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with her mother to visit her brother, Leaf met Tim
Sharland, a former British Army officer. They married shortly after, on New Year's Eve and worked both in Africa and Britain. They had three children, two daughters and a son. Freydis Sharland stopped flying for several years while her children were
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were the first five women to qualify as pilots of the RAF. All qualified in the early 1950s, as officers of WRAFVR, and were awarded the standard 'Wings' of an RAF pilot. There was a gap of nearly four decades until the next woman,
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217:. By the end of the war she had 607 hours and 25 minutes flying time accumulated. Her brother, Lt. Derek Leaf, DSC & bar, RNVR, and BA.(Cantab.), was killed in action in 1944.
259:(WRAFVR), as a Pilot Officer; she later earned a promotion to Flying Officer. During her 5-year commission, she also became one of the first women to qualify as an RAF pilot.
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young but took it up again when her youngest was 17. After she retired from training young women pilots with the Girl's
Venture Corps she began flying
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The ATA was disbanded at the end of 1945 and Leaf then worked as a freelance commercial pilot, gaining her commercial licence in
November 1946.
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When her father and brother Derek started to learn to fly in 1937, Freydis insisted on the same opportunity: they all learned to fly at the
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In 1942, she joined the ATA, and began her career as a pilot. Starting with 26 hours and 10 minutes flying time, she was based in
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was revealed at her former home in Benson, Oxfordshire, unveiled by her children Angie and
Charlie.
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123:. She was the middle child of three: she had two brothers, Derek and Robin. Her father was a
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190:(ATA) for over a year. She went on to work with the Aeronautical Inspection Directorate.
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201:, in Berkshire. As an ATA pilot, Leaf learned to fly a wide range of planes from the
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A Spitfire Girl: One of the World's
Greatest Female ATA Ferry Pilots Tells Her Story
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flying school in
Cambridge. When the war began, Leaf volunteered as a nurse in the
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gold-medallist in sailing during the interwar period. Her maternal grandfather was
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756:"BWPA pays tribute to Freydis Sharland who died at the age of 94 on 24 May"
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552:"Women RAF pilots 'forgotten' in centenary celebrations, say relatives"
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she was not allowed to use the
Officers mess because she was a woman.
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690:"First Officer Freydis Sharland: Veteran of wartime Air Transport"
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99:; 22 September 1920 – 24 May 2014) was a pioneering woman
640:"Spitfire Women: Blue plaque unveiled for WW2 ATA pilot"
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on a 4,000-mile flight from the base in
England to a
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Sisters in Arms: The Women Who Flew in World War II
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568:. British Women Pilot's Association. 17 July 2013
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588:"World War Two pilot honoured with blue plaque"
566:"Celebrating 100 years of British women pilots"
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139:as an officer of the Royal Marines. He was an
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550:Patrick Sawer; Helena Horton (8 July 2018).
376:(Supplement). 17 October 1914. p. 8331.
266:and, in the following year, she founded the
228:In 1953, as a commercial pilot, Leaf flew a
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154:She was educated at Ancaster Gate school,
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20:
614:"Blue plaque for our founding chairwoman"
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119:to Catherine (née Kay-Shuttleworth) and
737:"Sharland, Freydis Mary (Oral history)"
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270:. She was also a leading figure in the
255:In 1949 she was commissioned into the
186:, Essex while trying to get into the
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7:
331:until the end of the 20th century.
240:. When she arrived, after stops in
103:and one of the first women to get
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872:Military personnel from Cambridge
760:British Women Pilots' Association
714:. Pen & Sword Books Limited.
618:British Women Pilots' Association
469:British Women Pilots' Association
268:British Women Pilots' Association
669:Fountain, Nigel (10 June 2014).
708:Mary Ellis, A.T.T.M.F. (2016).
862:Air Transport Auxiliary pilots
506:"Casualty Details | CWGC"
135:, as an Army officer, and the
1:
867:British women in World War II
257:Women's RAF Volunteer Reserve
877:Women in the Royal Air Force
671:"Freydis Sharland obituary"
264:British Air-Racing Champion
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115:Freydis Leaf was born in
53:, Cambridgeshire, England
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334:She died 24 May 2014 in
272:Women's Junior Air Corps
262:In 1954 Leaf became the
145:Ughtred Kay-Shuttleworth
111:Early life and education
801:. Casemate Publishers.
795:Schrader, H.P. (2006).
188:Air Transport Auxiliary
131:who served in both the
857:British women aviators
338:, Oxfordshire age 93.
16:Pioneering woman pilot
211:De Havilland Mosquito
741:Imperial War Museums
446:Imperial War Museums
158:, East Sussex, then
276:Girls Venture Corps
70:Benson, Oxfordshire
776:"Freydis Sharland"
373:The London Gazette
346:On 18 May 2024, a
234:Pakistan Air Force
203:Vickers Wellington
808:978-1-84415-388-6
721:978-1-4738-9538-6
195:Hamble, Hampshire
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47:22 September 1920
44:Freydis Mary Leaf
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137:Second World War
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81:Pioneering pilot
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675:The Guardian
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127:and amateur
121:Charles Leaf
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64:(2014-05-24)
25:Freydis Leaf
18:
852:2014 deaths
847:1920 births
814:11 November
786:11 November
766:11 November
746:11 November
727:11 November
700:11 November
680:11 November
592:Oxford Mail
572:19 November
368:"No. 28941"
348:blue plaque
329:microlights
303:Joan Hughes
170:War-service
62:24 May 2014
836:Categories
354:References
282:First five
184:Colchester
780:The Times
491:The Times
322:liner to
287:Jean Bird
180:Red Cross
117:Cambridge
72:, England
51:Cambridge
644:BBC News
274:and the
236:base in
221:Post-war
215:Spitfire
205:and the
176:Marshall
162:school,
663:Sources
318:On the
250:Bahrain
246:Baghdad
242:Nicosia
238:Karachi
209:to the
156:Bexhill
141:Olympic
107:wings.
805:
718:
650:28 May
624:28 May
598:28 May
336:Benson
101:pilot
827:IMDb
816:2018
803:ISBN
788:2018
768:2018
748:2018
729:2018
716:ISBN
702:2018
682:2018
652:2024
626:2024
600:2024
574:2017
493:2014
471:2014
424:2014
301:and
248:and
213:and
97:Leaf
59:Died
40:Born
825:at
182:in
147:of
105:RAF
93:née
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
