Page 577 - Reading Mercury

management of traffic, and he has proved himself a capable organiser. In these duties
he was ably assisted0 by Inspector Braby, who has taken up duties at Ascot.

1933

st
Sat 21 Jan
THE LATE MISS SPOONER
Former Resident of Wokingham
A FAMOUS PILOT
Frequent Visitor to the Reading Aero Club.
Residents in the locality learnt with regret of the death of Miss Winifred Spooner,
which occurred at Ratcliffe Aerodrome, Leicester, at the early age of 32. Miss
Spooner’s death was the more surprising as she had only been ill two days, and had
never been ill before.
No alarm was occasioned until the day she died, when a specialist was sent for from
Nottingham. Her symptoms were those of influenza, but heart trouble supervened, and
she died two hours after the arrival of the specialist.
Miss Spooner, who was famous for her flying exploits, was born at Woolwich,
th
where her father, the late Major W.B. Spooner, was a veterinary surgeon to the 14
Hussars. Her brother, Capt. F.V. Spooner, who was with her before she died, used to
reside at Wokingham, and for some time Miss Spooner also made her home there. She
was a frequent visitor to the Reading Aero Club, where she was one of the most
popular members, and it is interesting to note that Mr. C.O. Powis purchased one of
her machines when the aerodrome was started.
Among Miss Spooner’s exploits, one of her most notable was when attempting to
fly from Croydon to Cape Town with Flying Officer E.C.T. Edwards in 1930. It will
be recalled that their machine fell into the sea off Southern Italy, and Miss Spooner
swam ashore to obtain assistance for her companion. It was after this that she was
given a civic welcome by the Mayor and Corporation of Wokingham, and remarkable
tributes were paid to her courage and ability.
A WORLD CHAMPION
Miss Spooner was acknowledged to be one of the greatest women pilots, and she
participated in races, competitions and ordinary cross-country flying. She took part in
all the King’s Cup races from 1928 to last year, and on one occasion she only failed to
win by the narrowest of margins. It was in 1927 that she learned to fly, and in 1930
she was acclaimed the world champion woman aviator, being awarded the women’s
trophy of the International League of Aviators. One of the few women pilots to hold a
commercial pilot’s licence, she was the only woman in this country at the time of her
death who was earning a living as a personal pilot to an owner of private aeroplanes.
For nearly two years she had been air chauffeur to Mr. Lindsay Everard, M.P. for the
Melton Division of Leicestershire, prior to which she managed her own air-taxi
service at Stag’s Lane Aerodrome.
Miss Spooner was one of the last people to speak to the late Sir Sefton Brancker
before he left this country in the ill-fated, R101, having flown him from Ipswich to
Cardington for him to join the vessel. After the airship had crashed, incorrect rumours
were circulated that Miss Spooner had been a passenger in it.
The funeral took place at Hinton Parva, near Swindon, on Tuesday, a memorial
service being held the following day at St. Peter’s, Eaton Square, London

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