World War Two pilot honoured with blue plaque in Benson

The Oxfordshire Blue Plaques Board revealed the plaque for Freydis Sharland at Chalkstone Cottage on May 18.

The pilot, who lived in Benson from 1981 until her death in 2014, was part of the Air Transport Auxiliary.

The blue plaque (Image: Oxfordshire Blue Plaques Board)

Beverley Reardon, member of the British Women Pilots’ Association, paid tribute during the unveiling.

The Air Transport Auxiliary was crucial in Word War Two, transferring new, damaged and repaired aircraft between factories.

Ms Freydis was among 160 women involved in this high-risk operation between 1943 and 1945.

She ferried 38 different aircraft types, from bombers to combat aircraft, and Supermarine Spitfires, which were her favourites.

After the war, Ms Freydis was one of the first five women to be awarded RAF pilot 'wings'.

In 1955, she established the British Women Pilots’ Association, which is the largest and longest-running organisation for female pilots in the UK.

She became British Air Racing Champion in 1954, competing against 16 men.

She also broke barriers as a commercial pilot, delivering a Hawker Tempest V to Karachi, a distance of 4,000 miles.

The blue plaque is a result of donations from the British Women Pilots’ Association and the Bensington Society.

Ms Freydis retired from flying for some years to raise her children but returned to the skies later in life.