Have You Heard Of... Hilda B Hewlett?

Hilda B. Hewlett was a pilot and aeroplane manufacturer.

 

Hilda Beatrice Hewlett was born in Vauxhall, London, in 1864, to Rev, George William Herbert and his wife, Louisa. Hilda was one of nine children, and a hallmark of her character was a daring, determined focus that carried her unstoppably through life. 

 

Hilda was educated at home, and was artistic. She was a student of the National Art Training School in South Kensington. Later, she trained as a nurse. She also enjoyed speed. You can guess where that one might lead in the next few paragraphs!

 

Hilda married Maurice Hewlett in 1888. Maurice swopped his career in law and land revenue records for a life writing romantic fiction. Hilda liked riding bicycles and driving motor cars – both unusual hobbies for a woman of her day. Together they attended the first flying meeting in England, in Blackpool, in 1909. Hilda was hooked on this new and exciting future of aviation.

 

Hilda went to France, where it was possible to have flying lessons from the manufacturers of aeroplanes. Under a pseudonym - Grace Bird – and with a French business partner, engineer Gustave Blondeau, Hilda brought a Farman biplane back to the UK. Hewlett and Blondeau set up a flying school at Brooklands motor circuit, Surrey. Hilda was not the first person to learn to fly there, but in 1911 she became the first woman in the UK to gain her pilot’s licence (licence number 122). Hilda then taught her son Francis to fly, and he went on to have a career flying in the military in the UK and New Zealand. I have struggled to teach my children their times tables, so this seems seriously impressive to me!

 

Hilda and Gustave opened a factory at Brooklands to manufacture aeroplanes. It was called Omnia Works, and at one point employed over 700 people. Omnia Works supplied military aircraft during the war, eventually diversifying into making farming equipment, before its closure in 1920.

 

Hilda, separated from Maurice (who died in 1923), moved to Tauranga, New Zealand with her daughter and her family in 1926. Hilda’s love of aviation persisted, and she set up the Tauranga Gliding and Flying Club in 1928-9.

 

The amazing Hilda Hewlett died in Tauranga, NZ, in 1943.

 

 

Have You Heard Of..?Trudi MurrayHilda B Hewlett