Elsie Mackay

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For the Australian born actress, see Elsie Mackay (actress).

Aviator
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1917; annul. 1922)​

Elsie Mackay (21 August 1893 – 13 March 1928) was a British

aviator who died attempting to cross the Atlantic Ocean with Walter G. R. Hinchliffe[1] in a single engined Stinson Detroiter.[2] Her stage name
as an actress was Poppy Wyndham.

Biography

Elsie Mackay was born August 21, 1893, in

Viceroy of India, and as a member of the Council of the Secretary of State for India
.

She was reportedly disinherited by her family after eloping with actor Dennis Wyndham to be married on 23 May 1917. She appeared on the stage and screen as Poppy Wyndham from 1919 to 1921. This marriage was annulled in 1922.[3]

As Poppy Wyndham she was the first woman jockey in England, and in her short career on the turf she piloted no less than a dozen winners under the barriers. In the few events from which her sex did not bar her, her colours - yellow and blue - were always present, and always were heavily backed.[citation needed]

Filmography

Poppy Wyndham's film career included:[3][4][5][6]

Interior design

After the marriage to Wyndham was annulled she returned to her family and developed a career as an

Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O). In 1923 she launched the RMS Maloja, and went on to design much of the interiors for the four P&O "R" class ships of 1925: SS Rawalpindi, SS Ranchi, SS Ranpura and SS Rajputana, plus the RMS Viceroy of India in 1927.[7]

Flying

In 1923, she took up flying, gaining her pilot's licence at the

Rolls-Royce at great speed and was a familiar sight in her Avro biplane in the skies over South Ayrshire and Wigtownshire.[9][10] She even participated in an "outside loop", the most dangerous of all stunts in air, with Capt. E. C. D. Herne as her pilot. During this manoeuvre her safety-strap broke but she clung to bracing wires while her body swung outside the plane like a stone twirled on the end of a piece of string.[1] She was one of the first women in Britain to gain her Royal Aero Club pilot's licence and was later elected to the advisory committee of pilots to the British Empire Air League.[2]

Transatlantic flight

Window in remembrance of Elsie Mackay at Glenapp Church

To achieve her

J-6-9 (R-975) engine, with a cruising speed of 84 miles per hour (135 km/h).[12]

In early March 1928, the Daily Express discovered that Captain Hinchliffe and Mackay were preparing for a transatlantic attempt by carrying out test flights at RAF Cranwell and were staying at the George Hotel in Leadenham[13] near Grantham. The story was silenced by Mackay's threatened legal action as she intended to depart in secret while her father was in Egypt, having promised her family she would not make the attempt.[2]

At 8:35 am on 13 March 1928, Endeavour took off from

Mitchel Field, Long Island.[1] In December 1928, eight months later, a single piece of identifiable undercarriage (a wheel with a serial number on it) washed ashore in north west Ireland.[2]

Commemoration

Elsie Mackay is commemorated by a stained glass window in the chancel of Glenapp Church in the parish of Ballantrae, Ayrshire (where her father owned the Glenapp estate).[17] Rhododendrons, now somewhat overgrown, spell out "Elsie" on the opposite side of the glen.(55°01′44″N 5°00′50″W / 55.0288°N 5.014°W / 55.0288; -5.014)[9] A street is named after her in Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador.[18] Her financial legacy was the Elsie Mackay Fund, a £500,000 trust bequeathed by her father that was left to the British nation on 12 December 1928, for 50 years and used to help pay off the national debt.[9][19][20]

See also

References

  1. ^
    Time magazine. 26 March 1928. Archived from the original
    on 21 November 2010. Retrieved 9 August 2008.
  2. ^ a b c d BBC Radio 4 Making History – Elsie Mackay – article and downloadable broadcast
  3. ^
    actress of the same name, but she was still performing after 1935.That Elsie Mackay was married to the English actor, Lionel Atwill
    from 1920 until their divorce in 1928.
  4. ^ Barnes, Brooks (2008). "Movies: About Tidal Wave". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on 5 June 2008. Retrieved 9 August 2008.
  5. ^ The Complete Index To World Film since 1895
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Hollywood upclose – database for Poppy Wyndham[permanent dead link]
  7. ^ P & O Line Ships (and technical data) from 1920 to 1930 Archived 30 January 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ "History of the De Havilland Flying School". Archived from the original on 15 October 2008. Retrieved 29 May 2008.
  9. ^ a b c d Ayrshire Post article – So Brave and so Beautiful
  10. ^ Picture of Elsie in her Avro Biplane at Jamd.com
  11. ^ Hargrave – Profile of Ruth Elder
  12. ^ World War I Modeling Page – WGR Hinchliffe forum
  13. ^ "History of The George Hotel at Leadenham". Archived from the original on 9 August 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2008.
  14. ^ a b World War I Modeling Page -Hinchliffe forum
  15. ^ a b Old News of Newfoundland
  16. ^ Roseberry, C.R. (1966), The Challenging Skies: The Colorful Story of Aviation's Most Exciting Years, 1919-1939, pp. 132-134. Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, Inc.
  17. ^ .Ballantrae Parish Church Archived 21 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  18. ^ "Gander's Historic Street Names". Archived from the original on 5 June 2008. Retrieved 29 May 2008.
  19. ^ National Archives – Elsie Mackay Fund
  20. ^ Parliamentary reference to the Elsie Mackay Fund in Hansard

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Elsie Mackay (died 1928).
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