IN FAMOUS CIRCLE

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 70, 19 September 1930, Page 9

IN FAMOUS CIRCLE

MISS AMY JOHNSON

"DAILY MAIL" RECEPTION

YOUTH AND ADVENTUBE

(From "Tho Post's" Representative.)

LONDON, Bth August.

Miss Amy Johnson, C.8.E., ivas the chief guest at a luncheon, given in hor honour by the "Daily Mail" at tho •Savoy Hotel two days ago. It was a unique function on account of tho 250 guests all of whom have done something outstanding and so have come prominently into the life of the country —indeed, the prowess of many is well known outside tho British Isles. Most of. them, were young, aud there were many womoa as well as men. The drive to the hotel was a memorable one, for the route was densely Hned, and the returned heroine of tho air stood up in her car most of the way ■to acknowledge the cheers of the masses, feho was smiling and happy, and her natural charm of manner made a, great Sppeal to everyone. "Three months ago," she said, at {the luncheon, "I should have been standing in queues for hours to see any mie of you, and now I have the opportunity of being among you and oveu of shaking hands with you." Mr. Esmond Harmsworth presided, with Miss Johnson at his right and Miss Maijorie Poster (winner of the King's .Prize at Bisley) on his left. A not;ible table was reserved for pioneers of the air, three of whom in. tho past won one of the £10,000 prizes given by the "Daily Mail"—Sir Arthur Whit ten Brown, first to brave successfully the perils of the Atlantic crossing; M. Pauliian, who was tho first to fly from Loudon to Manchester; and Lieut. Conneau ("A Beaumont"), who made the first flight round Britain. Aud there was also M. Bleriot, who received the "Daily Mail" prize of £1000 for being the first to cross the Channel by air.

SPIRIT OF ROMANCE. During the course of his remarks, Mr. Harmsworth said: '' We welcome her for her great . achievement, we welcome her for her courage, we welcome her for her groat feat of endurance, we welcome her for her daring, and we welcome her really •at the bottom of our .hearts for the groat example sho has set the youth of this country. It has been our desire to welcome you, Miss Johnson, on behalf of the Youth of Great Britain. You liave becomo to them a heroine and the Spirit of Romance. ' "If we are to maintain our great position in the world we must produce young men and young women like Miss Johnson, with the same courage and enterprise in whatever walk of life we are born. England must not lose the spirit of Drake and of Raleigh. No nation can stand still. There are always aiew worlds to conquer, new-records to break. 'Safety first' is not the emblem inscribed on Miss Amy Johnson's shield, nor I hope upon the shield of -Kngland. ;

"Aliss Johnson possessed faith in herself. England also must not lose faith in her destiny. There never was a time when more faith was so necessary —that faith which overcomes obstacles rind surmounts all difficulties. It is not by arithmetic or logic that the history of nations is made. It is by character, faith,-and courage, and on behalf of all <if you I congratulate Miss Johnson on having shown all these qualities."

Mr. Harmsworth presented Miss Johnson with the "Daily Mail" cheque for £10,000, and also with a gold cup.

CTOILD OF AIR PILOTS. Sir Sefton Braneker (Director of Civil Aviation) presented Miss Johnson with a certificate of honorary membership of the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators of the British Empire, of which he is the Master. He said:

"Miss Johnson is the first woman to Tie an honorary member of the guild, and; her nazne is beside those of Sir Arthur Whitten Brown and other pioneers. . Her success has been due to enthusiasm and determination, and, ;;bove all, thoroughness, and she also has the qualities of personality and charm. She has done the right thing in the right way, and the admiration of the air pilots of the British Empire goes out to her for her feat and for the honour which she has done tb their profession."

Miss Johnson, in the course of a very charming speech, remarked:

"I want to do' every thing I can to help, aviation in this country. I am Mfvaid my flight has achieved far more than its due in publicity. I admit that J ani the first woman who did it, but let it go at that. I want to assume ■that those people who have taken the trouble to read about me, and listen to me now, have an interest in the more technical aspects of my flight, and let me give you some details by ■ way of answering questions that'might woll be put to mo. "AVhat preparations'did I make for my flight! I am, popularly supposed to have gone down to Croydon, jumped into the machine, and said 'Cheerio!' without any sort of preparation whatever. I do not believe in safety first, because I do not think it gets us anywhere; but I do believe in taking every precaution you can and then taking risks.

■"1 worked for eight solid months with the engineers of the London Aero Club. I learnt navigation under the auspices of the Air Ministry, and I learnt piloting with tho London Aero OJub instructors. I not only prepared iv this way, but I also tried to make myself physically fit, because I knew what'an. important part physical en(liuaneo was going to play. Now I .<im jolly glad of what I did, because of the after-effects of my flight.

PROGRESS OF AVIATION.

'' Now, what is aviation like in other countriesf In India private flying is doing very well. Everybody there is ■waiting for the new three-seater Puss Moth to come out, because in India you always travel with your bearer. Ifc was in India that there was the greatest surprise at my being alone. People asked me where my bearer was, and whoa I told them I had not one ihoy said, 'But you must have.' And they went to look for him. So in the end I had to express the greatest d,is]iiay at having lost him. '"'What are my future plans? I have none. I am going to work just as hard as I can—l hope more by example than by talking—and at the end of this eight months I hope to do something. "Our Empire must excel in aviation, and to do this there must be co-opera-tion and the elimination of petty jealousies is essential. ITlying is an occupation, a job, not a fashion. I appeal to the country to load in aviation, and I appeal to the youth of our <tountry to do everything they can to accomplish that end. England is, I think, ready to make a decisive bid for ■world supremacy in tho air, and if we think we can, then we will. (Cheers.)

SPIRIT OF OUR FOREFATHERS,

Mr. J. H. Thomas (Secretary for the Dominions) oaid Miss Johnson had shown that the old qualities of courage, character, perseverance, and independence, which had made our nation great, ■were not lost. There were too many people talking about our being "down and out." His answer was that an linvpiro like ours, which constituted a quarter of tho world geograjthically, unexampled in its efforts for mankind, must go on in the same old way. And that way was t.hat our forefathers worn prepared to take the risk, snd show In-

their character, courage, and grit that they could achieve their goal. In 1930 that spirit was not lost, as was shown by their guest.

RELATIONS WITH PEBSS,

In the course of aii interview after her arrival in England, Miss Johnson was asked, if it was true that some of the Australian papers had been rather unkindly in their remarks about hor. "Only one or two," sho replied. "I think they are absolute rags." "Arc you going to make any statement answering their criticisms?" "I don't know," she replied. "I havo not thought about it yet. It worried me at the time, but they wore a rotten type of paper. The Press of Western Australia was very kind, and I would do anything for them. The Press of Sydney I hate, • loathe, and despise." The "Daily Mail" puts tho following on record: — "Miss Amy Johnson's longest flight had been one of 200 niiles from London to Hull, her native town, when sho set out for Australia, She had been to Sheffield University, taken her B.A. degree, and worked for two yoars as secretary to a city solicitor, when suddenly the idea came to her to loam to fly." Sho joined the London Aeroplane Club at Stag Lano, was out flying at 6 o'clock in tho morning before going to her office, aud finally had to make up mind between two careers —the law or the air. " ■ "The air was her choice, and from that day sho almost lived at tho aerodrome, "flying in all weathers, and working hard to master the technical side of flight, so that she becarno tho only woman to hold a ground engineer's licence. "Miss Johnson is a member of an adventurous^ family. Her father, Mr. J. W. Johnson, now a Hull fish merchant, was one of a party of four Hull men who- took part in tho Klondyke gold rush in 1898. Her grandfather ran away to sea as a boy and returned to work in a fishing smack till ho founded the family business."