...
, was the first woman to parachute from an aeroplane (landing in the middle of a football match). After her great flight from the Cape, she took a mechanic's qualification in the US, the first woman to do so. In an era when the world had gone aviation-mad due to the exploits of
Charles Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, author, inventor, and activist. On May 20–21, 1927, Lindbergh made the first nonstop flight from New York City to Paris, a distance o ...
and Amelia Earhart, Lady Heath was more than able to hold her own. "Britain's Lady Lindy," as she was known in the United States, made front-page news as the first pilot, male or female, to fly a small open-cockpit aircraft from
Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
to London (
Croydon Aerodrome Croydon Airport (former ICAO code: EGCR) was the UK's only international airport during the interwar period. Located in Croydon, South London, England, it opened in 1920, built in a Neoclassical style, and was developed as Britain's main ai ...
). She had thought it would take her three weeks; as it turned out, it took her three months, from January to May 1928. A scale model of the plane used by Lady Heath is on display at
The Little Museum of Dublin The Little Museum of Dublin is a local history museum situated at St Stephen's Green, Dublin, Ireland. The museum is located in an 18th-century Georgian townhouse owned by Dublin City Council. Collection As a local history museum for the city of ...
. She wrote about the experience later in a book ''Woman and Flying'', that she co-wrote with Stella Wolfe Murray. In July 1928 she spent a few weeks volunteering as a co-pilot with a civil airline,
KLM KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, legally ''Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V.'' (literal translation: Royal Aviation Company Plc.), is the flag carrier airline of the Netherlands. KLM is headquartered in Amstelveen, with its hub at nearby Amste ...
. She was hoping to be appointed to the newly created Batavia route, which would have made her the first woman pilot with a commercial airline. The world was not ready for female pilots and her hope was not fulfilled. Just when her fame was at its height, with her life a constant whirl of lectures, races and long-distance flights, Lady Heath (she married Sir James Heath in October 1927) was badly injured in a crash just before the National Air Races in
Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
,
Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
in 1929. Before her accident Lady Heath applied for American citizenship, intending to remain in the USA where she had made a good living on the lecture circuit and as an agent for Cirrus engines. Lady Heath was never the same after her accident. After divorce in
Reno Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...
,
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, from Heath in 1930, she returned to Ireland with her third husband G.A.R. Williams, a horseman and pilot of Caribbean origin, and became involved in private aviation, briefly running her own company at Kildonan, near Dublin in the mid-1930s, and helping produce the generation of pilots that would help establish the national airline
Aer Lingus Aer Lingus ( ; an anglicisation of the Irish , meaning "air fleet" compare Welsh 'llynges awyr') is the flag carrier of Ireland. Founded by the Irish Government, it was privatised between 2006 and 2015 and it is now a wholly owned subsidiary ...
.


Family life


Marriages

Lady Heath's first marriage was to Major William Eliot Lynn after which she was well known as Mrs Eliot Lynn. She divorced her husband, alleging cruelty and after he died in London in early 1927, married Sir James Heath on 11 October 1927 at Christ Church in
Mayfair, London Mayfair is an affluent area in the West End of London towards the eastern edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster, between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane. It is one of the most expensive districts in the world ...
. In January 1930 she filed for a divorce from Heath in
Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...
, United States and was awarded a
decree nisi A decree nisi or rule nisi () is a court order that will come into force at a future date unless a particular condition is met. Unless the condition is met, the ruling becomes a decree absolute (rule absolute), and is binding. Typically, the condi ...
in May of the same year. On 12 November 1931, she married G.A.R. Williams in Lexington, Kentucky, United States.


Death

On 9 May 1939, aged 42, she died in St Leonard's Hospital, Shoreditch, London following a fall inside a
double-decker tram A double-decker tram or double-deck tram is a tram that has two levels or decks. Some double-decker trams have open tops. Double-deck trams were once popular in some European cities, like Berlin and London, throughout the British Empire coun ...
."Mrs. G. A. R. Williams." Times ondon, England10 May 1939: 18
The Times Digital Archive
Web. 18 May 2014.
At the inquest the conductor gave evidence that she was sitting on the top deck and she seemed "very vague"; another passenger commented to the conductor that "I think the lady is asleep", before she fell down the stairs and hit her head on the driver's controller box. In the previous years, with alcoholism now a serious problem, she had left Ireland and her husband for England and had made a number of appearances in court on charges relating to drunkenness. A pathologist said he found no evidence of alcohol but detailed evidence of an old blood clot which may have caused the fall; the jury returned a verdict of
accidental death An accidental death is an unnatural death that is caused by an accident, such as a slip and fall, traffic collision, or accidental poisoning. Accidental deaths are distinguished from death by natural causes, disease, and from intentional hom ...
. On 15 May 1939, according to newspaper reports, her ashes were scattered over Surrey from an aircraft flown by her estranged husband from Croydon Airport although legend has it that her ashes were returned to Ireland where they were scattered over her native Newcastle West.


In popular culture

In 2013, aviator Tracey Curtis-Taylor retraced Lady Heath's 1928 South Africa to England flight in a biplane. The flight was the subject of a BBC documentary, which included details and photographs of Lady Heath's original flight.


See also

*
Iona National Airways Iona National Airways was Ireland's first commercial airline. Based at Kildonan Aerodrome and Collinstown Dublin, it operated between 1931 and 1995. History Early beginnings When Hugh Cahill started an aviation wing of his motor company - I ...
*
List of people on stamps of Ireland This is a list of people on stamps of Ireland, including the years when they appeared on a stamp. Because no Irish stamps were designed prior to 1929, the first Irish stamps issued by the Provisional Government of Ireland were the then-current ...


References


Notes


Bibliography

* Heath, S.M.P.E. and Stella Wolfe Murray. ''Woman and Flying''. London: J. Long, 1929. * Naughton, Lindie. ''Lady Icarus: The Life of Irish Aviator Lady Mary Heath'' London: Ashfield Press, 2004. . * Pelletier, Alain. ''High-Flying Women: a World History of Female Pilots''. Sparkford, UK: Haynes, 2012. .


External links


Pilot who made the history books had strong Kerry links
— ''The Kingdom'' newspaper book review, 2 December 2004.

''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...
'' magazine article, 16 March 1931
Lady Icarus
— weblog of the author of a biography of Heath.

The Historical Aviation Society of Ireland. {{DEFAULTSORT:Heath, Mary, Lady 1896 births 1939 deaths People from County Limerick 20th-century travel writers Irish travel writers Irish women non-fiction writers Irish female javelin throwers Irish female high jumpers Irish women aviators Wives of baronets Women's World Games medalists