Ref Number: 00223
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Somerton Airfield was the place of a bizarre incident in June 1945 when a young female ferry pilot Flt. Officer A Walker.
Ref Number: 00223
Anne Walker, a young woman who held the position of First Officer and who was put in charge of the plane after arriving at Somerton Airport in Cowes, was soon in the cockpit.
Anne’s flight, on the other hand, was doomed because shortly after takeoff, she was hit by a particularly strong gust of wind that pushed her aircraft to the side. Despite her best efforts to regain control of the aircraft, which was not known for its agility, it collided with the side of a hut and ejected her from the plane as it crashed into the ground. She was knocked unconscious as the plane shattered into pieces.
She was able to survive the ordeal because a local baker’s lad who happened to be passing by raced to her aid and pulled her away from the flames. Consequently, she is here to tell the story. She spent the next six weeks at East Cowes Frank James cottage hospital before returning to active duty.
According to the account provided by Mary Wilkins Ellis, a WAFF pilot who was there at the site at the time and travelled with Mary Wilkins Ellis the Frank James Hospital in the ambulance.
It has been suggested that Anne was the daughter of the famous Johnny Walker whisky family. When the family learned that their daughter had been saved, they reportedly gave a box of whisky to the ground crew as a token of their gratitude.
Note: All images are merely representative of the aircraft and not specific.
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