Eves& Gray dedicated its range of quality men’s footwear by naming them after famous aircraft, significant pioneers of aviation technology in their time.
For the ladies range E&G has decided to honour the pioneering woman of aviation, from the earliest days of flying to the space age.
These feisty and glamorous women had one thing in common, they all pushed the envelope, daring to go where no woman had gone before and competed with men on equal terms. They were trend setters who knew what they wanted to do, and did it.
These pioneers included those who had been actresses, champion cyclists, playwrights and adventurers before entering the demanding world of aviation, and they all achieved fame and recognition of the capabilities of women. E&G are proud to honour them.
HARRIET QUIMBY. Harriet became the first women pilot licensed in the USA. She was the first woman to fly the English Channel and was a professional air show performer. She always wore her trademark purple flying suit and lucky jewellery when flying.
Mme. La BARONNE DE LA ROCHE. Went solo in November 1909 and became the first woman anywhere to receive a pilot’s license. Before taking up flying she had been an actress. She is believed to have been the first woman to pilot a heavier than air machine. She gave exhibitions of flying all over Europe, including Russia, where she was presented to the Czar.
Mme. HELENE DUTRIEU. Helene was a World Champion cyclist who took up flying following a bad motor cycle crash. She was the first woman to carry a passenger in an aircraft and became known as “The Girl Hawk’. There was a brief scandal when the press revealed that she did not wear corsets when flying! She did however have a high fashion flying suit made for her by the Paris couture Bernard. An attractive lady she became known as “the original sweetheart of the skies”. She was the first woman aviator to be awarded the Legion d’Honneur.
VALENTINA TERESHKOVA. Cosmonaut, engineer, politician and the first woman to fly in space. She orbited the Earth 48 times in Vostok 6 in 1963. She was an amateur skydiver, and selected from 400 applicants to enter the space programme. She was given the honor of carrying the Olympic Flag for Russia at the opening of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games and has had a crater on the moon named after her.
PANCHO BARNES. A legend in her time. Air racer, stunt pilot, colleague of Hollywood stars and much, much more. She ran the Guest House/Hotel the “Happy Bottom Riding Club” near the American Flight Test airfield in the Californian Desert and entertained there all the leading test pilots of the day. She raised hogs, cattle and horses and It was said she could out swear any man. Her attitude to life is well summed up, as after surviving two cancer operations she said, “Well, ——it, we had more fun in a week than most of the weenies in the world have in a lifetime”
AMELIA EARHART. Record setting long distance pilot whose marriage to a wealthy publisher enabled her to buy the latest aircraft. She disappeared in still unsolved circumstances on a round the world flight in 1937. Her life has been the subject of many books and she is still the best known woman pilot from the USA.
KATHERINE STINSON. Katherine held records for distance, endurance and aerobatics. She was the fourth licensed American woman pilot and flew on the Exhibition Circuit having abandoned a musical career. She was known as the “Flying Schoolgirl’ due to het youthful appearance, She was the first woman to perform a loop and the first to be approved to fly the airmail. She died in 1977 aged 87.
