Spitfires in More than One Sense

As the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain comes to a close it would not be right to let it go by without highlighting the work of these incredible women. As in every war women were called upon to do mens work and then at the end of the war pushed back into domesticity as if they had never been out of it, and these women were no exception.

Aeroplanes came off the production line and into the hangers at an ever increasing speed during the second World War as the battle's in the air were fought and won with the loss of lives as well as aeroplanes. The very few women who had flown before the war saw their opportunity, but their own battle was not an easy one either.

The persistence of one woman in particular Pauline Gower, saw the breakthrough. A shortage of pilots and the need to get the aircraft from factories to squadrons up and down the country prompted the British Air Ministry to engage trained women pilots. Pauline Gower who was an experienced commercial air pilot also ran pleasure flights before the war.  When civilian flying  was banned during the war she saw her opportunity and approached the Director General of Civil Aviation to discuss with him the newly formed Air Transport Auxilliary.   Despite some resistance she was not to be denied nor defeated and it was agreed that there should initially be only 8 women who would be allowed to fly the aircraft provided they were sufficiently trained.  It comes as no surprise that the women had to be more qualified than the men to be able to fly them.   Throughout her time with the ATA she ensured the highest levels of competence amongst the women and demanded the utmost professionalism.  By the end of the war there were overf 165 women pilots, many of whom had joined from overseas.

                                                     (Photograph by Bernie Condon)

Diana Barton Walker a  wealthy young socialite learnt to fly after just six hours of training, by the age of 22 years she had delivered over 200 Spitfires and other aircraft to squadrons throughout the country. In 1963 she was the first  British woman to break the sound barrier.

Another woman of note was Amy Johnson who became the first British trained woman ground engineer and for a time the only one in the world.  During the 1930's she set off in a Gypsy Moth from Croydon, London to Darwin, Australia, completing the flight in 19 days and 11,000 miles later.  Tragically her life was cruelly cut short in January 1941 when after joining the ATA her plane crashed into the Thames Estuary and she drowned.

So many of these women when interviewed in later life were to remark that it was the best time of their lives despite the dangers and difficulties surrounding them and not always due to the flights but also from some of their male colleagues.   Not surprising then that most of them had to return to a life of domesticity!

Empowerment of Women

Not long after moving to Andalucia I was given the opportunity to go and listen to this amazing woman.  Just like many people around the world who do good things and actually make a difference to other people's lives, she presented as a quiet and unassuming woman who instantly made everyone feel at home and welcome.

Not quite knowing what to expect, I left two hour's later feeling humbled and chastened,  realising that I took for granted the luxuries in my own life and the opportunites which have come my way. A timely reminder that this is not always a good thing or indeed a necessary feeling for well being.

Paula Gianturco is a photojournalist who  has travelled to fifteen countries on five continents bearing witness to the incredible work being done by women and girls in the places she visited. Just as her talk was inspiring so too is her book 'Women Who Light The Dark'.

Throughout the book there are amazing stories and photographs about how women are helping each other to take on their problems ranging from sex trafficking, war,  domestic violence, poverty, discrimation, illiteracy,  malnutrition, disease and inequality.   Despite lacking  material resources these women have forged ahead with indomintable spirit and imagination.

The book and the writer are inspirational and after hearing Paola talk I left feeling there was hope for the world if left in the hands of women.   Their creativity and courage left me feeling that all things were possible where there is a will there is a way, where this a wish to make things happen things can and do change for the better.

The purchase of this book benefits The Global Fund For Women, which over the past 20 years has supported and strengthened local organisations in 164 countries.  All the organisations are run by women whose creative and effective work advances women's rights and empowers them.  http://www.globalfundforwomen.org/

South from Granada

Living in an area known as south from Granada  I just had to buy this book. The area is not only beautiful and tranquil to live in but it is also the name of a famous book written by Gerald Brenan who lived in a Spanish village called Yegen in the Alpujarran district between 1920 and 1934.  As an officer and a gentleman having survived the first world war he wanted nothing more than a haven of peace and tranquillity for himself and his books.  He was not to be disappointed.

Due to his connections with the Bloomsbury set he was during his years in the village visited by many luminaries including Lytton Strachey and Virginia Woolf, whose views on the area were not quite as his own.  

The book is a fascinating insight into the ways and day to day living of the people at that time. He talks of the festivals, fiestas and folklore and describes the landscape. But what struck me as I read it was to realise that apart from the infrastructure the area really has changed a great deal. Villagers still sit out at the end of the day in the cool of the evening  chatting with their friends, children and grandchildren,  many of them having never moved away from their own village.   Mules still roam around the villages and the valleys still groan beneath the many orange and lemon groves and goatkeepers still tend to their flock.

It goes onto describes the food of the area, religous activities, schools and education, births, deaths and marriages, beliefs and rituals and the village calender. Throughout it all he brings to life the rich and varied cultural life of the time.  But I could not help but be struck by the similarities in my own Spanish village nearby.  You really do not have to look very hard to see it all today here in the Lecrin valley in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada.

                               

Many people compare and contrast Brenan's book with the more recent one by         Chris Stewart 'Driving Over Lemons'  who also wrote about the area but in more recent times.  His book became an international best seller and describes an idyllic life in a remote, sunny part of southern Spain.  He also came to live in the Alpujarra's but in the 1990's. His account although written in modern times and in the modern idium nonetheless resounds with passages that could have come straight out of Brenan's book.  As is often the case, Brenan's book became more popular after his death, with the advent of tourism and people actually coming to live in and nearby the Alpujarra's. But should you come to the area and stay still and quiet and look very closely you will still see life as it was described by Brenan all those years ago.