Faith Bennett

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

Faith Bennett
Bennett signing to collect a spitfire
Born(1903-05-12)12 May 1903
London, United Kingdom
Died1969 (aged 65 or 66)
London, United Kingdom
Other namesMargaret Ellen Riddick
Occupation(s)Actress, ATA Pilot
Years active1931-1939 (film & TV) 1941-1945 (ATA Pilot)

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 at the Northampton School of flying, Sywell, her instructor was the famous WWI flying Ace Tommy Rose DFC, she took these 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, 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 Hamble Ferry Pool.[1] She remained with the ATA until July 1945.[1][4]

After the WW2 she divorced Charles Bennett and 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][5]

Filmography

References
  1. "Aircraft accidents in Yorkshire". www.yorkshire-aircraft.co.uk. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
  2. Brown p.50
  3. "W45 - Faith Bennett". afleetingpeace.org. Archived from the original on 21 October 2017. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
  4. Bennett, John (2014). The Life of Screenwriter Charles Bennett (1st ed.). University of Kentucky.
  5. "Awards | British Women Pilots' Association". bwpa.co.uk. Archived from the original on 21 October 2017. Retrieved 20 October 2017.

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