A 'New Woman'
So who was the extraordinary young woman who was so determined to face the terrible odds that were stacked against Atlantic flyers - especially in the even more treacherous westerly direction? Elsie Mackay was the second youngest of Lord Inchcape's five children of which four were daughters. She could easily have spent a quiet life either of ease or of usefulness like her three sisters, devoting themselves to good marriages, family, country sports and charity work. Elsie was her father's favourite and she was described by many as being the most like him, filled with the same drive and energy that had seen him rise from being a clerk to one of the Britain's most influential business leaders. Had opportunities been different for women in the 1920s - women were only given the vote in 1928, and then only those over 30 who met the stated criteria - Elsie may have followed a completely different path, joining her father on the board of the shipping company P & 0 as other male members of the family did.
As it is Elsie achieved a great deal and she certainly had the determination not to spend her life at dinner parties and balls or frittering her life away on cocktail fuelled japes like many of the 'Bright Young Things' of the upper classes. Instead she was described in the newspapers as 'exemplifying the phenomenon of the New Woman in post-war Britain.' aDuring the First World War she'd been keen to 'do her bit' and when her mother turned their Mayfair home into an hospital for officers she began nursing along with her sisters. It was here that she met and fell in love with a young South African Captain who had been an actor before the war. Although her father had strong objections to the relationship Elsie eventually managed to avoid his agents and elope with Dennis Wyndham to Glasgow where they married. Returning to London she volunteered as a driver attached to an RAF training unit where she was regularly seen transporting the 'brass hats' from the city to the air base. It was here that she developed her love of speed behind the wheel and her love of the air.
During her marriage she began acting in silent cinema eventually becoming a leading lady in some pictures and was known for carrying out her own stunts! Filmgoers were told that in one movie set in the world of horse racing 'A Dead Certainty' Elsie 'performed a series of hair raising stunts with the utmost nonchalance and success.' Her career ended with her marriage but she didn't stand still for long instead taking to the air. During one of her first flying lessons with leading airman Sir Alan Cobham she almost died when her safety strap broke whilst he performed a 'loop' - at her instruction - and she was left gripping the wires whilst being tossed around like a stone being twirled on a piece of string. Safely down on the ground she was keen to fly again as long as she had a stronger safety belt. Taking up flying lessons in earnest she became a pilot and member of the Royal Aero Club in 1922. Her skill as a pilot was recognised when she was asked to become a member of the advisory committee to the British Empire Air League.
Although there wasn't a seat on the board of Lord Inchcape's company, Elsie did find a role with P & O when her skills as a designer were recognised and she became one of the first women to be involved in the design of ship's interiors. As artistic director she was responsible for the cabin decorations and kitchen arrangements on the new Australian fleet. In one profile a writer said of Elsie "I have never known a woman of such vitality. She frequently arrived to begin work at 6 o'clock in the morning and Heaven help the members of staff who were not equally early."
Another writer described a 'spirit of of daring and adventure that shone through her clear brown eyes' and a 'magnetic personality' that attracted all around her. It was this impatient and driven young woman that was forced to wait at the provincial hotel in Lincolnshire in March 1928 for the weather to clear so that she could take off on the biggest challenge of her life - to fly the Atlantic from east to west.
West Over the Waves: The Final Flight of Elsie Mackay
As it is Elsie achieved a great deal and she certainly had the determination not to spend her life at dinner parties and balls or frittering her life away on cocktail fuelled japes like many of the 'Bright Young Things' of the upper classes. Instead she was described in the newspapers as 'exemplifying the phenomenon of the New Woman in post-war Britain.' aDuring the First World War she'd been keen to 'do her bit' and when her mother turned their Mayfair home into an hospital for officers she began nursing along with her sisters. It was here that she met and fell in love with a young South African Captain who had been an actor before the war. Although her father had strong objections to the relationship Elsie eventually managed to avoid his agents and elope with Dennis Wyndham to Glasgow where they married. Returning to London she volunteered as a driver attached to an RAF training unit where she was regularly seen transporting the 'brass hats' from the city to the air base. It was here that she developed her love of speed behind the wheel and her love of the air.
During her marriage she began acting in silent cinema eventually becoming a leading lady in some pictures and was known for carrying out her own stunts! Filmgoers were told that in one movie set in the world of horse racing 'A Dead Certainty' Elsie 'performed a series of hair raising stunts with the utmost nonchalance and success.' Her career ended with her marriage but she didn't stand still for long instead taking to the air. During one of her first flying lessons with leading airman Sir Alan Cobham she almost died when her safety strap broke whilst he performed a 'loop' - at her instruction - and she was left gripping the wires whilst being tossed around like a stone being twirled on a piece of string. Safely down on the ground she was keen to fly again as long as she had a stronger safety belt. Taking up flying lessons in earnest she became a pilot and member of the Royal Aero Club in 1922. Her skill as a pilot was recognised when she was asked to become a member of the advisory committee to the British Empire Air League.
Although there wasn't a seat on the board of Lord Inchcape's company, Elsie did find a role with P & O when her skills as a designer were recognised and she became one of the first women to be involved in the design of ship's interiors. As artistic director she was responsible for the cabin decorations and kitchen arrangements on the new Australian fleet. In one profile a writer said of Elsie "I have never known a woman of such vitality. She frequently arrived to begin work at 6 o'clock in the morning and Heaven help the members of staff who were not equally early."
Another writer described a 'spirit of of daring and adventure that shone through her clear brown eyes' and a 'magnetic personality' that attracted all around her. It was this impatient and driven young woman that was forced to wait at the provincial hotel in Lincolnshire in March 1928 for the weather to clear so that she could take off on the biggest challenge of her life - to fly the Atlantic from east to west.
West Over the Waves: The Final Flight of Elsie Mackay
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