14 Facts About Mona Friedlander

Mona Renee Vera Ernesta Friedlander was born in Queensgate, London in June 1914.

Mona Friedlander's father was a rich banker and they lived in Park Lane.

Mona Friedlander attended the LSE and took a secretarial course, which led to secretarial jobs.

Mona Friedlander worked in a small aircraft factory near Brooklands and the machine place at Brooklands to understand the mechanics of flying.

Mona Friedlander took her 'B' licence Friedlander was issued with her licence on 11 November 1936, having taken the test at Brooklands Flying Club in a De Havilland DH.

Mona Friedlander's father loved her flying, her mother was "horrified".

Mona Friedlander wanted to train as a flying instructor and continued despite her parents objections by taking a job pulling aerial advertising banners.

Some pilots would take off with the banner but Mona Friedlander preferred to fly back at a defined height and pick up the banner.

Mona Friedlander flew banners around the Scottish coast, particularly Aberdeen.

Mona Friedlander was one of the eight founding pilots in the women's section of the Air Transport Auxiliary and started working at Hatfield airfield on 7 January 1940.

Mona Friedlander did a lot of night flying as she would fly back and forth along a defined route so that gun batteries could use her plane to practice identifying her range and direction using their listening equipment and pick her out with their searchlights.

Mona Friedlander's logbook was checked and signed every month by Pauline Gower.

Mona Friedlander was entrusted with inspecting press photographs to decide if they revealed secret information.

Mona Friedlander Forward died in Halstock, Dorset on Christmas Eve 1993 at the age of 79.