The Spitfire Girls(80)
Polly was dead. That was Polly’s body back there. Polly, who’d flown them home safely, and shown such aptitude in the cockpit. Polly who was so bright and cheerful, who she was just about to put forward for conversion to fly four-engine bombers at Hamble. Polly who’d obviously had to drop too low to try to see, with no instruments to guide her. Polly who’d smashed straight into a hill, taking a risk that had cost her her life.
May looked up and the sun blinded her at the same time as the bright sky started to spin. She reached out a hand to break her fall, and as Ben’s arms caught her, everything went black.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
AVENGER FIELD, SWEETWATER, TEXAS,
NOVEMBER, 1942
LIZZIE
Lizzie stood before her squadron of women to give a speech she’d given many times before, but today she felt stuck for words. She conjured an image of May in her mind, imagining how she was coping, how she was still managing to keep commanding her squadron after such a loss. May had always been an exemplary leader, and Lizzie hoped to inject as much enthusiasm and self-belief into the women she’d just finished training. But after receiving the news about Polly, she wished she had her commander and friend by her side. It had come as a blow out of nowhere and she’d cried into her pillow all night, imagining the terror her beautiful friend must have experienced, and hoping upon hope that her death had come fast. Speaking to her squadron seemed impossible, but she knew they were counting on her. She had to pull herself together.
They’d been at their location at Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas for a couple of months now, and it was so much easier to run her operation from the bigger, more suitable airfield; she was so much closer to her father, too. The difference was that now it wasn’t just in theory: they actually had women in the air ferrying planes, and the realities of what her female pilots were up against had hit her hard. The news of Polly’s death, a death that could have been avoided, had filled her with sadness at first, then made her angry – angry that women could be treated so unfairly, as if their lives somehow weren’t as important.
She cleared her throat, glancing at Captain Montgomery, who was standing out to the side, and two officers who’d been instrumental in training her pilots. She had to begin.
‘Ladies, I’m so proud of every single one of you,’ she said, annoyed by the croak in her throat. She cleared it and tried again. ‘As of today, you have all passed your training and become WASPs. Well done!’ She clapped, and they all joined in. She studied their faces, knowing that it was her job to fill them with confidence. ‘It’s time for you all to go on and make me proud. I hand-picked every one of you, sat through hours of interviews and reviewed so many candidates – you are the women I chose to fly our mighty warplanes. You will be ferrying planes over our great country, which will allow our men to fight, and to succeed in winning this war.’
Polly was gone. She swallowed hard, refusing to let the thoughts creep in. She held her head high and jutted out her chin. She’d underestimated how difficult it would be to deal with the turmoil in her head, but she wasn’t about to ruin the day by failing to deliver her speech – not with so many women graduating.
‘We are all making history here, paving the way for women to not only fly, but also to defy the gender roles that we are so often defined by. Women can make a difference, and we are showing that against all odds, and despite having to fight to be heard and fight to be here flying, we deserve our title of pilot. The army may not recognise us as such, but that does not take away from the incredible role each and every one of you will play.’
A single tear plopped down her cheek and she steeled herself, waiting for the moment to pass. Her breath shuddered as she thought again of Polly, imagining her terror as her plane smashed into the hillside. She opened her mouth, but this time, not a sound came out.
Captain Montgomery was at her side then, standing close to her, almost shoulder to shoulder. Then he stepped forward to take over, as if he could feel her pain and wanted to spare her, and she was both stunned and grateful. They would have all heard a pin drop as he began to speak.
‘I have treated you like I would any soldier, and you women, every single one of you, have proven me wrong,’ he said, his voice low and deep. Everything about the man oozed authority, and Lizzie admired the strength in his stance and the breadth of his shoulders as he stood on the small makeshift stage. ‘You are all courageous and fiercely talented, and I applaud you as you graduate here today and take the next step in your careers.’ He paused and held out a hand to Lizzie. ‘You have this very special woman to thank for your new positions, because without her determination to see women in the air, you wouldn’t be sitting here today.’
Everyone in the room clapped and Lizzie smiled, trying to be brave.
As Captain Montgomery saluted the crowd and stepped from the stage, Lizzie tracked him with her eyes. He was the perfect example of a leader in the way he held himself and the way he commanded, but she’d also found him to be overly exacting and demanding of her pilots. Yet today she’d seen a different side of him, and she was shocked to find respect replacing her disdain for him.
As she moved through the crowd and congratulated each woman individually, fixing their wing pins to their jackets, Lizzie decided it was time to thank him; it was stupid to continue with their rivalry and unfriendliness.
‘Congratulations, girls. You will find out later today which bases you will be sent to. Please enjoy the afternoon,’ Lizzie announced, before seeking Montgomery out.