in 1932, aged 22.

Mary was born 29 May 1910 in Madrid, the daughter of Sir Maurice, the British Ambassador there.

She had been dragged round dances and hunt balls by her parents in the hope of finding her a suitable husband - these were, of course, in short supply after the carnage of WWI.

"I was far too innocent to realise... that with a lame leg [after a childhood attack of polio] and horn-rimmed glasses I stood no chance whatever". 

She contributed many articles to aeronautical journals during the 1930s.

Her autobiography is called "Mount up with Wings"

d. 1982 in Dorset.

Air Transport Auxiliary in WWII