Lady Mary Heath
Encyclopedia
Mary, Lady Heath the Irish
aviator
, began life as Sophie Catherine Theresa Mary Peirce-Evans in Knockaderry
, County Limerick
, near the town of Newcastle West
. She was one of the best known women in the world for a five year period from the mid-1920s.
and later France
, where she had her portrait painted by Sir John Lavery
. 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 after her move from her native Ireland to London in 1922, following a brief sojourn in Aberdeen. 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 Council in 1925, when she took her first flying lessons.
The following year, she became the first women to hold a commercial flying licence in Britain and along the way, set records for altitude in a small plane and later a Shorts
seaplane
, 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 USA, the first woman to do so.
In an era when the world had gone aviation mad, due to the exploits of Charles Lindbergh
and Amelia Earhart
, Mary 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 airplane
from Cape Town
to London
. She had thought it would take her three weeks; as it turned out, it took her three months, from January to May 1928. She wrote about the experience later in a book Woman and Flying, that she co-wrote with Stella Wolfe Murray.
Unfortunately, just when her fame was at its height, with her life a constant whirl of lectures, races and long distances flights, Lady Heath (she married Sir James Heath
in 1928) was badly injured in a crash just before the National Air Races
in Cleveland, Ohio
in 1929.
She was never the same after, though she returned to Ireland with her third husband GAR 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. She died destitute in 1939 after a fall from a tram car in London.
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
aviator
Aviation
Aviation is the design, development, production, operation, and use of aircraft, especially heavier-than-air aircraft. Aviation is derived from avis, the Latin word for bird.-History:...
, began life as Sophie Catherine Theresa Mary Peirce-Evans in Knockaderry
Knockaderry
Knockaderry is a village within County Limerick, Ireland .The name Knockaderry is from the Irish Cnoc an Doire, which means 'the hill of the Oak'. There is still an oak grove evident near the village...
, County Limerick
County Limerick
It is thought that humans had established themselves in the Lough Gur area of the county as early as 3000 BC, while megalithic remains found at Duntryleague date back further to 3500 BC...
, near the town of Newcastle West
Newcastle West
Newcastle West is a town in west County Limerick, Ireland. The town is the largest town in the county, excluding Limerick city, and is sited on the River Arra which flows into the River Deel...
. 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 St Margaret's Hall on Mespil Road in Dublin, where she played hockey and tennis, Sophie enrolled in the Royal College of Science in Ireland (which later became subsumed into UCD and is currently home to the Taoiseach's office on Fitzwilliam Street). 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.Career
Before becoming a pilot Lady Heath had already made her mark. During the First World War, she spent two years as a dispatch rider, based in EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and later France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, where she had her portrait painted by Sir John Lavery
John Lavery
Sir John Lavery was an Irish painter best known for his portraits.Belfast-born John Lavery attended the Haldane Academy, in Glasgow, in the 1870s and the Académie Julian in Paris in the early 1880s. He returned to Glasgow and was associated with the Glasgow School...
. 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 after her move from her native Ireland to London in 1922, following a brief sojourn in Aberdeen. She was Britain's first women's javelin
Javelin throw
The javelin throw is a track and field athletics throwing event where the object to be thrown is the javelin, a spear approximately 2.5 metres in length. Javelin is an event of both the men's decathlon and the women's heptathlon...
champion and set a disputed world record for the high jump
High jump
The high jump is a track and field athletics event in which competitors must jump over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without the aid of certain devices in its modern most practiced format; auxiliary weights and mounds have been used for assistance; rules have changed over the years....
. She was also a delegate to the International Olympic Council in 1925, when she took her first flying lessons.
The following year, she became the first women to hold a commercial flying licence in Britain and along the way, set records for altitude in a small plane and later a Shorts
Short Brothers
Short Brothers plc is a British aerospace company, usually referred to simply as Shorts, that is now based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Founded in 1908, Shorts was the first company in the world to make production aircraft and was a manufacturer of flying boats during the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s...
seaplane
Seaplane
A seaplane is a fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water. Seaplanes that can also take off and land on airfields are a subclass called amphibian aircraft...
, 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 USA, the first woman to do so.
In an era when the world had gone aviation mad, due to the exploits of Charles Lindbergh
Charles Lindbergh
Charles Augustus Lindbergh was an American aviator, author, inventor, explorer, and social activist.Lindbergh, a 25-year-old U.S...
and Amelia Earhart
Amelia Earhart
Amelia Mary Earhart was a noted American aviation pioneer and author. Earhart was the first woman to receive the U.S. Distinguished Flying Cross, awarded for becoming the first aviatrix to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean...
, Mary was more than able to hold her own. "Britain's Lady Lindy," as she was known in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, made front page news as the first pilot, male or female, to fly a small open cockpit airplane
Fixed-wing aircraft
A fixed-wing aircraft is an aircraft capable of flight using wings that generate lift due to the vehicle's forward airspeed. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinct from rotary-wing aircraft in which wings rotate about a fixed mast and ornithopters in which lift is generated by flapping wings.A powered...
from Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. She had thought it would take her three weeks; as it turned out, it took her three months, from January to May 1928. She wrote about the experience later in a book Woman and Flying, that she co-wrote with Stella Wolfe Murray.
Unfortunately, just when her fame was at its height, with her life a constant whirl of lectures, races and long distances flights, Lady Heath (she married Sir James Heath
Sir James Heath, 1st Baronet
Sir James Heath, 1st Baronet was a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom. He was educated at Clifton College....
in 1928) was badly injured in a crash just before the National Air Races
National Air Races
The National Air Races were a series of pylon and cross-country races that took place in the United States from 1920 to 1949. The science of aviation, and the speed and reliability of aircraft and engines grew rapidly during this period; the National Air Races were both a proving ground and...
in Cleveland, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
in 1929.
She was never the same after, though she returned to Ireland with her third husband GAR 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. She died destitute in 1939 after a fall from a tram car in London.
External links
- Pilot who made the history books had strong Kerry links — The Kingdom newspaper book review, 2 December 2004.
- http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,769567,00.htmlFlights & Flyers TimeTime (magazine)Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine article, 16 March 1931] - Lady Icarus — weblog of the author of a biography of Heath.
- Lady Heath: Ireland’s International Aviatrix The Historical Aviation Society Of Ireland]