Eleanor Wadsworth

Eleanor Wadsworth (née Fish; 15 October 1917 – 21 December 2020)[1] was an English second world war pilot, who served as one of the RAF's "Spitfire women".[2] Wadsworth was the oldest surviving pilot of the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA),[3] before her death in December 2020.[4]

Eleanor Fish was born in Nottingham in 1917, the daughter of George Fish, who ran a construction business in the city, and Dorothy. She was educated at Nottingham Girls' High School, where she liked drawing. She trained as an architect in Nottingham and began working for the Air Transport Auxiliary in 1943, through which she met Bernard Wadsworth, a flight engineer. They married in 1945, and were together until his death in 2015.[5]

  1. ^ "Obituary: Eleanor Wadsworth, 'Attagirl' who flew fighter planes during Second World War". The Scotsman. 20 January 2021. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  2. ^ "RAF 'Spitfire woman' Eleanor Wadsworth dies aged 103". The Guardian. 10 January 2021. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  3. ^ "Inspiring Women - Britain's last female WWII pilot - News". bpha. 6 March 2020. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  4. ^ "WW2's 'Spitfire Women': Eleanor Wadsworth, one of last female pilots, dies". BBC News. 10 January 2021. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  5. ^ The Times, 23 January 2021, p.79