Amy Johnston - Stamp of Approval
Great dates in aviation history will be celebrated at the Aerodrome Hotel, and Airport House, writes Christine van Ernst.
The most famous woman aviator of all time, Amy Johnson, became the First female to fly solo to Australia when she flew out of Croydon Airport in 1930.
The De Havilland Gipsy Moth aircraft, she nicknamed Jason, and a portrait of Amy are to be featured on a set of Royal Mail stamps, commemorating Extreme Endeavours - bravery by land, sea and air, due to be issued an 29th April 2003. Fortuitously Extreme Endeavours also commemorates the 100th anniversary of her birth.
Amy Johnson made many other record breaking flights:
- Croydon to Moscow in less than a day in 1931.
- Croydon to Cape Town in 1932.
- Croydon to The Cape and back in 1936 breaking records a both directions.
Crowds swarmed over the hotel building and premises to greet her on this return, along with her husband Jim Mollison.
Image: Croydon Aerodrome Hotel on her return from South Africa in 1936.