In the early days of flight it was difficult for a lady to become a pilot and break into the male dominated realms of aviation. The ladies were often ignored and had to overcome obstacles of prejudice that did not apply to men. Some of these intrepid, brave and very determined ladies became household names for their daring exploits, others, equally brave and determined, were less well known.

Born Sophie Catherine Theresa Mary Peirce-Evans in Knockaderry, County Limerick, Ireland in 1897 was one of the latter. Life for Sophie started badly when, before her second birthday, her mother was murdered by her father. Her father was found guilty but insane. Sophie went to live at her grandfather’s house in Newcastle West. She was brought up by two spinster aunts. Sophie had a passion for sports but had to battle against the discouragement of her aunts. Her determination to succeed stood her in good stead at this time and later in her life.

Sophie spent her school days in Dublin and, later joined The Royal College of Science in Ireland. She completed her studies with a first class degree in science. She continued with her sports, mainly hockey, and also wrote articles for the student magazine.
During the first world war she spent two years as a dispatch rider and, while in France, Sir John Lavery painted her portrait. By this time she had married and become Mrs Elliot-Lynn only to be widowed a few years later. She became Lady Heath after her second marriage which was to Sir James Heath in 1928.

Sophie moved to England in 1922 and became one of the founders of the Women’s Amateur Athletic Association. She became the first women’s Javelin champion and also set a disputed world high jump record. In 1925 she wrote the book ‘Athletics for Women and Girls’. In the same year she became a delegate to the International Olympic Council and took her first flying lesson to become a pilot.

Sophie qualified for her ‘A’ licence but was prevented from obtaining a Commercial Pilot’s Licence by the International Commission for Air Navigation which had banned women from becoming Commercial Pilots. Sophie had already shown her fighting spirit by being the first woman to make a parachute jump. She fought the ban winning a concession that if she attended a flight school and passed the test she could have the Commercial Licence. This she did and became the first woman to have a Commercial Licence in Great Britain. The ban was rescinded.

After setting altitude records for a small plane and in a Shorts seaplane Lady Heath, as she was now known, planned the flight which made her famous. Cape Town to London. The flight was scheduled to take three weeks but took over three months lasting from January 1928 to May. She became the first pilot to fly an open cockpit plane on that route. Her fame spread and she did many tours in UK and USA meeting the President and his wife. In America she was known as ‘Queen of the Skies’ and ‘Britains Lady Lindy’.

While in the States she became the first woman to take an Air Mechanics licence. In 1929, at the height of her fame, she was badly injured in a crash in America. She returned to Ireland with her third husband, Gar Williams a pilot from the Caribbean. They became involved with private aviation in Ireland training the next generation of pilots.

Lady Heath died destitute when she fell from a tram in 1939. For five years 1926 to 1931 she was the most famous lady pilot of her time.

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