Famous woman responsible for the Spitfire

[cymaz]

Lady Lucy Houston........fascinating woman!

https://www.warhistoryonline.com/instant-articles/the-surprising-woman-responsible-for-the-development-of-the-spitfire.html

[J D 8]

She had great foresight, one of the few in more ways than one.

[Peter Jenkins]

Fascinating read.  I looked her up on Wikipedia and that gives some more interesting information on her.  Link.  

 

I was lucky enough to attend a dinner to celebrate the umpteenth anniversary of the third Schneider trophy win at the RAF Museum on an occasion when each table had a surviving B of B pilot.  Sadly, the chap on our table was on his last legs and didn't say much.  However, I did manage to meet Geoffrey Wellum, whose book "First Light", I had recently read.  Had I know he was going to be at the dinner I would have taken the book and asked him to autograph it.  He was wonderfully laid back about his contribution to the Battle and, like most of the pilots of the time, said that he just did his duty.

 

We had this chat standing beside the Schneider Trophy.  It is enormous.  The size of a Mini - the original not today's BMW version.  Solid silver and it was guarded all the time by two uniformed guards.  Quite who was going to nick this without a fork lift truck is difficult to imagine!

 

I will say this about Lady Houston, she certainly knew how to pick her men!  Well done madam and thanks for being in the position to fund the 3rd Schneider Trophy win.  The only bit of bad judgement was not seeing through Edward VIII.  Thank goodness he decided to abdicate to marry that creature thus ridding us of a Nazi sympathiser at the Head of State as war beckoned against Nazi Germany.

[Martin Harris - Moderator]

First of the Few - film based on the Spitfire development - on now on Great Action freeview channel

[leccyflyer]

On 30/12/2023 at 01:45, Peter Jenkins said:

Fascinating read.  I looked her up on Wikipedia and that gives some more interesting information on her.  Link.  

 

I was lucky enough to attend a dinner to celebrate the umpteenth anniversary of the third Schneider trophy win at the RAF Museum on an occasion when each table had a surviving B of B pilot.  Sadly, the chap on our table was on his last legs and didn't say much.  However, I did manage to meet Geoffrey Wellum, whose book "First Light", I had recently read.  Had I know he was going to be at the dinner I would have taken the book and asked him to autograph it.  He was wonderfully laid back about his contribution to the Battle and, like most of the pilots of the time, said that he just did his duty.

 

We had this chat standing beside the Schneider Trophy.  It is enormous.  The size of a Mini - the original not today's BMW version.  Solid silver and it was guarded all the time by two uniformed guards.  Quite who was going to nick this without a fork lift truck is difficult to imagine!

 

I will say this about Lady Houston, she certainly knew how to pick her men!  Well done madam and thanks for being in the position to fund the 3rd Schneider Trophy win.  The only bit of bad judgement was not seeing through Edward VIII.  Thank goodness he decided to abdicate to marry that creature thus ridding us of a Nazi sympathiser at the Head of State as war beckoned against Nazi Germany.

According to your link she might not have been too far behind Edward VIII's Nazi sympathies, given her expressed admiration for both Hitler and Mussolini as leaders. She was also a prominent supporter of Oswald Moseley and on the  verge of providing significant financial support to his movement, but he made some remarks about her and she changed her mind.

[David Davis]

1 minute ago, leccyflyer said:

According to your link she might not have been too far behind Edward VIII's Nazi sympathies, given her expressed admiration for both Hitler and Mussolini as leaders. She was also a prominent supporter of Oswald Moseley and on the  verge of providing significant financial support to his movement, but he made some remarks about her and she changed her mind.

 

He probably said that she wasn't one of us!

[cymaz]

1 hour ago, Martin Harris - Moderator said:

First of the Few - film based on the Spitfire development - on now on Great Action freeview channel

 

Great video... and the beginning is my ringtone

 

 

Edited December 31, 2023 by cymaz

[alan p]

Don't forget Miss Shilling's orifice, The lady resolved the negative g problem with the carburettor cutting in a bunt manouver👍

[cymaz]

Good job spell check didn't work

[J D 8]

 At the time many admired the way that Hitlers lot had got Germany back to work after the disaster of the great war and post war economic mess.

  later as more details came of his way of maintaining power and warmongering intent many did change their minds.