Aviator Mary Bailey – First Woman to Fly Irish Sea 1927 and African Round-Trip 1928 | Season 3 – Episode 97
Wings Jan 05, 2024
In the 1930s, learning to fly was all the rage, especially amongst the wealthy. And once in the air, these new pilots headed to all points of the compass eager to set endurance flight records and place their names in the history books.
Born in 1890, Mary Westenra spent her childhood at her family home at Rossmore Castle, Co. Monaghan. In Monaghan she enjoyed all of the outdoor pursuits of the landed gentry and in due course was sent for schooling in 1906 to Ascot, however the confines of the school were too much and she ran away after just one term and was home schooled.
In 1911, Mary married South African widower Sir Abraham Bailey. They had five children and due to Abraham’s businesses moved between South Africa, Ireland, and England.
In 1916 during World War One, she joined the British Women’s Legion, later enlisting in the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps. She served in both England and France as a driver and mechanic on Royal Flying Corps bases.
After the war and before Mary’s interest in flying, she had a passion for high-speed motoring and in November 1924, was fined £4 for driving her car at 33 mph, well in excess of the 10 mph speed limit.
By the mid-1920s Mary was bored with her life as a socialite and with her children in boarding school she undertook pilot training at Stag Lane Aerodrome in north London. She was taught to fly a two-seater de Havilland DH.60 Moth biplane by another Irishwoman, Lady Mary Heath. We covered the story of Lady Mary Heath in a previous episode: “Cape Town to Croydon record breaking flight Lady Mary Heath 1928”
Bailey received her Royal Aero Club certificate #8067 on January 26th, 1927, and flew her newly acquired de Havilland DH.60 Moth biplane almost daily.
Never one to sit still Mary made 1927 her year for achievements. By that summer she was participating in ladies’ air races often against the aforementioned Lady Mary Heath and fellow Irishwoman Siècle O’Brien, inventor of the air taxi and whom we covered in a previous story: “Irish aviation entrepreneurs 95 years pioneering air taxis”
In July of that year, Mary Bailey set a new women’s altitude record, reaching 19,200ft in a light aircraft, surpassing Lady Mary Heath’s previous achievement. She then became the first woman certified in ‘blind flying’ (navigation by instruments alone), was the first woman to be awarded a Harmon Aviatrix Trophy and, in August 1927, accomplished the historic feat of being the first woman to solo-fly across the Irish Sea.
In January 1928 she was named Champion Lady Aviator by the International Union of Aviators. Determined to make 1928 as successful as the previous year she left Croydon Aerodrome, London, England on 9th March flying a de Havilland DH.60X Moth and after a 52-day, 12,875 km (8,000 mile) solo flight landed in Cape Town, South Africa on 30th April. While not an official race, Mary Bailey’s journey from London to Cape Town took one week less than Lady Heath’s trip from Cape Town to London.
Lady Bailey’s aircraft, a de Havilland DH.60X Moth with registration G-EBSF, was acquired from Captain Geoffrey de Havilland, the designer. The addition of an auxiliary fuel tank in the forward cockpit extended the plane’s flight endurance to ten and half hours.
The de Havilland DH.60X Cirrus II Moth, a two-seater light biplane, featured a wooden airframe covered with plywood. Fabric covered the wings and tail surfaces, while sheet metal panels enclosed the engine.
Later that year, she completed the return flight. British Foreign Office records from The National Archives reveal officials’ attempts to dissuade her, expressing concerns for her safety as a solo female traveller. They cited the prevailing rule at the time ‘in no circumstances will a flight be allowed if the sole occupant of the machine be a lady unless there is a second escorting machine containing a qualified male pilot’.
Following her epic flights, she earned numerous accolades, including a damehood (DBE) in the 1930 New Year’s Honours list — the first woman to receive such an honour for her contributions to aviation.
For many years, she collaborated with Lady Mary Heath to promote a flying route connecting England and South Africa. Together, they founded aerodromes and flying clubs across Ireland, training numerous pilots who later joined the Irish flag carrier, Aer Lingus, established in 1936.
In February 1930, she conducted a two-week aerial survey of Kharga Oasis in the Egyptian
Western Desert using her de Havilland DH.80A Puss Moth. She identified new excavation sites, likely becoming the first woman to capture such aerial photographs. Later the same year she took part in the 7,563 kms International Tour of Europe.
In January 1933, disregarding aviation experts’ advice, Bailey undertook her second flight from Croydon to the Cape and back, prioritising speed and opting for blind flying at night to shorten the journey time. Her new Puss Moth plane, equipped with an additional fuel tank, allowed for a non-stop flight of up to twenty hours, and to save weight, she omitted a radio and navigation lights.
The journey began smoothly, with trouble arising after refuelling in Oran, northwest Algeria. She covered 1,500 miles until her fuel nearly depleted, leading to a forced landing near the southern Sahara desert. Missing for four days, she was found by a French reconnaissance plane. Shaken, she decided not to continue and returned to London and retired from competitive flying.
At the start of World War II, she served with the Air Transport Auxiliary, delivering aircraft to Royal Air Force squadrons. Accused of defying age restrictions for serving women, attributed to her wealth and influence, she left the role aged fifty. Subsequently, she joined the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force in a non-flying capacity, serving throughout the war.
County Monaghan Aviatrix Mary Bailey retired to South Africa, died on August 29th 1960 and is buried with her husband on a cliff-top at Stellenbosch.
Information sources:
Airmuseumsuk.org
BAE Systems
Cigarette card with an illustration of Lady Bailey’s DH.60X Cirrus II Moth, G-EBTG –
Dictionary of Irish Biography
Flyingnthings
Heathfield School
Lost Buildings of Ireland
Maidenhead Heritage Centre
Monash University
National Archives (UK)
National Library of Ireland
National Portrait Gallery, London
Peter Butt Aviation Collection – Mary Evans Picture Library
The Heritage Portal
Throttle full open: a life of Lady Bailey, Irish aviatrix – Jane Falloon
Trowel Blazers
Wiley Library
