157 Facts About Jean Batten

Jean Batten made two unsuccessful attempts to fly from England to Australia solo before achieving the feat in May 1934, taking just under 15 days to fly the distance in a Gipsy Moth biplane.

Jean Batten became the first woman to fly solo from England to Australia and back again.

Ellen, a strong personality who dominated her daughter, died in Tenerife in 1967, and soon afterwards Jean Batten returned to public life with several appearances related to aviation and her records.

Jane Gardner Jean Batten was born on 15 September 1909 in Rotorua, New Zealand, to Frederick Jean Batten, a dentist, and his wife Ellen.

Jean Batten was the only daughter of the couple, who were both first-generation New Zealanders of English descent.

Jean Batten had two older brothers and a third who had died soon after birth.

When she was four, the Jean Batten family moved to Auckland.

Jean Batten's mother encouraged her in activities considered to be masculine, taking her to Kohimarama to observe the flying boats of the flight school there.

In later years Jean Batten would deny her parents' breakup and maintain the marriage was a happy one.

In 1922, Jean Batten was sent to Ladies' College, a girls' boarding college in Remuera at her father's expense.

Jean Batten finished her education in late 1924, refusing to go back the following year for her fifth form year.

Jean Batten soon became an assistant teacher at the ballet school where she trained, playing the piano during classes.

In May 1927, Jean Batten read of Charles Lindbergh's exploit in flying non-stop across the Atlantic.

Jean Batten's father took her to a reception for Kingsford Smith in Auckland.

Jean Batten was humiliated and supposedly vowed to her mother afterwards that she would indeed fly.

Jean Batten followed this up in 1929 by taking a flight with Kingsford Smith while on a holiday in Sydney.

Jean Batten did not approve, believing it an inappropriate career choice for a woman and refused to pay for flying lessons.

Jean Batten, encouraged by her mother, decided to go to England to learn to fly.

Jean Batten had a piano which she sold to fund the voyage to England for herself and her mother.

Jean Batten's father provided an allowance to help support her in her supposed musical studies.

Jean Batten joined the London Aeroplane Club, which was based at the Stag Lane Aerodrome in the northwest of London.

Jean Batten was remembered for boasting about planning a solo flight to New Zealand.

Jean Batten earned her pilot's A licence on 5 December 1930.

Jean Batten hoped that family there would help fund her venture.

Back in New Zealand, Jean Batten reestablished a relationship with her father, whose anger at being deceived had eased by this time.

Jean Batten began to support her in her flying endeavours, paying for her to take lessons in navigation.

Jean Batten resumed flight training, joining the Auckland Aero Club, based at Mangere, and soon secured her New Zealand A pilot's licence.

Jean Batten flew with Batten at the Auckland Aero Club but this soon ended when he had to rejoin his squadron.

Jean Batten still harboured ambitions of an attempt to break the solo England-Australia flight and sought a sponsor to provide the necessary funding.

Jean Batten was able to facilitate a repair and continue the flight.

Jean Batten modified the Gipsy Moth, acquired from the King's Flight and previously flown by the then Prince of Wales, by fitting extra fuel tanks to increase its range to 800 miles.

On 9 April 1933, Jean Batten commenced her flight to Australia, a trip of 10,500 miles, flying from Lympne Aerodrome.

Jean Batten's departure was widely reported and her mother, present for the occasion, gave an interview that appeared to give the impression of a united and well-off family.

Jean Batten was not the only pilot attempting to break the record for the trip to Australia at the time; she took off 24 hours after an Italian, Leonida Robbiano, started his endeavour from Lympne.

Jean Batten wanted to assist Batten and paid for her repatriation to England along with the wrecked Gipsy Moth.

Jean Batten still intended to make her record flight and for several months, she unsuccessfully sought financial assistance from newspapers and aviation companies.

Jean Batten kept her new aircraft at Brooklands, an aerodrome in Surrey, living nearby with her mother while the Gipsy Moth was prepared for her record attempt.

Jean Batten ran out of fuel over Rome and glided to a crash landing at San Paolo wireless station.

Jean Batten carrying out the work did so for free, in acknowledgement of her courage, but Batten still had to source replacement parts.

Ten days after the crash, Jean Batten flew her repaired aircraft back to England.

Jean Batten had decided to make a third attempt rather than continue with her present flight, which would have to include her time spent in Rome waiting for the repairs to her aircraft to be completed.

Jean Batten flew to Marseilles, refuelled, and then went on to Rome, arriving at nighttime.

Jean Batten flew onto Jodhpur and then Allahabad on day eight, before going onto Calcutta, 1,400 miles away, where she ended day nine by landing at Dum Dum Aerodrome.

Jean Batten flew to Alor Star the next day instead and after refueling there flew on to Salatar in Singapore to end day twelve.

Jean Batten was tracking well for her record attempt, being two days ahead of Johnson at the same stage of the flight.

Jean Batten anticipated a flight time of around six hours but miscalculated, resulting in some anxious moments until the Australian landmass was sighted.

Jean Batten later wrote to him stating it was "good publicity".

Acquaintances she met during this time noted her self-centred nature, and Nancy Bird, a well-known pilot of the 1930s, considered Jean Batten to be a "prima donna".

When Jean Batten arrived at Darwin to end her record flight, one of her first acts was to send a telegram to Ellen.

Jean Batten was now firmly established as an international hero and a source of pride for New Zealand.

Jean Batten had written to Walter to end the relationship but it was reported in the media prior to him receiving her letter.

Jean Batten later wrote that on arriving in Australia to complete her record flight, she realised that she wanted to prioritise her aviation career for a few years and saw marriage as compromising her ambitions.

Jean Batten largely followed the reverse of the route flown on her outward trip to Australia.

Jean Batten avoided the worst of the Intertropical Convergence Zone but was slowed by headwinds flying west across West Asia.

Jean Batten had further engine trouble over Italy and by the time she reached Marseilles, there was only a slim chance of beating her record, and even then it would only be by a few minutes.

Jean Batten arrived at Croydon, in England, having taken 17 days, 16 hours, to make the journey from Australia to England.

Jean Batten was still the first woman to fly solo from England to Australia and back again.

The record for the quickest flight from England to Brazil was held by Jim Mollison, who achieved it in three days, ten hours, and Jean Batten decided to attempt to break this record as well.

Jean Batten arranged for the Gull to be fitted with auxiliary fuel tanks, giving it a range of 2,000 miles, and a discreet toilet tube.

Mackersey doubts the accuracy of this statement, pointing out Jean Batten had received fees from newspapers and film companies, as well as money earned from the Australian flight and the sale of her Gipsy Moth.

Jean Batten planned to start from Lympne Aerodrome, flying 1,500 miles to Casablanca, go onto Dakar, in West Africa, via Villa Cisneros in the Spanish Sahara, and then flying 1,900 miles across the South Atlantic to land at Port Natal in Brazil.

Jean Batten soon ran into the South Atlantic convergence zone and the weather encountered at this stage meant that she effectively flew blind for some time.

Jean Batten landed at Port Natal thirteen hours, 15 minutes, after her departure from Thies; this lowered the record for a solo crossing of the South Atlantic by three hours.

Jean Batten had achieved the overall fastest flight time for crossing the Atlantic, beating by 22 minutes the record set by a four-engined Air France aeroplane.

Jean Batten was able to find shelter in a nearby village.

Jean Batten was gifted money by the local British Chamber of Commerce and made an honorary officer in the Brazilian Air Force, which presented her a trophy, "The Spirit of Aviation".

Jean Batten then flew onto Argentina and Uruguay and while in Buenos Aires, she received an offer from Charles Lindbergh to make a lecture tour of the United States.

Jean Batten suffered a cut to her head and a concussion, while the Gull's wings were twisted and its undercarriage was torn away.

Jean Batten received further honours: these included the Britannia Trophy, awarded by the Royal Aero Club for the most meritorious flight of 1935 to be made by a British subject, the Challenge Trophy, which she was awarded for the second time by the Women's International Association of Aeronautics, and the Harmon Trophy, jointly awarded to Batten and Amelia Earhart.

Once her Gull was repaired, Jean Batten took her mother on a flying holiday to Spain and Morocco.

The New Zealand Government had agitated for Jean Batten to be made a Dame but this was not entertained by officials in London, who were reluctant to reward risky record flight attempts.

Jean Batten aimed to break the men's record for the England-Australia flight, which stood at six days, 21 hours, and was held by Jimmy Broadbent.

Jean Batten spent time in London obtaining the necessary permissions to fly over the countries along her route.

Jean Batten had deliberately kept her rest time to a minimum, and the operational ceiling of the Gull allowed her to fly at a height that avoided the worst of the turbulence.

Jean Batten then flew onto Akyab, in Burma, a distance of 1,900 miles with a stop for fuel at Allahabad.

Jean Batten encountered bad weather during the 1,300 miles flight and was unable to land at Alor Star.

Jean Batten had a fright when she realised the driving rain was stripping the fabric and dope from the leading edges of her wings; this required repair at Penang.

Jean Batten flew onto Singapore while it was still light, and the repair work to her wings was performed at the RAF station there.

Jean Batten left for Rambang, on Lombok, that night and then onto Kupang in Timor.

Jean Batten was phlegmatic about the delay for it allowed her to have much-needed sleep.

Jean Batten had problems landing; the throttle stuck open on one attempt.

Jean Batten was conscious that she needed to push on to Auckland in New Zealand, still some 3,700 miles away.

Jean Batten flew onto Sydney the next day, being greeted by a fleet of aircraft over the city's harbour that would escort her into the Mascot airfield.

Jean Batten declined, preferring the "honour of completing the first solo flight from England to New Zealand and linking the two countries in direct flight for the first time in history".

Jean Batten left from the Royal Australian Air Force's airbase at Richmond, the longer runway giving her more space to get her heavily loaded Gull in the air.

Jean Batten did not want anyone's life to be put at risk.

Jean Batten did a flypast for a crowd gathered at New Plymouth airfield and then flew north to Mangere as planned.

Jean Batten landed just after 5:00pm in front of a crowd of around 6,000 people.

Jean Batten had set a record of eleven days, 45 minutes for a direct flight from England to New Zealand; this would stand for 44 years before it was broken.

Jean Batten set a record of ten and a half hours for the crossing from Sydney to Auckland.

Jean Batten's father was among those who greeted her, although he was given short-shrift as Batten focussed on the adulation from the crowd and the official reception party.

Jean Batten's feat was widely reported around the world, with media comparing her to Amy Johnson and Amelia Earhart.

Telegrams flooded in; according to Jean Batten, there were 1,700 cables received from overseas.

Jean Batten embarked on a publicity tour, eager to make money.

Jean Batten wanted to recover the expenses incurred on her England-New Zealand flight and have some profit to fund further flying, despite the effort likely "overdrawing on [her] reserve energy".

Jean Batten's Gull was later displayed at a shop in Auckland, where people paid to see it.

Jean Batten began to charge a shilling for her autograph and signed several hundred books.

Jean Batten soon found her tour was compromised by the exclusive contracts she had entered into with the media while in Sydney; two minders controlled the public and rival media's access to her.

Jean Batten had steadfastly ignored his pleas to repay the debt.

Jean Batten was awarded the Harmon Trophy again, this time outright, for her 1936 flights.

Jean Batten later wrote that this "was a very great honour".

Once Ellen arrived, she and Jean Batten returned to New Zealand where they would remain for three months.

For part of the time, they were joined by Fred Jean Batten, presenting an image of a united family, as her parents' separation was not public knowledge.

In February 1937, Jean Batten, accompanied by her mother, travelled to Sydney to join Shepherd.

Jean Batten was involved in the search for the missing aircraft, even after it was officially called off after five days.

Jean Batten withdrew from society and with her mother, moved to a flat near Sydney's beaches.

Jean Batten planned to use her Percival Gull for the attempt and arranged for its engine to be overhauled.

Jean Batten noted that it was "infinitely more difficult to fly from Australia to England than in the opposite direction" because headwinds "retard progress on the route in England".

Jean Batten had flown part of the leg at just 500 feet to minimise the effect of the prevailing headwind.

Jean Batten skirted some storm systems to land at Marseilles and then carried onto England, where she landed at Lympne Aerodrome in the mid-afternoon.

Jean Batten had completed the flight in 5 days, 19 hours and 15 minutes.

Jean Batten was within four hours of the all-time record for the fastest flight time from Australia to England, this being held by Owen Cathcart Jones and Ken Waller who had flown the trip in the multi-engined de Havilland DH.

Jean Batten was moved by the reception at Croydon, noting that it felt "more like a homecoming than just the final landing of a record flight".

Jean Batten's exploit was front page news the next day; one major newspaper headlined its first page as "The Girl Who Has Beaten All The Men".

Jean Batten's mother noted that Batten was too busy to consider marriage and reiterated how much she had financially supported her daughter in her record ambitions.

Jean Batten began to tour continental Europe with her Percival Gull; she was hosted by Bleriot's widow in Paris, King Leopold in Brussels, and by the Swedish royal family in Stockholm.

Jean Batten sought help from Wenner-Gren, who used his connections with Germany to secure clearance for Batten to fly her Percival Gull back over the North Sea with a stop at Hamburg.

Jean Batten indicated that her name would be added to a pool of civilian pilots to be called upon by the RAF.

Jean Batten had Sir Francis Shelmerdine, who was the head of the National Air Communications, an agency concerned with the coordination of civil aviation for the war effort, advocating on her behalf.

Jean Batten hoped to join the Air Transport Auxiliary, formed at the start of the war to provide experienced pilots for ferrying aircraft.

Mackersey speculates that Jean Batten desired a role with the ATA that would only require her to fly her Gull.

Jean Batten instead became a driver for the Anglo-French Ambulance Corps.

Jean Batten then began working at a munitions factory in Poole, Dorset, renting an apartment nearby.

Jean Batten's mother moved to Dorchester and on her days off, Batten would visit her.

Jean Batten solicited donations from the public in aid of the war effort, and visited factories, industrial facilities and town halls throughout the country.

Jean Batten claimed to have made plans with him for the future but he was reported missing on a bombing raid later in the war.

Ellen Jean Batten had struggled with her health for most of the winter months of the war years and desired to live in a more hospitable climate.

At about the same time, Jean Batten was invited to attend the opening of the new Auckland International Airport, sited at Mangere.

Jean Batten's mother was 89 by the time they began their trip to the Canary Islands.

Jean Batten died on 19 July 1966 on the island of Tenerife, at San Marcos, a fishing village where the two had rented an apartment.

Jean Batten arranged for the interment of her mother's remains at an Anglican cemetery in Puerto de la Cruz.

The headstone inscription read "Ellen Batten beloved mother of Jean Batten" and lacked acknowledgement of her other children or her husband Fred Batten.

The words "Jean Batten" were inscribed in a larger font size than that used for her mother's name.

Jean Batten's father died in July 1967, but this had nowhere near the effect on her as her mother's death.

Jean Batten revamped her image by dyeing her hair, undergoing cosmetic surgery and updating her wardrobe.

Jean Batten was reunited with her Percival Gull, part of the Shuttleworth Collection, joined the British Women Pilots' Association, and gave interviews for BBC radio and television.

Jean Batten went to Australia and New Zealand early the following year but initially kept a low profile.

Jean Batten only reunited with some of her family once they discovered she was in New Zealand; she had not let them know she was there until she was interviewed by a local newspaper.

Jean Batten became patron of the New Zealand Airwoman's Association and spoke at public gatherings.

Jean Batten returned to England in April 1970 but shortly afterwards was invited to attend a fundraising banquet in Australia.

Jean Batten ended up staying in Australia for nearly three months, travelling across the country at the expense of Qantas and being hosted for free.

Jean Batten made further visits to see its progress and wrote to newspapers in support of the project.

Jean Batten commenced writing her memoirs, which she titled Luck and the Record Breaker, intended for publication after her death.

Jean Batten later stayed with family before returning to Tenerife before the end of the year.

Jean Batten was contacted by Robert Pooley, of Airlife Publishing, who wanted to republish her 1938 book My Life.

Jean Batten refused to update it, wanting to have her memoirs published separately later once they were completed.

Jean Batten returned to New Zealand in late 1979, flying partway on the Concorde, thanks to the generosity of the National Bank which invited her to open a new branch in her home country.

Jean Batten remained for the summer, doing promotional work for Alone in the Sky.

Jean Batten publicly congratulated Chisholm for breaking her longstanding records, noting that her own flight was made "as a pioneer" and it could not be compared to Chisholm's.

Jean Batten was back in Tenerife in early 1981, her focus now on a Concorde return flight between England and New Zealand, being organised by Pooley to commemorate the 45th anniversary of her record flight of 1936.

Jean Batten was engaged in publicity events to help ticket sales, one of which was a ceremony at Luton Airport where Britannia Airways named one of its Boeing 737 aircraft after her.

In November 1982, Jean Batten, staying at a hotel in Mallorca, was bitten by a dog.

Jean Batten refused medical treatment but the wound became infected and she developed a pulmonary abscess.

Jean Batten was interred in a communal pauper's grave under her middle name, Gardner, with 150 other people.

Jean Batten is considered to be New Zealand's most notable aviator and a better pilot than her contemporaries Amy Johnson and Amelia Earhart, particularly for navigation.

Jean Batten was inducted into the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame in 1990.

The historic Jean Batten building in Auckland, which occupies the small block between Fort and Shortland Streets, is bounded by Jean Batten Place.