Amy Johnson, dubbed "Queen of the Air," was born on July 1st 1903 in Hull. Unusually for a young woman of her time, Amy attended the University of Sheffield and graduated with a BA in Economics. She found that employment for a woman in any responsible or fulfilling post was almost impossible to find, so she lowered her sights and worked in several secretarial jobs, which she found demeaning. Lacking fulfilment at work, Amy looked to the skies and threw herself into her interests. Most of her spare time was spent at the London Aeroplane Club, where she worked on her hobbies of mechanical engineering and flying. In 1928, she became the first woman in Britain to be granted an Air Ministry's ground engineers licence as well as gaining both, a commercial and private pilots

licence. She was taught to fly by Captain Valentine Henry Baker, MC AFC, and alongside her pilot's and engineer's licences, Amy also qualified as a navigator. Amy persuaded her father, like every daughter has a way of doing, to contribute towards buying an airplane. Amy named the £600 De Haviland Gipsy Moth, Jason, after her family's fish business. On May 5th 1930, Amy attempted to break the light aeroplane record, set by Bert Hinker in 1928, for a solo flight to Australia. Amy took off from Croydon Aerodrome on her epic endeavour, but regrettably she failed the attempt by three days and arrived at Darwin, Australia on May 24th. Although she did not break the record for flying from the UK to Australia in 15 days, she became the first woman to fly solo to Australia. This was only the start of her adventures. Whilst in Australia, her status as a celebrity grew and she spent weeks touring the country and attending public events, cheered on by crowds of supporting fans.

Amy returned home, flying back into Croydon Aerodrome where she was greeted by a huge crowd and then driven through the streets of London in an open topped car through thousands of people who had lined the parade route, all to catch a glimpse of Amy, 'Queen of the Air'. Amy's record-breaking attempt had gained her vast publicity and popularity among the British people. So much so that she was awarded a CBE from King George, as well as a £10,000 gift from the 'Daily Mail'. After marrying fellow aviator, Jim Mollison in 1931, she continued her flying exploits and Amy soon added a number of records to her name. She became the first pilot to fly from London to Moscow in one day, flying the 1,760 miles in approximately 21-hours. With the public losing interest in her epic flights and her marriage ending in divorce, Amy joined the armed forces to help the war effort. In 1940 she enlisted in the Air Transport Auxiliary, flying aircraft from factories to RAF airbases. On January 5th 1941, Amy Johnson took off in thick, freezing fog from Blackpool airport. She was on a routine flight to deliver an aeroplane to an RAF base in Oxfordshire. Four and a half hours later, her plane crashed in to the Thames Estuary, miles away from her intended destination. Amy's body was never recovered. Many theories have grown surrounding her mysterious death. One speculation was that she was shot down by anti aircraft guns after being mistaken for a German bomber. Another theory suggests that she was on a secret mission. The truth of what happened to the 'Queen of the Air' remains a mystery to this day.