6 June 2014
The British Women Pilots’ Association has paid tribute to Freydis Sharland, founder chairman and distinguished World War II Spitfire pilot who died at the age of 94 on 24 May.
Pauline Vahey, Chairman of the British Women Pilots’ Association, explained, “Freydis Sharland was the first chairman of the British Women Pilots Association when it was established in 1955 and she has maintained close links with us ever since. She will be sadly missed. She was an inspiration to all women pilots, a brave and fearless aviator, who distinguished herself in the World War II Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA). After the war she continued to fly and to provide enormous support and encourage for women in aviation.”
Freydis learned to fly at Cambridge before the war, but had a total flying experience of
only 26 hours and 10 minutes when she joined ATA in 17 February 1943. By the time she
left ATA at the end of October 1945 she had flown 607 hours and 25 minutes in ATA service, flying 38 different types from a Lysander to a Wellington (and everything in between). Being based at Hamble, Spitfires were her bread and butter, and she ferried 110 Spitfires. In 1953 she delivered an aircraft on her own to Pakistan as a freelance commercial pilot.
Beyond the ATA years Freydis was a Women’s Junior Air Corps then Girls Venture Corps
(GVC) officer for many years then subsequently on the GVC Aviation Panel. Even when
retired she continued to support youth flying in the Girls Venture Corps, which until 1982
was the only organisation catering for girls flying. The WJAC / latterly GVC owned a series
of aircraft which provide flying experience to its cadets, using its own pilots, such as Freydis
and fellow ATA pilot, Diana Barnato.
Freydis was the first Chairman of the BWPA, founded in 1955. During her 3 years in office
she was instrumental in encouraging and recruiting ATA colleagues and any other lady pilots to join the BWPA .Almost single handed she organised a major BWPA event at Sywell) airshow in 1972. Another claim to fame for Freydis was winning the King’s Cup Air Race.
<a href=’http://bwpa.co.uk/’ target=’_blank’>bwpa.co.uk/</a>
