‘Forgotten’ WWII female pilot to be honored at crash site

By Filipa Gaspar

The story of a 'forgotten' World War II female pilot is set to be celebrated - with a memorial close to where the plane she was flying crashed.

Flight Captain Eleanor Isabella ‘Susan’ Slade was working in the Air Transport Auxillary (ATA) when she ferried a Wellington bomber from the repair depot at RAF Little Rissington.

On July 13 1944 she crashed onto an uninhabited farming field - narrowly missing the village of Great Rissington, Gloucestershire.

As ATA pilots often flew alone she was the only death from the incident.

Her body was found in the wreckage - dying at the age of 40 with no children nor partner.

Sergeant Bailea Harrison, 17, from 136 (Chipping Norton) Squadron said she was “upset” when she discovered no mention of the pilot alongside the names of male pilots at the church in Little Rissington.

Moved by Susan's story, Sgt Harrison has been crowdfunding for a permanent memorial.

She researched Susan's life as part of a Commonwealth war graves project in 2020.

Sgt Harrison's dad, Jess Harrison, 47, who's coordinating the project said that their desire is to get it open on July 13 - the 81st anniversary of the crash.

He said: "This is a story that hasn’t been told. My daughter wants to get the publicity and we want to invite all the women veterans groups and the Royal British legion.

"The ATA have around 160 women pilots and only 15 of them died during their duties - Susan is one of the 15 people who was killed.

"We found her original coroners report at Gloucester archives and inside the report said that once she got out of the airfield she started losing height.

“One of the eyewitnesses said that it looked like she intentionally turned the aircraft to the right to avoid colliding with the village."

Susan was born in Hong Kong in January 1904 and moved to Stokenchurch, Buckinghamshire, as a teenager.

She was a female pioneer of aviation who was flying in and winning air races throughout the 1930s.

She owned several aircraft and amassed over 500 flying hours across the UK and Europe - up until the breakout of the Second World War.

Susan joined the ATA in November 1940 and volunteered to serve in a wartime capacity to ferry any manner of aircraft.

In her three years at the ATA, she flew more than 30 different types of aircraft, including Spitfires, Hurricanes and Wellingtons.

On July 13 1944, Susan was instructed to fly a newly repaired Wellington bomber from RAF Little Rissington to a unit where it could be used for training.

But the aircraft veered to the right and crashed into a field immediately after take-off.

Catherine Beale, 59, a historical researcher and the wife of Susan's great-nephew, said the planes Susan flew equated a total of 223 hours.

"There is nobody today who remembers her," said Catherine.

"She had done 28 hours in Wellingtons, so wasn't a novice, and 17 hours in Spitfires.

"You were not allowed maps. You had to fly using landmarks, cities and railway lines - that's all you had to navigate by. It required a lot of skill.

"She was highly regarded for her experience and personal qualities."

Catherine added: "When Sgt Harrison pointed out that all the other (male) pilots had a memorial locally but not Susan, I was particularly delighted.

"And that she, a young female sergeant, should be taking this forward is especially fitting."

Sgt Harrison tracked down Susan's living relatives and last year gained support from the Royal British Legion to install a memorial close to the crash site.

So far, a crowdfunding campaign has surpassed the target needed of $2,500.

This will cover the cost of the memorial, event planning and a fitting display at the squadron premises - honoring Flt Cpt Slade.

Jess concluded: "This is definitely for Bailea. I am extremely proud of the amount of work she has placed into this. As an amateur historian, it has made me extremely happy.

"It has helped her immensely to put herself out of her comfort zone and put herself out there."