Faith Bennett

Faith Bennett
Bennett signing to collect a spitfire
Born (1903-05-12)12 May 1903
London, United Kingdom
Died 1969 (aged 65 or 66)
London, United Kingdom
Other names Margaret Ellen Riddick
Occupation Actress, ATA Pilot
Years active

1931-1939 (film & TV)

1941-1945 (ATA Pilot)

Faith Margaret Ellen Bennett (1903–1969) was a British actress and ATA pilot.[1][2]

Biography

Bennett was born Margaret Ellen Riddick[3] on 12 May 1903 in London, England.[1] One of her brothers died during the First World War.[1][3]

In 1930, she married film writer Charles Alfred Selwyn Bennett, and over the course of the 1930s she starred in multiple British films under the stage name Faith Bennett.[1] Bennett took flying lessons alongside her acting career, earning both a British aviator's certificate and an American flying license (the couple moved to the U.S. briefly while Charles worked for Universal Studios).[1]

In July 1941, after divorcing Charles, Bennett joined the ATA.[1] She received her training and was assigned to No. 5 Ferry Pilot Pool (F.P.P.) in December that year, and only two days later was forced to make a crash landing due to poor weather and a stalled engine.[1] Bennett sustained "slight injuries", and was afterwards assigned to the Training Ferry Pool.[1] She remained with the APA until July 1945.[1]

Bennett married fellow ATA pilot Herbert Henry Newmark in 1946.[1][3]

Bennett died in 1969.[1][3]

The British Women Pilots' Association named the Faith Bennett Navigation Cup after her, and the trophy is still awarded annually to women pilots of special merit.[1][4]

Filmography

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "Aircraft accidents in Yorkshire". www.yorkshire-aircraft.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-10-20.
  2. ↑ Brown p.50
  3. 1 2 3 4 "W45 - Faith Bennett". afleetingpeace.org. Retrieved 2017-10-20.
  4. ↑ "Awards | British Women Pilots' Association". bwpa.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-10-20.

Bibliography

  • Brown, Geoff. Launder and Gilliat. British Film Institute, 1977.
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